CLIMATE OF SAN BLAS. 



57 



said, that in time we would see our error, and 

 yield to the true faith 



An amusing instance occurred one day, that gave 

 us a practical lesson, which we did not fail to turn 

 to account, on the necessity of attending to the pre- 

 judices of the populace. An American merchant- 

 ship arrived at San Bias with a cargo for sale. 

 Some difficulties at the custom-house prevented 

 her unloading for a few days : in the meanwhile, 

 a few small articles found their way on shore, and 

 amongst others, several pairs of shoes, which were 

 exposed in the market. These shoes, like many 

 other kinds of American goods, bore the stamp of 

 an eagle on the sole. As the Mexicans, about a 

 month before, had established themselves into an 

 independent Imperial state, of which the eagle 

 was the emblem, the San Blasanians sapiently 

 conceived that the North Americans, in placing 

 an eagle on the sole of their shoes, meant to imply 

 their contempt of the country, by trampling its 

 national insignia under foot ! A vast commotion 

 was raised in the course of a few minutes, — all 

 business was put a stop to, — the shops and houses 

 were shut up, and a riot ensued, such as we had 

 not witnessed before, and had never expected to 

 see amongst a race in general so tranquil. 



The Illustrious Ayuntamiento were speedily as- 

 sembled, and, after much grave discussion, a de- 

 spatch was written to the commandant on this im- 

 portant subject. However ridiculous he must, of 

 course, have considered the whole affair, he could 

 not appease the ferment, without directing a com- 

 mission to examine the American ship, and to 

 inquire into and report upon the matter. The 

 commissioners, accordingly, went on board in great 

 state. When they commenced their survey, they 

 were thunderstruck with the multitude of eagles 

 that everywhere met their eyes : on the guns — on 

 the sails — on the sailors' jackets — on everything, 

 in short, was stamped an eagle ; and they returned 

 to the shore half distracted with the sight of the 

 imperial bird. The populace were eventually 

 pacified, and order gradually restored ; but the 

 original impression left by the shoes was never 

 totally removed, and the crew of the ship were 

 ever afterwards viewed with jealousy and dis- 

 trust. 



This is national or political bigotry : but it is of 

 the same family as religious, or rather superstitious 

 bigotry, which is carried to a greater extent in 

 that part of the world than I have seen anywhere 

 else. I became well acquainted with a priest at 

 San Bias, a rational man on some points, but who 

 often entertained me with relations of the nume- 

 rous miracles which he himself had actually wit- 

 nessed, and therefore, as he repeatedly told me, 

 he, of course, most sincerely believed. He was a 

 man of great influence amongst the inhabitants of 

 the town, who gave implicit credit to every one 

 of these stories ; and it was really a melancholy 

 sight to see the old man leading his whole congre- 

 gation along with him in the wildest absurdities, 

 to most of which he bore personal testimony from 

 the pulpit. He was a deep speculator also in the 

 mines, and being very credulous on every subject, 

 was easily led astray, and pillaged by profligate 

 agents, who wrought upon his mind by absurd 

 prognostics of approaching riches. He had long 

 wearied out the patience of all his friends, by his 

 prosing ; and I observed, that he no sooner com- 



menced the subject, by the slightest allusion to a 

 mine, than his audience immediately moved off : 

 he was therefore enchanted to have a new and 

 ready listener. He showed me the plans and 

 sections of his mines, and the letters of his agents, 

 by which, though unacquainted with the subject, 

 I saw at a single glance that he was their dupe : 

 but it would have been an ungracious and, I sus- 

 pect, a vain attempt, to have tried to make him 

 sensible of this. He possessed considerable know- 

 ledge of the habits of the lower classes ; and, as I 

 found much pleasure in his conversation on this 

 account, I was frequently in his house. The inti- 

 macy which sprung up between us, I have no 

 doubt contributed essentially to the quiet which 

 we enjoyed at San Bias ; and I encouraged it 

 more than I might otherwise have done, from a 

 conviction, that if we had got into any scrape, no 

 one could have extricated us so well as this good 

 father. There was something, also, very primi- 

 tive in his credulity ; a sort of childish and ami- 

 able simplicity, which rendered it impossible to 

 listen without compassion to his wild stories of 

 the miracles he had actually seen performed before 

 his eyes, chiefly by Nuestra Seiiora de Talpa, his 

 favourite saint. He was but too fair a subject for 

 the mining charlatans, who abound in all those 

 countries, and I greatly fear my reverend friend 

 was on the high road to total ruin. 



I have spoken of the heat of San Bias ; but 

 the period I described was considered the fine 

 season, which lasts from December to May inclu- 

 sive. During that interval, the sky is always 

 clear ; no rain falls ; land and sea breezes prevail; 

 and as there is then no sickness, the town is 

 crowded with inhabitants. From June to Novem- 

 ber, a very different order of things takes place. 

 The heat is greatly increased ; the sky becomes 

 overcast ; the sea and land-breezes no longer 

 blow ; but in their stead, hard storms sweep along 

 the coast, and excessive rains deluge the country; 

 with occasional violent squalls of wind, accom- 

 panied by thunder and lightning. During this 

 period, San Bias is rendered uninhabitable, in 

 consequence of the sickness, and of the vio- 

 lence of the rain ; which not only drenches the 

 whole town, but, by flooding the surrounding 

 country, renders the rock on which the town is 

 built, literally an island. The whole rainy season 

 indeed is sickly, but more especially so towards 

 the end, when the rains become less violent and 

 less frequent; while the intense heat acts with mis- 

 chievous effect on the saturated soil, and raises an 

 atmosphere of malaria, such as the most seasoned 

 native cannot breathe with impunity. 



This being invariably the state of the climate, 

 nearly all the inhabitants abandon the town as soon 

 as the rainy season approaches. As we had often 

 heard this migration described, we waited, with 

 some curiosity, for the arrival of the appointed 

 time : and, accordingly, towards the end of May, 

 had the satisfaction of seeing the great flight com- 

 mence. I shall never forget the singular nature 

 of the scene which was presented to us. All the 

 world began to move nearly at the same time ; the 

 rich and the poor streamed off indiscriminately 

 together. The high-road to Tepic was covered 

 with horses, loaded mules, and foot-passengers, 

 winding along the plain on their way to the in- 

 terior. On passing through the streets, we saw 



