244 



MEXICO. 



buildings, but the hieroglyphics, of the Aztecs, so closely re- 

 semble those of the Egyptians, that there appears every reason 

 to suppose they were derived from the same source. 



Among the natural 



curiosities of Mexico, one 

 of the most remarkable 

 is that of the rock- 

 bridge in the valley Icon- 

 onzo, which might, from 

 its form — until closely 

 examined — be mistaken 

 for a work of art. 



The great mass of the 

 population of Mexico 

 consists of the descend- 

 ants of those tribes which 

 inhabited the country at 

 the time of the Spanish 

 invasion. The lano-uao^e 

 most extensively spoken, 

 as well by the civilized 

 as the savage tribes, is 

 still that of the Aztecs. 

 The people of pure 

 European blood are sup- 

 posed not to amount to 

 thirty thousand. About a 

 quarter of the population 

 consists of Creoles, descendants of Europeans and Indians known 

 as Mestizos, while there is a small number of Mulattoes, and 

 another race, the Zambos — descendants of Africans and Indians. 



KATURAL BRIDGE IN THE VALLEY OF ICON'OXZO. 



