116 MEXICO, CENTEAL AMERICA, WEST INDIES. 



densely-peopled region in the republic. Here the population is in the proportion 

 of about 64 to the square mile, so that the centre of gravity of the Mexican 

 nation has not been shifted since the epoch of Toltec civilisation, that is to say, 

 for a period of at least a thousand years. This centre, however, could scarcely be 

 removed to anv other region, such as Durango and Zacatecas, possessing greater 

 mineral resources, or Michoacan and Oaxaca, enjoying the advantage of a more 

 exuberant vegetation ; for the Anahuac tableland has the still greater advantage 

 of beino- the natural converging-point of all the routes coming from the north 

 between the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains, while at the same time com- 

 manding like a citadel both slopes of the country. 



The State of Queretaro, where rise the first headstreams of the Panuco, is of 

 relatively small extent. Its northern section, also, where are situated the towns 

 of Jalpan, Tolimau, and Cadereyta, is but sparsely peopled, most of the inhabitants 

 beino- concentrated in the southern division, where begin on the one hand the 

 great plain watered by the Bajio tributary of the Rio Lerma, and on the other the 

 headwaters of the Rio San Juan, a main branch of the Panuco. In this valley lies 

 the town of San Juan del Rio, a delightful " city of gardens." Queretaro, which 

 gives its name to the state, is situated at an altitude of 7,000 feet, close to the 

 waterparting between the two slopes. Its foundation is attributed by historians 

 to the Otomi people ; but although it is said to date from the middle of the 

 fifteenth century, all its buildings are of Spanish origin. Of these the most 

 remarkable is an aqueduct of seventy- four arches, rising about 80 feet above the 

 ravine. A reservoir, recently constructed above the city, contains a volume of 

 over 35,000,000 cubic feet of water. Queretaro is one of the industrial towns 

 of Mexico, being noted especially for its soaps, cigars, and cotton yarns ; the 

 spinning-mills occupy thousands of native artisans. About half a mile west 

 of the city is situated the Cerro de las Campanas, on the slope of which is the 

 little monument of three stones, indicating the spot where the ill-fated emperor 

 Maximilian and his two generals, Miramon and Mejia, were shot in 1867. 



The state bearing the name of Hidalgo, in memory of the priest who first 

 summoned the Mexicans to rise against Spain, is of recent formation. Here the 

 towns, such as Zimapan, Jacala, Mejctitlan, and Huejutla, the ancient city of the 

 Huaxtec nation, all stand at considerable distances one from the other. Thus 

 the population is centred chiefly in the extensive fertile plains of the south, which 

 are enclosed by a highly productive hilly mineral region. Here lies, not far from 

 Actopan and the fantastic "Organ" Mountains, the capital, Pachuca, an ancient 

 city, now connected by a branch line with the Mexican railway system ; in the 

 neighbourhood are the gold and silver mines, which were already worked by the 

 natives in pre-Columbian times. The mining district of Regla, between Pachuca 

 and Atotonilco, has become famous under the name of Real del Monte, recently 

 changed to BJineral del Monte. Vast quantities of silver were extracted from these 

 deposits before the mines were ruined by inundations and the burning of the 

 surrounding forests. Since the war of independence, the works have been 

 reopened by Cornish master miners, who now employ thousands of native hands. 



