1 6 A GUIDE TO MEXICO. 



magnificent aqueduct, much finer and grander than the two which supply the city of 

 Mexico. Its arches curve above columns 50 or 60 feet high, — so high that the whole 

 structure has a light and graceful appearance. It was built by the Marquis de 

 Valero del Aguila, at his own cost, during the reign of the viceroys. It is two miles 

 in length, and 90 feet in height, and connects with a tunnel in the neighboring hills, 

 bringing pure water to the city from a point five miles away. As Queretaro lies at 

 an altitude of 7,000 feet above the sea, it enjoys a delightful and temperate climate, 

 and is surrounded by the vegetation and fruits of the temperate zone. It is built 

 upon, and is surrounded by, hills; and the views, both of and from the city, are ex- 

 ceptionally fine. Of the approach to the city. Bishop Haven writes : " The city ever 

 allures us on. Its towers and domes glisten in the dying light, half hidden among 

 abundant foliage. The hollow of the hills looks small from this height, and the 

 city seems embossed on the bottom of a bowl of radiant green. A farther descent 

 brings the aqueduct to view, — the stateliest Roman that is extant in America; and 

 there is no grander in Italy, nor one so grand. The valley lies about you full of 

 verdure : never did any valley look lovelier. Hundreds of acres of wheat and 

 barley and lucern, greenest of the green, seem in a race for superiority in color ; while 

 the trees are not behind in beauty. Flowers of richest hue bloom in the gardens ; 

 and the city stands forth, with its glittering towers and domes, a spectacle long to 

 be remembered. It would be hard to find the equal in beauty of this combmation 

 of high, bold cliffs, ranges of hills, velvet meadows, and stately churches." 



There are cotton-mills here that may vie with those of Lowell, in size, and number 

 of spindles and operatives. One, the "Hercules," employs i,Soo hands and 18,000 

 spindles. These cotton-factories, surrounded by large and beautiful gardens, where 

 bloom rare flowers, and choice fruits ripen, are models of their class. They should 

 be visited by every one desiring to witness the industry of the native Indian when 

 regularly employed, and the effect of capital in the hands of enterprising Mexicans. 



The alameda, or public garden, here is very pleasant; and there are many old 

 convents and churches worthy a visit. An ancient city, on the site of one built by 

 the former Indian inhabitants, Queretaro also has an added interest as being the 

 scene of two important historical events. Here the treaty of peace between Mexi- 

 co and the United States was finally ratified by the the Mexican Congress in 1848. 

 Here, also, was sounded the death-knell of the empire of Maximilian, when that 

 pseudo emperor lost his life. It is not necessary to recount the events of that 

 month of May, 1867, when Maximilian, his forces surrounded by the invincible army 

 of the North, sustained siege in this city of Queretaro. The Hill of Bells, El 

 Cerro de las Campanas, south-west of the city, indicates the point at which Maxi- 

 milian was captured, and where he was subsequently shot, in company with Miramon 

 and Mejia. He had fortified the old convent of Las Cruces, an immense structure 

 with massive walls ; and here, later, he was confined, and from a cell in this build- 

 ing led out to be shot. Las Cruces is now in ruins; and the town, especially in 

 the outskirts, still shows, in roofless houses and in the marks of cannon-balls, the 

 ravages of the war. The streets of Queretaro are narrow and winding ; the houses 

 of stone, low, massive, and bright in color; and here and there are little plazas 

 adorned with flowers and tropical shrubbery. Though not rich in mines, the 

 State of Queretaro contains celebrated deposits of opals, not far from the capital. 

 A rich and broad valley extends beyond, filled with productive cornfields. Pass- 

 ing through this, we reach, at a distance from the city of Mexico of 191 kilometres, 



