14 



OLD SPANISH DIVISIONS. 



at large, in the second and fourth volumes of " American State 

 Papers," published by the government of the United States. This 

 treaty was signed on the 22d of February, 1819, and, according to 

 its third article, the boundary between Mexico and Louisiana, 

 which was then ceded to the Union, commenced with the river 

 Sabine at its entrance into the Gulf of Mexico, at about latitude 

 29°, west longitude 94°, and followed its course as far as its 

 juncture with the Red river of Natchitoches, which then served 

 to mark the frontier up to the 100th degree of west longitude, 

 whence the line ran directly north to the river Arkansas, which it 

 followed to its source at the 42d° of north latitude, — whence 

 another straight line was drawn upon the said 42d parallel, to the 

 coast of the Pacific Ocean. 



This line, it was supposed, would interpose a perpetual barrier 

 of wilderness, tenanted only by Indians and wild animals, between 

 the republic of the north and the treasured colonies of the Spanish 

 crown. But subsequent events have shown in the course of little 

 more than the quarter of a century, how rapidly the population of 

 the old world and the new has swelled beyond the limits prescribed 

 by statesmen, until the savage and the beast have been made to 

 yield their hunting grounds and forests for the use of civilized 

 man. 



At the earliest period of which we have any authentic informa- 

 tion, this territory of Spain was divided into the kingdoms of 

 Mexico, New Galicia, and New Leon ; the colony of New San- 

 tander ; and the provinces of Coahuila, Texas, New Biscay, Sonora, 

 New Mexico and the two Cahfornias. This arrangement was 

 extremely indefinite ; but, in 1776, the country was divided into 

 twelve intendancies : Merida, Oajaca, Vera Cruz, Puebla, Mexico, 

 Valladolid, Guanajuato, Guadalajara, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosi, 

 New Biscay, and Sonora ; and the three provinces of New Mexico, 

 and Alta and Nueva California. The intendancy of San Luis 

 Potosi, included New Leon, New Santander, Coahuila and Texas, 

 and San Luis Potosi, proper; — the intendancy of New Biscay 

 embraced the provinces of Durango and Chihuahua ; and the 

 intendancy of Sonora took in the provinces of Sinaloa, Ostimuri, 

 and Sonora. Each intendancy was subdivided into subdelegaciones. 

 Another division cut off New Spain, proper, from the Provincias 

 Internets. These last named provinces included all the territory 

 lying north and northwesterly of the intendancies of Zacatecas and 

 Guadalajara, or the kingdom of Nueva Gallicia. The " Provincias 

 Internas del Vireynato" must be distinguished from the " Provin- 



