VEEA CEUZ. 



13a 



less, after the scourge has passed the place is not so unhealthy as might be supposed, 

 and the whites who have escaped a first attack may consider themselves acclima- 

 tised. They run even less risks than those settled on the plateau. By sinking wells 

 in the sandy soil, water is reached at a depth of three or four feet, but mostly con- 

 taminated by filtration from the neighbouring marshes ; hence good water has had 

 to be brought by aqueducts from the River Jaraapa. Till recently there was not 

 sufficient to water the streets or flush the sewers, and all the scavengering was 

 left to the zojnlotes, or carrion vultures, which were protected by police regulations. 



Fig. 54. — Feoh Vera Cettz to Anton Lizardo. 

 Scxle 1 : 240,000. 



96°io 



- 6 IMiles. 



On the Gulf of Mexico, Vera Cruz is the historical city in a pre-eminent sense. 

 Here the Spaniards first landed at the time of the discovery and conquest ; here 

 also they still held out for four years after losing their possessions. In 1838 the 

 Prince de Joinville seized the fortress of San Juan d'Ulua (UUoa), which stands 

 on a low island over half a mile from the city, and which was again occupied by 

 the Americans in 1847 and by the French in 1862. In those times the possession 

 of this stronghold cut the Mexicans off from all political and commercial relations 

 with the rest of the world. At present a mere prison crumbling to ruins, it is 



