CHAPTER XII.

STATE OF

POSITION

BOUNDARIES

EXTENT

CHIHUAHUA CHARACTERISTICS-RIVERS LAKES-INDIANS-DIVISIONS

CLIMATE- PRODUCTIONS CATTLE ESTATES -MINT MINES -PRINCIPAL TOWNS CHIHUAHUA - EL PASO DEL NORTE MILITARY IMPORTANCE - EL PASO WINE, ETC.- - ANTIQUITIESINDIAN RAVAGES-THE BOLSON DE MAPIMI MEXICAN MODES OF TRAVELLING AND TRANSPORTATION - LITERA

MULES

ARRIEROS- CONDUCTA -COACHES-FREIGHT WAGONS-MEXIWANT OF EXPLORATION

CAN HABIT OF HOME-STAYING

MODERN ADVANCEMENT.

THE STATE OF CHIHUAHUA.

The State of Chihuahua, containing an area of 17,1514 square leagues, or 119,169 English square miles, and reaching from 26° 53′ 36" to 32° 57' 43" north latitude, is bounded on the north by New Mexico, east by Coahuila and Texas, south by Durango, south-west by Sinaloa, and north-west by Sonora. The great mountain chain of Mexico, which is the connecting link between the Rocky Mountains of the north and the Andes of the south, is here known as the Sierra Madre, and occupies chiefly the western part of the State, where its elevations attain a vast height, and at length, descend abruptly, cut by deep barrancas or ravines, until they are lost in the plains of Sonora and Sinaloa. Mexican authorities state the highest point of the Sierra Madre, at the Peaks of Jesus Maria, to be 8,441 feet above the level of the sea. The greater portion of Chihuahua consequently lies, like Durango, upon the plateau of Mexico, and only a small part upon the western slope of the Sierra Madre. The loftier elevations of the Cordillera, as it passes upward from Durango, lean towards the west until they pass the centre of Chihuahua, and then bending once more, nearly north, pursue their way through New Mexico into the remote wilderness of our Union. Towards the east these steeps become gradually depressed until they are lost in the vast and uncultivated regions of the Bolson de Mapini, whose elevation above the sea is still 3,800 feet, according to the measurement of Dr. Wislizenius.

RIVERS LAKES-INDIANS-DIVISIONS.

335

Seventeen rivers and streams flow through the territory of this State. The Rio Bravo, or Rio Grande del Norte; the Rio Conchas; Florida; Chihuahua; Tonachi; Llanos; Casas Grandes ; San Buenaventura; Carmen; Santa Isabel; Pasesiochi; Mulatos; Chinapas; Parral; San Pedro; Batopilas; and Rio Grande de Bavispe. The lakes or lagunes are those of San Martin; Guzman; Patos, or Candelaria; Encinillas; and Castilla. The river Nasas, which rises in Durango debouches in the Lake of Cayman, in the Bolson de Mapimi. The climate resembles that of the adjoining State of Durango. In the year 1834, the population, according to official statistics was 145,182; at present, it is estimated at from 150,000 to 160,000, which number would give about 1.3 for each English square mile. This is probably the actual number of inhabitants within the State, exclusive of Indians and some wild dwellers among the mountains who were not comprised in the census of 1833. Large numbers of aborigines occupy the lonelier portions of Chihuahua. Tribes of Tepehuanés, Llanos, Acotlames, Cocoyames and a few remnants of the Aztecs are found within its borders. In the Bolson de Mapimi, and on the borders of the mountain ranges of the Chanáte, El Diabolo Puerco, and Pilares, swarm numbers of the Apaches Mescaleros and Farones, who are often engaged in war with the savage and robber tribes of Cumanches, whose constant inroads into the Mexican territory are a source of incessant annoyance and insecurity to the people of the frontier. In the ravines and valleys of the Sierra de los Mimbres, in the northwest of the State, the Apache Mimbreños are found, while further south, in the wild and deep dells of Tararécua and Santa Sinforosa various bands of the Tarahuamares still pursue their hunter-life in perfect freedom.

There is some doubt, in consequence of the conflict of authorities, as to the divisions of the State of Chihuahua. According to the Noticias Estadisticas of Señor Escudero, published in 1834, it was composed of four districts: Chihuahua, Hidalgo, Paso del Norte, and Guadalupe y Calvo,—in the first of which are the partidos of Aldama, Cosihuiriachi, Papigochi, and Jesus Maria de Rosales ;in the second, the partidos of Allende and Jimenez ;-in the third, the partidos of Galeanas and Janos;-and in the fourth, those of Batopilas and Balleza or Tepehuanes. According to an article published by the same writer in the fourth volume of the Museo Mexicano, in 1844, he apparently entertains the opinion that the same divisions still continue; but, if the authority of another and very positive correspondent of the same work is to be relied on in refer

336

CLIMATE- PRODUCTIONS -CATTLE ESTATES.

ence to the last mentioned period, Chihuahua was divided into the partidos of Aldama, Allende, Balleza, Batopilas, Concepcion, Cosihuiriachi, Galeana, Hidalgo, Jimenez, Paso, and Rosales, formerly Tapacolmes.

Nature has endowed Chihuahua with a pleasant and temperate climate and a fertile soil, which is said by those who are best acquainted with the State to be capable of producing abundantly, if the county is ever freed from savage inroads and filled with an industrious population of agriculturists. The forests, the streams, the valleys and the plains, all yield their tributes of valuable articles of trade. Vast herds of cattle are fed upon the large haciendas de ganado; and the mountains are veined with the precious deposits which form the wealth of so many other Mexican States. The prompt settlement of the frontier, and the security of its inhabitants against the Indians, under the protection of armed forces by the conterminous Republics, seem to be all that is requisite for the development of the fine natural resources of this hitherto neglected State. Field and garden cultivation is not much attended to by the present inhabitants; but wherever farming operations are carried on in suitable spots, corn, wheat, barley, frijoles, and all the finest fruits, plants and vegetables, are found to repay bountifully the husbandman's labor. Even indigo and cotton are found growing wild in some of the districts, notwithstanding the proximity of the mountain region, and the bleaker exposure of the soil.

At El Paso del Norte, the right bank of the Rio Grande, is covered for a distance of seven leagues with excellent vineyards, whose capital fruit produces an abundance of wine, which is greedily purchased in the markets of the adjacent States. In the neighborhood of Aldama, Allende, and of many other towns, the grape is also successfully cultivated, and the liquor produced is highly esteemed by competent judges. But the chief sources of the present prosperity of Chihuahua are its mines and cattle. The best data in our possession assign to this State 56 large estates, upon all of which about 70,000 horses, 190,000 horned cattle, and 550,000 head of sheep, swine and goats are constantly fed. The silver, gold and copper mines have been in former years exceedingly productive, and even in 1844, the mint of Chihuahua, struck $61,632 in gold, and 290,000 in silver. In 1814, the coinage of the same institution reached the sum of $1,818,604 in silver, after which period it ceased operating until 1832; but since then its annual emission has never exceeded $544,244 in coins of both the precious metals. Gold was first struck at this mint in 1841, and in 1842 it sent into circulation

MINT-MINES-PRINCIPAL TOWNS

CHIHUAHUA. 337

$164,744, since which its issue has sensibly decreased. The best copper mines at present known, are those of Santa Rita, near the union of the Rio Florida with the Rio Conchas. Veins of iron, cinnabar, lead, sulphur, coal, and nitre have been found and explored; but owing to the disturbed and insecure condition of the State, are altogether abandoned.

The chief mining districts and mineral deposits are at Allende or San Bartolomé; Santa Barbara; Chihuahua; Cosihuiriachi; Santa Eulalia; Jesus Maria; Loreto; Moris; Mulatos; Minas Nuevas ; Parral; San Pedro; El Refugio; Santa Rita; Sierra Rica; Batopilas; Urique y Ximenes, or as it is at present called, Guajuquilla. A considerable portion of the product of these mines may have been extracted from the Mexican Republic, before they were coined, by the inland trade with the United States, which has been carried on extensively for many years. The gold dust, especially, both of Chihuahua and New Mexico, has formed the principal return for American merchandize; and thus the diminution of the Chihuahuan coinage may be partially accounted for. Nevertheless we are informed by the best authorities, as well as by the statistics of the mint, that the mines of this State have been negligently wrought for some years past by the unsettled inhabitants of the frontier.

The chief towns in the State are the capital, Chihuahua, situated 4,640 feet above the level of the sea, in 28° 38′ north latitude and 106° 30′ west longitude from Greenwich, containing a population of from 12,000 to 15,000. It lies in a beautiful valley opening towards the north, and hemmed in, on the other sides, by the arms of the Sierra Madre. The city is regularly built, on wide, clean streets, with many handsome and convenient houses, plentifully supplied with water, which is brought to the town by an aqueduct extending 6,533 varas. The plaza, or public square, is quite imposing. Its spacious area is adorned with a fountain and walks, with benches and pillars of white porphyry. Three sides of this square are occupied with public edifices and stores, while on the fourth is the cathedral.

The other towns are San Pedro de Batopilas, a mining post on the western slope of the Cordillera, in a deep dell; - San José del Parral, at the eastern foot of the Sierra Madre on the southern limit of Chihuahua, about eighty leagues east of Batopilas, containing about 5,000 inhabitants; Valle de San Bartolomé, on the road from Chihuahua to Durango; Allende, with 11,000 inhabitants; Santa Rosa de Cosihuiriachi, with 3,000; and various other villages and Presidios of lesser note.

EL PASO DEL NORTE-MILITARY IMPORTANCE.

338. One of the most important towns in the State of Chihuahua, since the annexation of a part of Mexico to the United States by the treaty of 1848, is El Paso del Norte. According to the observations of Dr. Wislizenius, it lies in 31° 45′ 50′′ north latitude, 3,814 feet above the level of the sea, on the Rio Grande, distant about 340 miles from Santa Fé, and about 240 from the town of Chihuahua. The Rio Grande or Rio del Norte, having escaped the mountain pass, runs here in an open fertile field, at the beginning of which El Paso is situated. The town is principally built on the right bank of the river while a few houses are on the left. Stretched out along the stream for many miles, all its dwellings are surrounded and embosomed in groves, gardens, orchards, vineyards and cultivated fields as far as the eye can reach. The position of this town is an important one, inasmuch as the road by it is the only practicable. one for wagons leading from Santa Fé to Chihuahua. A circuitous road might, in case of necessity, be made from the right bank of the river, on the northern end of the Jornado del Muerto, to the copper mines near the sources of the Gila, and thence by Carmen to Chihuahua; but it is by far more mountainous, winding and difficult than the direct road through El Paso which has long been the only highway between New Mexico and Chihuahua. Besides these advantages of commercial intercourse, the point is deemed of the greatest value as a military post, in which a well provided garrison could hold out against a ten-fold stronger force. The population of the town proper, and of the line of settlements extending about twenty miles down the river is estimated at from ten to twelve thousand.

Besides these important considerations, the valley of El Paso is probably the most fertile country along the river. In addition to maize and wheat the inhabitants raise a large quantity of fruits, such as apples, pears, figs, quinces, peaches, &c., but especially an excellent grape from which the celebrated El Paso wine is prepared, and a liquor is made called by the Americans "Pass Whiskey." The grape which is so extensively cultivated is of Spanish origin; it is blue, very rich and juicy, and produces a strong, sweet, southern, straw-colored wine. For want of barrels, the natives preserve the liquor in earthern jars or in ox skins. The wine has a strong body, and when mellowed by age, has the flavor of Malaga. Besides the blue grape, a white species is also raised, having the flavor of the Muscadine, but it is believed that it is not used for wine.

1 Dr. Wislizenius's Memoir, &c., &c., 1848, p. 41.