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MEVAGISST 



MEXICO. 



733 



14,000 volumes, the cavalry barracks, the military stores, the pro- 

 menades, and the great sluices, by means of which the environs can be 

 inundated, are the principal objects of notice. Verdun is famous for 

 its sugar-plums and liqueurs. Cotton- and woollen-yam, beer, and 

 leather are also manufactured. Clermont-en-Argonne, a small town of 

 about 1500 inhabitants, 14 miles W. from Verdun, on the slope of a 

 high hill, in the vicinity of extensive f jresta, was formerly fortified, 

 and the capital of a county to which it gave name. After the incorpo- 

 ration of Lorraine with France its fortifications were demolished. 

 Clermont is well fortified ; it stands on the high road from Paris to 

 Metz. Stain, a well-built town, 12 miles E. from Verdun, stands on 

 the left bank of the Omes, a feeder of the Moselle, and has a college, 

 and 2961 inhabitants, who manufacture cloth, bats, cotton cloth and 

 yam, leather, and lime. Varenna-tn-Argonne, a small place of 1600 

 inhabitants, on the left bank of the Aire, a feeder of the Aisne, 15 miles 

 W. from Verdun, deserves notice as being the place where Louis XVI., 

 his queen, and two children, in their flight from Paris, were arrested, 

 on the night of the 21st of June, 1791. 



The department forms the see of the Bishop of Verdun, is included 

 in the jurisdiction of the High Court and within the limits of the 

 University-Academy of Nancy, and belongs to the 5th Military Divi- 

 sion, of which Metz is headquarters. It returns two members to the 

 Legislative Assembly of the French empire. 



(Dictionnaire de la France; Annuaire povr TAn 1853 y Official 

 Papert.) 

 MEVAGISST. [Cornwall.] 

 MEWAR. [HuiDUSTAU.] 



MEXICO, Republic of, occupies the north-western portion of the 

 isthmus which connects North and South America, and the south- 

 western extremity of North America, and lies between 15° and 33° 

 N. lat, and 87° and 117° W. long. It is bounded K by the Gulf of 

 Mexico ; S.E. by the British colony of Belize or British Honduras, 

 and the republic of Guatemala ; S.W. and W. by the Pacific Ocean, 

 which here forms the long Gulf of California, the whole of which is 

 included within the limits of Mexico ; and N. by the United States of 

 Korth America, the state of California being on the north-west, that of 

 New Mexico north, and Texas north-east. By a recent treaty (known 

 W the Gadsden Treaty) Mexico transferred a large portion of her 

 northern territory to the United States on condition of receiving the 

 nun of 1 0,000,000 dollars. The boundary line between Mexico and 

 the United States as defined by this treaty, is formed on the north-east 

 by the Rio Grande del Norte from its mouth up to a league above the 

 town of El Paso del Norte (about 31° 30' N. lat), thence south-west 

 one league south of Lake Guzman to 31° N. lat. ; along which parallel 

 it is carried westward to 111° W. long., whence it ascends north-west 

 to the confluence of the Rio Gila with the Colorado ; it then descends 

 the Colorado to 32° N. lat., along which parallel it is carried to 

 the Pacific. The area of Mexico is about 1,000,000 square miles ; 

 the population within the present limits probably does not exceed 

 6,000,000. 



Stirface ; Soil ; Climate ; Riveri. — Mexico is divided by nature into 

 three regions, each of which is marked by difierent features. The first 

 comprehends the countries lying to the east of the isthmus of Tehuan- 

 tepec, which is crossed by the meridian of 95° W. long. : we shall call 

 it the Eastern Region. The second extends from the meridian of 95° 

 K. lat. in a curved line to the mouth of the Rio del Norte on the east 

 (26° N. lat.), and to the confluence of the Gila with the Colorado (32° 

 45' N. lat.) on the west : it comprises the Central and Northern 

 Region, or Anahuac The third or Lower California comprehends the 

 peninsula of that name on the west of the Gulf of California. 



The Eastern Region comprehends the peninsula of Yucatan, the 

 western declivity of the table-land of Guatemala, the plain of Tabasco, 

 and the isthmus of Tehuantepec. Along the northern and western 

 shores of the peninsula of Yucatan, there are no harbours, but only 

 roadsteads, which during the northern gales are very unsafe; bat 

 along the eastern shores there are several harbonrs. The shores are 

 sandy and fiat. The level country extends to a considerable distance 

 inland, whilst the centre of the peninsula is occupied by a long and 

 comparatively narrow table-land inclosed by two ranges of low hills. 

 The country along the Bay of Honduras is well watered, and exhibits 

 a vigorous vegetation, both in its trees, which are of heavy growth, 

 and in the great variety of its plants ; but the soil is nearly unculti- 

 vated, the scanty population being chiefly employed in cutting 

 mahogany, with fiistic and several other dye-woods. The hilly district 

 in the interior, as well as the flat country on the northern coast, has a 

 sandy soil, and spring-water is everywhere extremely scarce. The 

 vegetation is scanty ; the trees are stunted, and the plants of a languid 

 growth, except during the rainy season (from May to September) ; but 

 as the climate, though exceedingly hot, is healthy, it is much better 

 inhabited and cultivated than the eastern shores. The hills in the 

 interior grow higher towards the point where the peninsula is con- 

 nected with the table-land of Guatemala, the larger and higher portion 

 of which belongs to the state of Ouateuala. From the ridge which 

 traveiTCS this table-land the country descends rather rapidly to the 

 west, until it meets the plain of Tabasco, north of 17° N. lat. Its 

 inrfsoe being furrowed by numerous watercourses it is rather a succes- 

 sion of ridges of hills and valleys than an inclined plane. The climate 

 is in general healthy ; and according to the different elevations of the 



surface, either the productions of the West Indies, or wheat and 

 European plants are grown. 



The plain of Tabasco begins on the east, at some distance east of 

 the lagune of Terminos, and extends westward to Partida Rock, a 

 moderately elevated cape, in which a range of hills, including the 

 volcano of Tuxla, terminates (96° W. long.) on the shores of the Gulf 

 of Mexico. This plain is more than 250 miles long, and extends 

 inland from 50 to 120 miles. Its surface is level, and the soil alluvial. 

 Being very fertile, it is covered with a thick forest of heavy growth 

 but is little cultivated, being generally under water for several months 

 during the rainy season, and consequently very unhealthy. Besides 

 maize, plantains, and manioc, it produces a large quantity of cocoa 

 and some coffee. Vanilla and indigo are stated to be common in the 

 woods. The coast is generally low ; but between the lagune of 

 Terminos and the mouth of Tabasco River are the heights of San 

 Gabriel, a range of hills running east and west about 30 miles, at a 

 short distance from the shore ; and where the plain terminates on the 

 west is Cape Partida Rock, the extremity of a somewhat elevated and 

 rocky shore, which extends about 30 miles. The Laguna de Terminos 

 is about 60 miles long from north-north-east to south-south-west, and 

 30 miles wide on an average ; but in many places it has hardly 4 feet 

 of water, and the three or four channels by which it is connected with 

 the gulf are hardly passable for large boats. The plain of Tabasco is 

 watered by a considerable river, the Rio de Tabasco, and its two 

 branches the Usumasinta and the Grijalva. The Rio de Tabasco rises 

 in two branches on the eastern comer of the table-land of Guatemala, 

 and flowing in a direction generally north by west, forms a considerable 

 cataract south of 17° N. lat., where it descends from the table-land. 

 Above this waterfall it is navigable for canoes, and below it for larger 

 boats. This is also the case with its tributary, Chacamas, which rises 

 in the most northern oflsets of the table-land of Guatemala. The 

 Usumasinta joins the Rio de Tabasco a few miles above its mouth, 

 after a course of more than 300 miles. The Grijalva rises in the 

 range of high hUls in Guatemala, between the towns of Totonicapdn 

 and Gueguetendgo, and runs with many bends in a north-west direc- 

 tion, in a wide valley, until it issues from it near the isthmus of 

 Tehuantepec, where it turns to the north-cast by a bold sweep, and 

 receives the name of Rio de Tabasco. It is navigable for vessels of 

 moderate size as far as Villa Hermosa. After having joined the 

 Usumasinta, it falls into the Gulf of Mexico at Port Victoria, after a 

 course of about 350 miles. 



The plain of Tabasco occupies the northern portion and about one 

 half of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. The southern half comprehends 

 a mountain ridge and a smaller plain. The most western declivity 

 of the table-land of Guatemala assumes the form of several nearly 

 parallel ridges at about 94° W. long., which running due east and west 

 connect the last-mentioned table-land with the elevated plains of 

 Anahuaa These ridges occupy between 35 and 40 miles of the 

 isthmus. They are called Cerro Pelade, and probably do not rise 

 above 2000 feet Being entirely covered with trees of heavy growth, 

 the district is also known as the Forest of Tarifa. The southern plain, 

 or that of Tehuantepec, is about 25 miles wide, and extends along the 

 Pacific from the boundary of Guatemala to some distance west of the 

 town of Tehuantepec. It has a very hot but rather dry climate, and 

 the soil, though not distinguished by fertility, is capable of producing 

 several tropical plants. It is traversed by the river Chimalapa, which 

 descends from the Cerro Pelado, and is navigable to San Miguel de 

 Chimalapa, a distance of about 30 miles. On the same Cerro, but 

 within the northern ridges, rises the Rio Huasacualoo, which breaking 

 through some of the ridges, is joined by numerous small rivers, which 

 descend from the western declivity of the table-land of Mixtecapdn, 

 and soon becomes a powerful river, though it is not navigable on 

 account of rapids or cataracts. As soon as it enters the plain of 

 Tabasco its course is gentle, and there is no further obstruction to the 

 navigation ; but its mouth, which is situated in the south-western 

 recess of the Gulf of Mexico, is choked by a bar and shoals. 



The Central and Northern Region of the Mexican States may be 

 called Anahuac, though this name was used before the Spanish con- 

 quest to designate only the country as far north as 21°. In its natural 

 features it exhibits great variety. The eastern coast is low and sandy 

 from the Punta de Rocca Partida (18° 40' iSf. Lit.) to the mouth of 

 the Rio del Norte, about 25° 45' N. lat. It runs on in a continuous 

 line, without being broken by inlets or bays ; and consequently con- 

 tains no harbours except those formed by the mouths of the rivers ; 

 and even these are only unsafe roadsteads, as the rivers of this coast 

 (between 18° 40' and 22° N. lat.), with the exception of the Rio 

 Alvarado, have little water except, in the rainy season. North of 22° 

 N. lat., several rivers of considerable size fall into the sea, but except 

 at their mouths the coast cannot be approached by vessels, as it is 

 lined by long, low, and nan-ow sand-banks, which he parallel to, and 

 from two to six miles from it. The country adjacent to the shores, 

 and from three to ten miles inland, is very low, but is defended from 

 the sea by sand-hills rising from 50 to 200 feet high. The soil is 

 sandy and almost destitute of vegetation. At the back of this low 

 sandy tract the country rises gradually to the foot of an extremely 

 steep ascent, which constitutes the eastern edge of the extensive table- 

 land farther west. The country which lies between the shores and 

 the steep ascent is only about 00 miles wide south of 22° N. lat. ; 



