TOWNS, PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY, ETC. 
239 
Yera Cruz are said to have reached beyond $1,256,000. Now 
they scarcely average one-twentieth of that sum. 
"Within the jurisdiction of the town are numerous haciendas 
and settlements, abounding in cattle, horses, and mules, and 
presenting many features of interest to the agriculturist by the 
fecundity of the soil ; to the machinist, by the abundant sources 
of water-power ; to the sportsman, by the myriads of game ; to 
the geologist, by the nature and variety of the formations ; to 
the botanist, by the rich and varied character of the vegetation ; 
to the antiquarian, by the number of ancient idols and relics ; 
and to the ethnologist, by the heterogeneous condition of the 
people. The neighboring towns also merit attention ; among 
these are San Juan Oluta (a favorite resort of the Acayucanos), 
San Andres Sayultejpec, Santa Ana Soconusco, San Pedro Jote- 
apa, Santiago Mecayapa, and Santa Maria Minsajpa. The 
date of these settlements is now lost among the " dim traditions" 
of the Aztec race, and their inhabitants are but the shadows of 
the past — poor, degraded, and often living in a state of nature. 
According to the statements of Senor Iglesias, the canton of 
Acayucam contained, in 1831, 20,421 inhabitants, who have in- 
creased considerably since that time. At the close of his report 
he says : 
u This canton has 14 towns, 11 settlements, 12 haciendas, 27 
grazing farms, 6 rivers, 28 rivulets, 14 lakes, 6 marshes, 1 vein 
of chalk, 3 of alabaster, 4 of petroleum, 2 springs of sulphurous 
water, 2 metallic veins, 2 thermal springs, 1221 ixtle plants, 
6720 trees of coffee, 71,113 head of cattle, 12,126 horses, and 
594 mules." It is scarcely necessary to say, in conclusion, that 
this statement of its wealth is far short of the truth now. 
After leaving Almagres, there are not any settlements met 
with throughout all the broad belt of country lying contiguous 
to the Coatzacoalcos, until reaching Mal Paso, otherwise called 
the Paso del Sarabia,* situated at the forks of the Coatzaco- 
alcos and Sarabia rivers, and the present general head of ca- 
noe navigation for all travel to and from the northern and 
* So called after Don Pedro Sarabia, who settled near San Juan Guichicovi, at 
the close of the Conquest. 
