MERIDA VERA CRUZ. 



315 



grecques and labyrinths in mosaic, resembling the orna- ciIAP.xxiv 

 mcnts of Tuscan vases. It consists of three edifices, and — 

 is moreover distinguished from otlier ancient Mexican 

 buildings by six porphyritic columns which support the 

 ceiling of a vast hall. These pillars have neither base 

 nor capital ; each exhibits a single block of stone, and 

 the height is about sixteen feet. Oaxaca, the principal 

 town, contained in the year 1792 twenty-four thousand 

 inhabitants. Some of the mines ai-e very productive. 



8. The intendancy of Merida comprehends the great intendency 

 peninsula of Yucatan, situated between the Bay of of Merida. 

 Campeachy and that of Honduras. It is bounded on 



the south by Guatimala, on the east b}' the province of 

 Vera Cruz, and on the west by the English establish- 

 ments, which extend from the mouth of the Rio Hondo 

 to the north of the Bay of Hanover. This peninsula is 

 a vast plain intersected by a chain of hills ; and though 

 one of the warmest, it is at the same time one of the 

 healthiest pi-ovinces of equinoctial America. The latter 

 circumstance is to be attributed to the extreme dryness 

 of the soil and atmosphere. No European grain is 

 produced ; but maize, jatropha, and dioscorea, are culti- 

 vated in abundance. The Hcematoxylon or Campeachy 

 wood abounds in several districts. Merida, the capital, 

 has a population of 10,000. 



9. The government of Vera Cruz extends along the 

 Mexican Gulf from the Rio Baraderas to the great 

 river of Panuco. The western part forms the declivity 

 of the Cordilleras of Anahuac, whence, amid the regions 

 of perpetual snow, the inhabitants descend in a day to 

 the burning plains of the coast. In this district are 

 displayed in a remarkable manner the gradations of 

 vegetation, from the level of the sea to those elevated 

 summits which are visited with perennial frost. In 

 ascending, the traveller sees the physiognomy of the 

 country, the aspect of the sky, the form of the plants, 

 the figures of animals, the manners of the inhabitants 

 and the kind of cultivation followed by them, assuming 



Government 

 ofVera Cruz 



