PREFACE. 
5 
In the preparation of this work for the press (called forth now 
by the exigencies of the New Orleans Company), I have en- 
deavored to avoid all gratuitous expressions of opinion, both 
with regard to the project itself and its relation to other routes. 
Throughout, my desire has been to give a plain history of the 
.survey, and a correct account of the results obtained by it ; 
knowing full well how much more trustworthy are the conclu- 
sions of the mass than of t t he individual, whose mind is natu- 
rally biased by a personal identity with the events and circum- 
stances upon which he passes judgment. 
With reference to the subject-matter of Part II., no apology 
is requisite. We have many interesting details of the history 
of Mexico from the earliest periods to the present day ; but 
there is much with regard to her local Geography, Climate, and 
Natural Resources, which yet remains to be written. And in 
the establishment of a great national highway across the Isthmus 
of Tehuantepec, a portion of the Mexican territory on which 
the hopes of her conqueror were centered, something is neces- 
sary to be known beyond the mere arithmetical results of instru- 
mental observations. I have therefore devoted a part of this 
report to an exposition of the geology, climate, and productions 
of the Isthmus, accompanied by some brief notes on the char- 
acter, customs, and habitations of the people who constitute a 
remnant of the old Mexican race, whose thrilling and dramatic 
history (through the eloquent writings of Prescott) has become 
as familiar to us as " household words." 
All parts of the work are illustrated with sketches of the nat- 
ural scenery of the Isthmus. These are faithful representations, 
and give a better idea of the country than any written detailed 
description. 
For convenient reference the maps have been bound in a sep- 
arate book by themselves, and embrace all the results of the 
recent survey, together with those obtained by the officers of 
Commodore Perry's Squadron, in 1847-8. 
In the Appendix will be found the documents of the grant of 
Sefior Don Jose de Garay (upon whose privileges the underta- 
king was necessarily predicated), with such other papers as it 
may be desirable for the public to peruse. From these they 
