186 



CATTLE CITIES, TOWNS VERA CRUZ. 



tunas, pears, watermelons, peaches, apricots, guyavas, grapes ; 

 mahogony, ebony, cedar, oak, dragon-blood, tamarinds, palms, 

 dyewoods, and a thousand other plants, trees, shrubs, cereals and 

 parasites, spring almost spontaneously from the soil, and render the 

 necessary labor of man almost insignificant. After the strip of sandy 

 sea-shore has been passed, and the country begins gradually to rise, 

 health and rich vegetation follow the traveller's footsteps. He be- 

 holds on every side magnificent forests filled with majestic trees 

 and illuminated by the splendid colors of flowers and buds. In the 

 midst of these solitary folds among the mountains, farms and plan- 

 tations are opened, which gleam with the freshest verdure of cane 

 or corn ; while over the levels, innumerable herds of cattle are fed 

 from the mere fulness of the land, and without the necessary tend- 

 ing either of shepherds or vaqueros. An idea of this State's rich- 

 ness in cattle may be formed from the following account of the 

 number it possessed in 1831, — the district of Jalapa being ex- 

 cluded from the list, inasmuch as there were no returns for that 

 year : — 



291,055 neat cattle, 



49,321 . . . horses, 



9,396 ..... mules, 

 3,110 . . . asses, 



17,680 goats, 



35,325 .... sheep; 

 the total value of which, together with the cattle product of the 

 canton of Jalapa, cannot be less than $2,000,000. 



The principal cities, towns and villages of the State of Vera 

 Cruz, are 1st, La Villa rica or La Villa Heroica de la Vera Cruz — 

 the capital of the State ; 2d, Tampico or Pueblo viejo de Tampico; 

 3d, Panuco; 4th, Tuspan; 5th, Misantla; 6th, Papantla. [On the 

 road from the port of Vera Cruz to the western limit of the State, 

 lie Paso de Ovejas, Puente del Rey or Puente Nacional, Plan del 

 Rio, and El Encero, but these are small towns or villages of no great 

 consideration.] 7th, Alvarado; 8th, Boca del Rio; 9th, Tlacotal- 

 pan; 10th, Cotastla ; 11th, Talascoyan; 12th, San Martin Acayu- 

 cam; 13th, San Andres Tuxtla; 14th, Santiago Tuxtla ; 15th, 

 Soconusco ; 16th, Jaltipan ; 17th, Chinameca ; 18th, Orizaba ; 

 19th, Cordova; 20th, Cosamaloapam ; 21st, Aculzingo ; 22d, Ja- 

 lapa ; 23d, Jalanzingo, and 24th, Perote. 



The port of Vera Cruz lies in 19° 11' 52" north latitude, and 

 98° 29' 19" west longitude, from Paris, on a sandy plain, — inter- 



