322 



VERA CRUZ. 



the declivities of Orizaba tobacco of excellent quality 

 is cultivated ; and the sarsaparilla grows in the moist 

 and shady ravines. Cotton and sugar of excellent 

 quality are produced along the greater part of the 

 coast. 



In this intendancy are two colossal summits, — 

 the volcano of Orizaba, which after Popocatepetl is 

 the highest in New-Spain, and the Cofre de Perote, 

 which is nearly 1312 feet more elevated than the 

 Peak of Teneriffe. In its northern part, near the 

 Indian village of Papautla, is a pyramidal edifice of 

 great antiquity, situated in the midst of a thick forest. 

 It is not constructed of bricks, or clay mixed with 

 stone, and faced with amygdaloid, like those of Cho- 

 lula and Tectihuacan ; on the contrary, the materials 

 employed have been immense blocks of porphyry. 

 The base is an exact square, 82 feet on each side, 

 and the perpendicular height seems to be about sixty. 

 It is composed of several stages, of which some 

 are still distinguishable. A great stair of 57 steps 

 conducts to the truncated summit. 



The most remarkable cities are Vera Cruz, Perote, 

 Cordoba, and Orizaba. The first of these, the centre 

 of European and West Indian commerce, is beauti- 

 fully and regularly built ; but it is situated in an arid 

 plain, destitute of running water, and partly covered 

 with shifting sand-hills, which contribute to increase 

 the suffocating heat of the air. In the midst of 

 these downs are marshy lands covered with rhizo- 

 phorae and other plants. No stones for architectural 

 purposes are to be found near the city, which is 

 entirely constructed of coral rock drawn from the 

 bottom of the sea. The water is Very bad, and is 

 obtained either by digging in the sandy soil, or by 

 collecting the rain in cisterns. 



Xalapa, the population of which is estimated at 

 13,000, occupies a very romantic situation at the foot 

 of the basaltic mountain of Macultepec, surrounded by 

 forests of styrax, piper, melastomae, and tree-ferns 



