Rambles by Land and Water Part 4

The population of this place is now about six thousand. In 1842, two thousand died of black vomit, the greater portion of whom were the poor, half-enslaved Indians, brought from their healthy mountain homes, to serve as soldiers on the deadly coast. This dreadful scourge made its appearance on the continent of America, in 1699, where it was introduced by an English ship from the coast of Africa, loaded with slaves; inflicting upon the country, at the same instant, two of the greatest curses which the arch-enemy of our race could have devised. The infectious disease we cannot lay to the charge of England. It was one of those accidents which can only be referred to the mysterious visitations of that all-wise, but inscrutable providence, which rules over all the affairs of our little world. But for the other, and not less hideous evil, the introduction of slavery, that Government is directly responsible; and, however high and n.o.ble the principles of benevolence, by which the present race of Englishmen are actuated in their endeavors to procure universal emanc.i.p.ation, it ill becomes them to reproach us, or our fathers, for the existence of a curse among us, which their own government forced upon us, and their own fathers supplied and sustained, with a zeal and perseverance worthy of a better cause. Ages of penance and contrition, will not wipe out this dark stain from the British escutcheon.

Vera Cruz is more subject to the yellow fever, than perhaps any other place on the coast. This is chiefly owing to the filthy ditch before spoken of, from which the lower cla.s.ses are compelled to obtain a part of their supply of water, and to the pools of stagnant water, which abound among the sand hills in the vicinity. If these could be drained off, and the city supplied with wholesome water, there can be no doubt it would fare as well in the matter of health, as any other place on the coast, instead of being regarded, as it is now, by the Spanish physicians, as the source and fountain-head of yellow fever for the whole country. There is scarcely any season of the year exempt from its ravages, but it prevails most in the rainy season, particularly in September and October.

The history of Vera Cruz, as a place of importance to the Spaniards, commences with the very first steps of the conquest. The name of San Juan do Ulloa, was given to the island where the Castle now stands, by Grijalva, on his pioneer visit to the place, in 1518, where he was so roughly handled by the "natives." Cortes, after touching at Cozumel, made a landing at this place, in 1519. He afterwards laid the foundation of a colony in the vicinity, at the mouth of the river Antigua. It was from this point that he set out on his adventurous march to the capital of the Aztec empire--an adventure seemingly the most rash and ill advised, but in its results, the most triumphant, in the annals of history.

The present site of Vera Cruz, which was founded by Count de Monterey, near the close of the sixteenth century, and is sometimes, by way of distinction, called Vera Cruz Nueva, is not the same as that of the ancient city, planted by Cortes. That was situated fifteen miles to the north from the city of our day, and was called "La Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz"--The rich town of the true cross. The harbor of the old town is far better than that of the new, which, in fact, is no harbor at all, but an open roadsted, exposed to every blast from the north. No good reason has been a.s.signed for the removal. One historian has suggested that it was owing to the unhealthiness of the old town. If so, it is no mean ill.u.s.tration of the sagacity of the unfortunate fish, that, in attempting to escape his inevitable fate, "jumped out of the frying-pan into the fire."

CHAPTER VI.

SANTA ANNA DE TAMAULIPAS, AND ITS VICINITY.

The old and new towns.--The French Hotel.--Early history of the place.--Remains of an ancient Indian town.--Situation of Pueblo Nuevo.--Health of the place.--Commerce.--Smuggling.--Corruption in Public Offices.--Letters and Mails.--Architecture.--Expense of living.--Tone of morals. Gaming.--The soldiery.--Degraded condition of the Indians.--The Cargadores.--The market place.--Monument to Santa Anna.--The Bluff.--Pueblo Viejo.--Visit to the ruins.--Desolate appearance of the place.--"La Fuente."--Return at sunset.--The Rancheros of Mexico.--The Arrieros.

On the 17th of February, we bade adieu to Vera Cruz, and sailed along the coast, northwardly, for Tampico, distant over two hundred miles. The pa.s.sage was a very favorable one; and we arrived at our destination on the evening of the following day. Coming to anchor outside the bar, a launch from the sh.o.r.e, manned by naked Indians, was soon at our service, to take us up to the city. It was a pull of six miles on the river Panuco. On our way up, we pa.s.sed Pueblo Viejo, or the old town of Tampico, on our left, once a place of considerable trade, but now deserted, and comparatively in ruins. Two miles above this place, we landed at the mole, as it is called, where our luggage underwent the usual vexatious examinations; after which, permission was given us to enter the town of Santa Anna de Tamaulipas, known also as the Pueblo Nuevo, or New Town of Tampico.

I was soon ensconced in a hotel, kept by a Frenchman. It was a sad place.

The accommodations, if such a word can, with any propriety, be used in reference to such a house, were as uninviting as could be desired. The house was, in all respects, uncomfortable and dirty, and the charges $2,50 per day. But a shelter, in this country, though a poor one, is something to be thankful for; and, in the almost universal absence of comfort, one often has occasion to be grateful for any thing that bears a distant resemblance to it. With this kind of philosophy, I endeavored to console myself in the present instance, remembering that my situation was not quite as bad as it might be, nor indeed as it oftentimes had been in other places.

Santa Anna de Tamaulipas stands on what was once the site of a populous Indian town, which was first visited by Juan de Grijalva, in 1518. This "hopeful young man and well behaved," as he is described by one of the old historians, was the captain of the second expedition, sent from Cuba, to explore the large and rich islands, as they were then supposed to be, lying to the west, part of which were discovered by Columbus in 1502 and 1503, and part by Juan Dias de Solis and Vincent Yanez Pinzon, in 1506. At this place, Grijalva had a severe conflict with the "natives," who defended "their altars and their homes" with great bravery. The old historians of the conquest agree that Cortes, who followed Grijalva, and finally succeeded in reducing the whole country to the Spanish yoke, met with a warm reception on the Panuco. Few places were more ably defended, or more reluctantly surrendered by the Indians.

But few traces remain of the ancient city, or of its brave inhabitants. Yet occasionally, in digging for the foundations of buildings recently erected, the bones, and sometimes complete skeletons, of that unfortunate race are found, as well as remains of their household utensils.

Fifteen years ago, this place was occupied only by a few Indian huts, and Pueblo Viejo, the old town, was in its most flourishing condition. But the superior advantages of this position were too apparent to be longer overlooked by the searching eye of commercial enterprise. The bank of the river is very bold, and the water of sufficient depth to allow vessels to anchor close to the sh.o.r.e; and the navigation inland is uninterrupted for more than a hundred miles. The town is laid out in regular squares. The site is a sort of low flat shelf of land, forming the terminus of a rocky peninsula, above and back of which there is a cl.u.s.ter of lakes or ponds, having an outlet into the Panuco. These ponds, like those in the vicinity of Vera Cruz, are fruitful of yellow fever, which annually ravages this devoted coast. This terrible scourge, which seems to be one of the settled perquisites of the place, together with the formidable bar at the mouth of the river, are serious drawbacks to the prosperity of the town. Were it possible to remove them, I think there is little doubt that Santa Anna de Tamaulipas would soon become one of the most flourishing seaport towns in Mexico. Its local situation is favorable--it is the nearest point on the coast to the richest of the mining districts, and the place from which the greater portion of the specie is exported. It has also a considerable business in dye-woods and hides.

But the commerce of Santa Anna de Tamaulipas has been declining for several years, and, unless some new impulse is given to it, by some such improvements as are above suggested, it must continue to decline. The little business that is now done there, is chiefly in the hands of foreigners.

Smuggling was once carried on here to a very great extent; but the severe and stringent regulations of the government, have nearly succeeded in breaking it up. Or, to speak with more perfect accuracy, the business has changed hands, and that, which was before done through the venality of the subordinates, is now carried on by the direct connivance of the heads of the departments, who have contrived to monopolize to themselves this lucrative traffic, and thus, by robbing the government, to enrich themselves and the merchants at the same time. There is probably no country in the world, where there is such utter dest.i.tution of good faith and common honesty, on the part of those who contrive to secure the offices of trust. It is a remark of almost universal application, though it will probably apply with peculiar emphasis to the custom house department, where the largest amount of spoils are necessarily to be found. The most glaring cases of fraud are constantly occurring. Thousands of dollars are weekly pa.s.sed over to the officials, which never find their way into the treasury; and thousands that have gone in are missing, having never honestly found their way out. But little attention is paid to these instances of corruption. The criminals, though well known, are allowed to retain their stations; or, if by chance removed, through the complaints of those who are eager to step into their places, they are only elevated to more important and lucrative offices, where they have a wider field of operation, and a better chance to serve themselves, _and those who appointed them_. How far we of the United States may be placing ourselves in the condition of those who live in gla.s.s houses, by thus throwing stones at the Mexicans, I know not. But it is my candid opinion, shrewd and cunning as we are allowed to be in all matters of finance, that we are quite out-done in these matters by our more southern neighbors.

Letters arriving or departing by ship, cannot be delivered, without first pa.s.sing through the Post Office. The charges, which are very high, are regulated by weight, as under the new system in the United States. No captain, or consignee, is permitted to receive a letter, without the government stamp, under a heavy penalty. Whether the same restriction and penalty is laid upon pa.s.sengers and travellers, I am not informed; but it would be very difficult to carry them without observation, as every nook and corner of every trunk, box, or bag, is searched, as well as the linings of every article of dress, and even of your boots and shoes. All letters are liable to seizure and inspection, and they are often broken, when any cause of jealousy or suspicion arises. The ordinary mails in the northern part of the country, are more regular than rapid, being, for the most part, transported on the backs of the Indians. Of course, neither money, nor valuable doc.u.ments of any kind, are entrusted to this conveyance. An armed _conducta_ performs this service between the mines and the capital, and between the capital and the princ.i.p.al seaports.

In the buildings of Santa Anna de Tamaulipas, there is no uniformity of style, and no pretensions to beauty. American, English, and Spanish, are intermingled with the rude hut of the Indian. The population is as motley and heterogeneous as can well be conceived; and with the variety of feature, expression, manners, costume and no costume, ranks under what may be termed _the picturesque_.

Notwithstanding the gradual decline of business here, rents and wages are extremely high, and the prices paid for every article of consumption are so enormous, that I should scarcely be believed if I should name them. And this, too, among a beggarly-looking, half-naked population. The average range of the thermometer is from 86 to 92.

As might be expected, from what has been said already, the general tone of morals in society is by no means elevated. The native, or Creole population, are, for the most part, shamefully ignorant and debased, and, with few exceptions, dest.i.tute of moral principle. They are extremely jealous of foreigners, and seem to regard every stranger coming among them as an unwelcome intruder. As far as I had an opportunity of judging, which was not inconsiderable, I should say that, as a race, they are as dest.i.tute of ambition to improve, as they are of education. There is no taste among them for the cultivation of the fine arts, which once flourished in this ill-fated country; whether among the remote ancestors of the present Indian tribes, or among other and n.o.bler races of men, it is not easy now to decide.

The almost universal resource of the Creoles, is the gaming table, at which numbers of them spend a large portion of their time. In this miserable and demoralizing recreation, I am sorry to be obliged to say, that the "natives" are not the only sharers. Strangers, who resort here for business, whether English, American, Spanish or French, with a few rare and honorable exceptions, sustain and encourage them by their example. Large amounts are sometimes lost and won, though, for the most part, the stakes are light; the pa.s.sion being rather for gaming, and its attendant excitements, than for winning.

The Indians, another and inferior cla.s.s of natives, though nominally free, are in fact slaves. They are the drudges and bearers of burdens, for the whole community. They are ignorant, indolent and unthrifty to the last degree, and seem to have no idea of the possibility of bettering their condition. Like their superiors, they are much addicted to gaming, though necessarily on a very limited scale. In their condition of desperate poverty, they have little to lose; but that little is daily put at stake, and lost, or rather thrown away, with as much coolness and indifference, as if the inexhaustible mines of their golden mountains were all their own.

And it not unfrequently happens, that, having lost his last _maravedi_, he stakes himself upon another throw, and becomes the temporary slave of the winner. The laws, though they do not recognize slavery in the abstract, are so constructed, as to admit of this arrangement. The consequence is, that vast numbers, whom indolence or improvidence have reduced to the necessity of running in debt to their white neighbors, are as truly slaves, as they were before the revolution.

It is from the native Indians, that the rank and file of the Mexican army is, for the most part, supplied. A greater burlesque upon the name of a soldier can scarcely be conceived--a debased, insolent, drunken, half-naked rabble, in comparison with which Colonel Pluck's famous regiment would have made a display so brilliant, as to make all Philadelphia stare. It is a marvel to me how they can accomplish any thing with such a miserable set of ill-appointed, semi-civilized beings, especially, when their enlistment is for the most part compulsory, while they fight for self-const.i.tuted, tyrannical, unfeeling masters, and not for themselves, or their children. I should suppose that a single company of well disciplined Anglo-Saxon soldiers, would be more than a match for an ordinary Mexican army. If it was with such regiments as these, that Santa Anna undertook to reduce the refractory province of Texas, it is no matter of surprise that a handful of Yankee adventurers were able, not only to keep him at bay, but to put him, and his army of scarecrows, completely to route.

The Indian, as I have before remarked, is the abject slave of the Mexican; and upon him devolves every kind of menial labor. The "Cargadores," who act as porters, are seen in all the streets. They carry the heaviest burdens, such as bales, barrels, boxes, etc. upon their backs; dray and draft horses being unknown here. Others are seen in the market places, and lying about the public streets, houseless, and almost naked, objects at once of pity and disgust to those unaccustomed to such sights. No means are employed, and no desire manifested, on the part of their superiors, to improve their character or condition. Politically, the Mexican regards them as his equals, while he treats them far worse than even the English do their slaves, either at home or abroad.

The Market Place of Tampico is a rude open square, without embellishment, natural or artificial, one corner of which is occupied with stalls or tables, for meats and vegetables, which are guarded and dealt out by as motley a set of beggars as I had ever seen, as uninviting group of caterers as can well be imagined. The tarriers at home can little realize the many disagreeable offsets to the pleasure one derives from visiting foreign lands; while the traveller learns, by a painful daily experience, to appreciate all the little conveniences and proprieties, as well as the thousand substantial comforts of home.

In the centre of this square, a monument is to be erected in honor of the celebrated General Santa Anna, commemorating his successful encounter with the old Spanish forces, in this place, in the year 1829, during the last struggles of Mexico to throw off the yoke of Spain, and establish an independent government. The foundation of this monument is finished, and the builders are waiting the arrival of the column from New York, where, as I was informed, Italian artists are employed in completing it. It is intended to be worthy of the name of the distinguished man in whose honor it is reared, and of the event which it is designed to commemorate. How the two can be fitly blended in one inscription, it is difficult to conceive.

The victory which Santa Anna achieved over the Spanish oppressors of the struggling province, may indeed have a claim to be recorded on the enduring marble; but, for the honor due to a _name_ like that of the exiled hero of San Jacinto, a name so long a.s.sociated with every species of tyranny and oppression, of treason to his country, and of treachery alike to friend and to foe--how shall it be appropriately expressed? In what terms of mingled eulogium and execration shall it be couched? "_The_ NAME _and the_ EVENT!"

It will doubtless be an easy matter to frame an inscription suitable to the _event_--but to ill.u.s.trate the glory of the _name_--_hoc opus, his labor est_.

In a state of society like that which has existed in Mexico, for many years past, it would seem a difficult task to erect monuments to ill.u.s.trate the services of their great men. Revolution succeeding revolution, and dynasty chasing dynasty, in rapid succession like the waves of the sea, a successful leader has scarcely time to reach the post his high ambition has aimed at, and procure a decree for a triumph and a monument, before a rival faction has obtained possession of all the outposts, and begins to thunder under the walls of the capital. One after another, they have risen, and fallen, and pa.s.sed away, some of them for ever, and some only to rise again with more rapid strides, and then to experience a more ruinous fall, than before. The monument which was begun yesterday in honor of one successful hero, may, to-morrow, be consecrated to the victory won over him by his enemy; and then, perhaps, be thrown down to give place to another, which commemorates the overthrow of both.

How many times the government of Mexico is destined to be overturned and remodeled, before the completion of the Tampico monument, and what will be the position of the man for whose honor it was originally designed, when the column shall be ready to be placed on its pedestal, it would be hazardous to conjecture. It may not be unsafe, however, to predict, that neither this, nor any other column, or statue, erected in Mexico, will confer upon Santa Anna a greater notoriety than he now enjoys, or in any way alter the world's estimate of his true character. Impartial history has marred the beauty of many a monumental tablet, and converted that which was meant for glory, into a perpetual memorial of shame.

A few yards from the Market place is a bold bluff of rock, fronting the Panuco, from the top of which we have an extensive view of the surrounding country. Near this place, the River Tamissee, which drains the adjacent lagoons, forms its junction with the Panuco, which sweeps gracefully along from the southwest, broken and diversified by a number of low wooded islands, which disturb, but beautify its course.

On the opposite sh.o.r.e, at some distance, lies the lagoon of Pueblo Viejo, and beyond that, but within sight from this bluff, the ruins of the old town, situated on a beautiful plateau, or table land, flanked by the spires of the Cordilleras.

The low lands of the suburbs are filled with rude huts of the Indians, built chiefly of bamboo, and covered with the palm-leaf. A more squalid state of misery than is exhibited among this cla.s.s, both here and in the town, it has never fallen to my lot to witness.

Not satisfied with this distant view of the ruins of the Pueblo Viejo, I determined to form a nearer acquaintance with them, by a personal visit.

The American Consul, and his accomplished lady, very kindly accompanied me thither, in a canoe, under the guidance of an Indian. We descended the Panuco a short distance, and pa.s.sed into a bayou communicating with one of the great lagoons, near which the old town is situated. The locale is decidedly agreeable and picturesque. Though in the uplands, it lies at the foot of a steep and thickly wooded hill, which affords a variety of romantic retreats, and commanding look-outs for the surrounding country.

But, however much they might have been improved and valued in former times, they are now deserted, and forgotten. An almost death-like tranquillity reigns in the forsaken streets and environs, forming a melancholy contrast to the half European, and comparatively bustling aspect of its now more prosperous rival.

The houses are low-built, with flat roofs. The facades of some of them show, in the faded gaiety, and dubious taste of their coloring, what they were in the palmy days of the Pueblo Viejo's early glory. Many of them had court-yards and porticos. One group of old buildings, of Spanish architecture, situated near the humble church that consecrated the public square, shows many marks of its ancient grandeur, even in its present state of desolation and decay.

It is painful to stroll through the streets of a city of our own times, once full of life and bustle, but now falling into the decrepitude of a premature old age. It is like walking among the sepulchres of the living; and the few signs of life that remain, only serve to give intensity to the shadows of night that are deepening around it. Here, there was nothing to relieve the melancholy aspect of the scene. The people, both masters and slaves, were poor, listless and inactive; their dwellings were comfortless and uninviting, and their lands miserably neglected and unproductive. A death-like incubus seemed to hang on the whole place.

We traversed the whole length of the streets, through the suburbs, to visit "La Fuente," which is situated in a small dell at the foot of the hill which overhangs the town. It is a beautiful spot, ornamented with every variety of flower. Its source was concealed from view. "La Fuente" is an artificial stone reservoir, of considerable length, beautifully overshadowed with trees, from whose branches depends a kind of curtain of interwoven vines, falling in the most luxuriant festoons on every side. It is not now, as perhaps it has been in former days, a place of public resort for recreation. It is the general laundry of Tampico; and its margin is daily crowded, not with sylphs and naiads, but with a motley set of Indian women, more appropriately compared to ancient sybils, or modern gypsies. It was, altogether, the most remarkable and striking scene that had fallen under my view in my recent travels, and one that would figure well in the hands of the author of the "Twice Told Tales," or the "Charcoal Sketches."

To their notice I commend it, with free license to make what use they please of my poor description.

The sun was setting when we returned to Santa Anna de Tamaulipas. We paddled slowly away, pausing occasionally to admire--with my agreeable companions--the brilliant effect of the last rays of day light upon the lakes, woods and mountains, and the luxuriant foliage, realizing more fully than I had ever been able to do before, the rare beauty of those remarkable lines of Beattie--

Oh! how canst thou renounce the boundless store Of charms that nature to her votary yields, The warbling woodland, the resounding sh.o.r.e, The pomp of groves, and garniture of fields, All that the genial ray of morning gilds, And all that echoes to the song of even, All that the mountain's sheltering bosom shields, And all the dread magnificence of heaven-- Oh! how canst thou renounce, and hope to be forgiven!

Winding between verdant banks, through the broken channel, into the beautiful Panuco, we reached the mole before night-fall, well satisfied with the adventures of the day.

Before leaving the town, I wish to introduce to the reader two cla.s.ses of men, who are somewhat peculiar in their appearance, characters and habits, as well as somewhat important in their relations to the business of the country.

The _Rancheros_ are a mixed race of Mexican and Indian blood. They live on the Ranches, or large cattle farms, and act as drovers. They are brave, and full of life and vivacity, but profoundly ignorant of every thing beyond their immediate occupations. There is an air of independence, and a fearlessness of manner, in the Ranchero, which is quite imposing. Sallying forth on his sinewy horse, encased in leather, with the ready la.s.so at his saddle bow, he seems, though in coa.r.s.e attire, the embodiment of health, strength and agility.

The _Arrieros_, the muleteers of the country, have their peculiarities, the most striking of which, and by far the most agreeable, is, that they are honest. For this virtue they are proverbial, as indeed they should be in a land where it is scarcely known in any other cla.s.s of society. Many of them pride themselves much upon their vocation, which frequently pa.s.ses down from father to son, through several generations. They are civil, obliging and cheerful. They have, as a cla.s.s, the entire confidence of the community, and millions of property are confided to their care. Their honesty and trustworthiness remain unimpaired amid all the political changes of the country. Often as they are compelled to change masters, they serve the new with the same fidelity as the old, and a stranger, or even an enemy, as well as a friend.

Although this rigid honesty and trustworthinesss, in this cla.s.s of persons in Mexico, is worthy of remark and of all praise, I take pleasure in stating, from my own personal observation, that it is not peculiar to that country. The same cla.s.s of persons in many parts of the United States, are distinguished for the same virtue. Our common stage drivers and mail carriers, although their employment is of the hardiest character, and their general a.s.sociations such as to expose them to many of the worst temptations of taverns, bar-rooms, and other kindred influences, are as well known for their integrity and faithfulness, in the trusts committed to them, as for their skill and fearlessness in the management of their teams.

It is the common custom, in many parts of the country, to employ these men in conveying remittances from the interior, to the banks, or merchants, in the seaport towns. Thousands and thousands of dollars are daily sent in this way, without receipt or acknowledgement, and with perfect reliance on the faithfulness of the carrier. And I do not remember an instance, in that part of the country where I have been most acquainted, in which this confidence has been misplaced. If the Mexican _Arriero_ is deserving of more credit for his virtue, in consequence of the inferior tone of morals in the community about him, we would not willingly deprive him of it. At the same time, we confess to a patriotic pride in finding, for every thing that is "lovely and of good report" in foreign lands, an offset of something equally good, or better, at home.

CHAPTER VII.

CANOE VOYAGE UP THE RIVER PANUCO. RAMBLES AMONG THE RUINS OF ANCIENT CITIES.