HYDROGEAPHIC REPORTS. 
93 
ateiy elevated cerritos, alternately covered with wood and pas- 
ture, until reaching the banks of the Eio Chicapa, where it 
descends to a rich valley, in which, on the north side of the 
river, is the village of San Miguel Chimalapa. The Chicapa, 
at its lowest stage, has an average depth of from two to six feet, 
and runs over a bed of slate and dioritic rock. Near this point 
it has two tributaries, viz., the Xoxocuta and the Monetza — small 
mountain streams ; one draining the southern slope of the Albricia 
range and the other Convento Grande ; but from the rapid de- 
scent of their beds, serving to swell the Chicapa in the rainy 
season from nine to fifteen feet, at which heights it continues 
during the months of October and November : thereby afford- 
ing abundant opportunity and means for the transit of the rich 
timber (abounding in the immediate vicinity) to the lagoons, 
and thence at small expense to the shores of the Pacific. The 
quantity of valuable wood, especially the pine and the oak, of 
which there are two varieties of each, that might thus be ob- 
tained, either for the construction of wharves, docks, ships, or 
other building purposes^ should not be lost sight of by the com- 
pany. At present nothing is known of the immense value of 
this timber by the inhabitants, but the time is not distant when 
the demand will be great, and when the means of procuring it 
a question of no inconsiderable importance. In addition to 
this, the Chicapa has a number of excellent mill-sites on its mar- 
gins, and where lumber sufficient for the supply of a goodly 
portion of the Pacific coast might be manufactured. 
In accordance with instructions to note the natural products 
of this portion of the Isthmus, I observed growing in great 
abundance either at San Miguel Chimalapa, or in its immediate 
vicinity, the ocote, guayacan, rose-wood, capalchi, mahogany, 
ebony, tamarind, oak, guanacaste, cascalote, cedar, fustic, man- 
gle, sangre draco, masahua, ratan, mesquite, guamuchi (the 
bark of which is useful for tannin), the vanilla, sarsaparilla, cua- 
pinol, india-rubber, Brazil, achote, campeachy, and an infinite 
variety of medicinal plants and trees, distilling either gums or 
balsams. Among the cultivated products are maize, cotton, to- 
bacco, pepper, ixtle, cacao, and sugar-cane. 
Passing out of the valley of the Chicapa, the road lies for 
