MEXICO. 



187 



Mexico, 



Inhibi- 

 uat*. 



I.-dlaas. 



'e Ian. 



has 

 and which is 

 and formerly 



But by the 



the climate is hot and humid, there is so great mortali- 

 ty, chiefly among the children and young people, by 

 i fever*, (which is greatly aggravated by the 

 practice among the native tribes of abandoning the in- 

 fected.) th.it the population makes no sensible pr<>- 

 gress ; but, in the colder region*, which compose the 

 greatest part of the kingdom, the proportion of births 

 to deaths is as 190, or even as 200, to 100 ; and the 

 average over the whole country as 170 to 100. From 

 a variety of data, Huraboldt estimates the whole popu- 

 lation in Mexico, in 180S, at more than 6,500,000. 

 The most destructive checks to the population are the 

 nnaU-poz, which used to produce dreadful ravages 

 among the Indians, whose constitution seems to be ill 

 adapted for cutaneous diseases ; a kind of plague called 

 marlazakuitl, which appears at intervals of 100 year*, 

 and spreads its ravages over the coldest and driest regions, 

 but never affects the white inhabitant* or their descen- 

 dants ; tearetly of proputoiw, sometiir 

 to famine, when any great drought or 

 damaged the crop of maize or 

 always attended by epidemical 

 the compulsory labour* in the 



introduction of the cow-pox, the progress of agricul- 

 ture, and the abolition of the miia, or compulsion of 

 miner*, these check* are greatly abated, and the gene- 

 ral population greatly on the increase. The addition 

 ma& to the uimber of inhabitants in New Spain by the 

 arrival of new colonists from Europe, doe* not exceed, 

 ear* M. Humboldt, 8i)0 individuals annually. 



The Mexican population, like that of the other Spa- 

 n:-!i colonies, consists of four greet cast*, vis. the 

 Whiten, the Indian*, the Negroes, and the people of 

 mixed extraction. But the Ant dee* is subdivided 

 into two race*, vis. the individuals born in Europe ; 

 and the Spanish Creole*, or white* of European extrac- 

 tion, born in America. The last is subdivided into 

 three races, vis. the Mestizo*, or descendants of whites 

 and Indians ; the Mulattoee, or descendant* of white*) 

 and negroes ; and the /ambus, or descendant* of ne- 

 groes and Indian*. The Indians or indigenous Ame- 

 rican*, excluding those who have any mixture . 

 ropean or African blood, have considerably increased 

 during the last SO year* ; and constitute, in general, 

 about two-fifths of the whole population in New 

 Spain. In some districts, a* in the four intendancies 

 of Guanaxuato, Valladolid, Oexace, end La Puebla, 

 they amount even to three-tilth*. This race are rarely 

 to be found in the north of Mexico, and hardly ever 

 met with in the provincial intemas. Among these 

 . thrre must originally have been many different tribes ; 

 a*, besides an immense mejibsi of dulcet*, there are 

 twenty distinct languages still spoken among them ; 

 fourteen of which have been reduced to grammars and 

 dictionaries, vis. the Mexican or Aztec, the Otomite, 

 the Tara*c, the Zapotec, the Mutec, the Maye or 

 Yucatan, the Totonac, the Popolouc, the Matlaxing, 

 the Hoastec, the Mixed, the Caquiquel, the Taraumar, 

 the Tepehuan, anil the Cora. Of these, the t. 

 most widely diffused, extending through a line of -Kxi 

 league*, from the 37" of north latitude to the Like of 

 Nicaragua; and the second i* next in point of extent. 

 These Indians in general bear a resemblance to those 

 who inhabit Canada, Florida, Peru, and Brazil, in 

 their swerthy copper colour, flat smooth glossy hair, 

 mall beard, long eye, with the corn, r dir.-it. d up. 

 wards towards the temples; prominent cheek-bone*, 

 thick lip*, a squat body, an expression of gentleness in 

 tie mouth, contrasted with a gloomy and Kvere look. 



The Indians of Mew Spain have even a more swarthy 

 complexion than the inhabitants of the warmest cli- 

 mates of South America, even though the former are 

 clothed, while the latter are quite naked. The Mexi- 

 cans, particularly those of the Aztec and Otomite 

 races, have also more beard than the Indians of South 

 America ; and this would seem to be generally the case 

 in proportion as they are removed from the equator. 

 They are remarkably free from every kind of deformi- 

 ty, (which some writers ascribe to the great simplicity 

 in which their ancestors had lived for so long a pe- 

 riod;) and in those districts where the goitre, or tu- 

 mour in the thyroid gland, prevails, the Indians, and 

 generally their descendants the Mestizoes, are free from 

 that affection. This freedom from natural deformities 

 is more extraordinary among an agricultural rice, than 

 among the hunting and warlike tribes, in whose situ- 

 ation the feeble and deformed are more likely to perish 

 or to be exposed in their infancy, and may therefore 

 be considered as more closely connected with their 

 peculiar constitution and mode of life. They are like- 

 wise a lunj-lived race, particularly those who are un- 

 der European dominion ; and would attain a still more 

 advanced age, if they did not weaken their constitu- 

 tion* by intoxicating liquor*. This i* particularly the 

 case with those who inhabit the valley of Mexico, and 

 the environ* of Puebla and Tlascala, where the agaue 

 (of which the pulque or native wine is made,) is cul- 

 tivated one great scale; and likewise in the warm 

 countries on the coast, where the sugar-cane is grown. 

 The marks of old age, however, are rarely observed 

 among them ; as their heads never become grey, and 

 their skin is little subject to wrinkles. It is not un- 

 common in Mexico, In the temperate zone of the Cor- 

 dillera, to meet with natjves, particularly women, 

 who have reached 100 yesr* of age, and who still re- 

 tain their mueular strength entire. In the present 

 degraded state of these native tribes, it is not possible 

 to ascertain the genuine character of the race, which 

 must unquestionably have suffered no small deteriora- 

 tion In- the extinction of the higher ranks, the destruc- 

 tion of the ancient sources of knowledge, and the in- 

 sulated and oppressed condition in which they are held. 

 The Mexican Indian, in his present state, discovers no 

 vivacity of manner or activity of mind, but i* grave, 

 melancholic, and silent, unless when he is under the 

 influence of intoxicating liquors. Concealment of his 

 motives and feelings, even in matters of indifference, 

 i* one of his leading characteristic* ; and as the pro- 

 gress of the passions is never discerned in his features, 

 he appears (when he is excited) to pats from the ut- 

 most stillness of mind to the most violent commotion 

 of spirit. The descendants of the ancient republicans 

 of Tlascala still discover a considerable degree of en- 

 ergy and even of haughtiness in their character, and 

 particularly among the pastoral tribes or Indios Bravo*, 

 (as the Spaniards call those who are not properly reduced 

 under their dominion,) much more nohlene** of mind 

 end force of character are observable; but the agricul- 

 tural Indian, or Mexican peasant, is patiently submis- 

 sive under the vexations of the whites ; and opposes 

 them only by the resources of cunning, under the ap- 

 pearance of the most stupid apathy. In their intellec- 

 tual character they appear as :f altogether destitute of 

 imagination ; but alter a little cultivation, discover 

 great facility of apprehension, a talent for seizing the 

 ininuteit distinctions, and a power of reasoning with 

 remarkable coolness and me;: 1 In the imitative 

 art*, and purely mechanical operations, they display a 



Mexico. 



