83 
Subsequently, by order of Cortes himself, Ordaz founded 
the town of Espiritu Santo, four leagues from the mouth of the 
river, of which only some slight traces now remain it having 
been ruined by the ravages of the Buccaneers. 
No one ever visited the Coatzacoalcos whether acquainted 
with these matters or not, without being impressed with the 
faciHty with which the whole of it might be made navigable. 
The stability of its bed is owing both to the slowness of the 
current, which prevents its excavating the bottom and banks, 
and to the clearness of the waters, which carry no materials 
down to make new deposits. The gentleness of the current 
may be inferred from the fact that its course, with all its wind- 
ings from the confluence of the Malatengo to the sea, measures 
160 miles with a fall of only 130 feet. 
It has been observed that the bar of the Coatzacoalcos is per- 
manent, and in the survey of its course, in 1825 by General 
Orbegozo, we find, after a lapse of eighteen years, that the 
same windings exist throughout. The islets and streams are 
also identical both in number and importance, which seem to 
promise that whatever works may be necessary to give greater 
depth to the river will have a permanent result if they are well 
conceived and properly executed. 
The usual engines might be used, as well as the power of the 
river itself, by narrowing temporarily its bed. This object 
might be effected by means of dikes constructed with solid 
piles, taking advantage for the purpose of the useful materials 
which nature herself offers profusely in the large trees and ex- 
cellent clay that cover the banks of the river. 
In some of the upper parts of the river it may perhaps 
be necessary to straighten its course, checking the increased 
current by means of a lock, and in others to construct solid 
embankments so as to limit the width of its bed ; but any at- 
tempt to determine at present the number and magnitude of 
these works would only evince either want of good faitli or 
presumptuous ignorance. 
To change the established course of a mighty river is one of 
the most delicate operations in hydraulics, and requires not 
only much skill and tact, but a careful study of local circum- 
' f2 
