THE STATE OF NUEVO LEON. THE territories included in this state lie immediately west of Tamaulipas, and extend from the Rio Grande to the Rio Santander. The interior is rugged and mountainous, and much broken up by ravines. The table land of Mexico commences its rise in the western part. The country is well watered by several streams, which intersect this state as well as Tamaulipas, but it has no ports except some small landing places on the Rio Grande, and perhaps one or two on the Santander. The people in general follow farming and grazing, which are carried on with considerable energy. Nuevo Leon has been the scene of many gallant exploits in the American war, and has suffered, perhaps, as much as any state, from its effects. MONTEREY, the capital, is a well-built town, with about 15,000 inhabitants, many of whom are extremely wealthy. It is celebrated as a place besieged and captured by the American forces, in 1846. The country around is very fine, and dotted over with prosperous ranchos and the mansions of the rich. It is built on sufficiently high ground to make it healthy, and it enjoys a beautiful climate the whole year round. LINARES is also a handsomely built place, in a highly cultivated district, and contains 5,000 or 6,000 inhabitants. REVILLA, on the Rio Grande; NATIVIDAD, on the eastern boundary; FLORIDA, and several other towns are within this state, and enjoy a reputation for health, and industry of the people. AGUA NUEVA is celebrated in the military annals of the nation. THE STATE OF COHAHUILA. THIS state, one of the largest of the republic, is bounded north by the Rio Grande del Norte; on the east by Nuevo Leon; on the south by Zacatecas, and on the west by the Rio Grande de Parras, which separates it from Durango, and in part by the State of Chihuahua. Its superficial area is stated at 93,600 square miles, and its population, which is exceedingly sparse, at 73,000, the chief part of which are Indians and Indo-Spaniards. Cohahuila has many advantages, in a commercial point of view, from its proximity to the Rio Grande, and the numerous streams which penetrate it from that river, as well as the Gulf of Mexico. It is also furnished with a superior system of roads, which were much improved by the presence of the forces of the United States during the late war. In agriculture it is preeminent, and it possesses a fine breed of horses, large droves of which run wild on the fertile plains. Manufacturing operations are limited, and confined to the larger towns, and even there, have scarcely an existence. face of the country, though generally flat or undulating, presents some elevations, and in particular sections the ground is broken by ravines and deep sinuosities. Some silver mines exist, which are said to be very rich. This state is capable of much improvement in every department, and only wants The Texas was formerly con intelligent laborers to develope its rich resources. COHAHUILA, the capital, is a small town in the north-east, and contains nothing remarkable to arrest further notice. Population about 4,000. SALTILLO is a city of some 12,000 population, and was, for a long period,, the head-quarters of Major-General Z. Taylor during the war with Mexico. BUENA VISTA, the scene of a battle as glorious to the American arms as disastrous to those of Mexico, lies a few miles south of Saltillo. In this state are also the towns of PARRAS, SALADO, SANTA ROSA, AGUAVERDE, &c., all of which are historically connected with the military annals of the nation. THE STATE OF CHIHUAHUA. THE situation of this state, one of the most northerly of Mexico, is between the states of Sonora and Sinaloa on the west, and the Rio Bravo and the state of Cohahuila on the east. It extends from the northern bounds of Durango to the new line between the United States and the Mexican Republic. The superficial area comprises 107,500 square miles, and the population numbers 147,000 souls. The Sierra Madre intersects the state from north to south, as in Durango; the soil and climate are much similar, and the people of the same origin as those of that state. Chihuahua is rich in mines and inexhaustible in agricultural resources. CHIHUAHUA, the capital, lies by the small River Sacramento, a branch of a confluent of the Rio Grande. Lat. 28° 47' N., and long. 107° 30′ W. The population at one time is said to have been 70,000, but it is now stated at 30,000. It is a well-built town-the streets regular and at right angles, and the houses are substantial structures, and well supplied with water, which is conveyed by an aqueduct about three miles long. The cathedral, a very large and highly ornamental structure, was erected at the expense of $1,500,000, raised by a duty on the produce of the adjoining mines. The state legislature meets here in a neat building. The town is chiefly mainteined as a depôt for the mining districts. The country around the city is occupied by extensive haciendas, in which large herds of mules, horned cattle and sheep are pastured. But notwithstanding the great capabilities of the soil, agriculture is in a very depressed state, the mines being the great object of attention. Of these, the most celebrated for the quantity of the precious metals produced, is El Parral, in the south-east part of the state; but it is now in so dilapidated a condition that the amount of capital required to re-establish it, is too great to justify a well-grounded expectation of its returns being sufficient to repay the outlay. BATOPILAS, eighty leagues south-west of Parral, once one of the most productive of the Mexican mines-a single mass of pure silver, weighing 425 lbs., having been found in it-is but feebly worked. Santa Eulalia has has long since been abandoned. The mine of Mordos, near Batopilas, was discovered in 1826, and has since been productive. The mine of Jesu Maria has also been abandoned on account of its inaccessibility. It is situated near the top of a mountain, and is, consequently, ex tremely cold in winter, the surrounding ridges being covered with snow; the village is in a temperate valley, highly capable of agricultural improvements. All the lodes near the surface contain a considerable quantity of gold, which diminishes according to the depth, while the silver proportionably increases. The immediate vicinity abounds with veins forming a circle, of which the village is the centre. The population of the plain country is almost wholly of European descent, the natives having retired before them into the mountain recesses of the Bolson de Mapimi. The principal tribes of natives were the Apaches, Comanches and Chichimeques. General Pike says "that the corruption of morals is universal; which is only what might have been expected from the gambling nature of the pursuits in which most part of the people are engaged; the great fortunes suddenly made by some, and the poverty of the great mass of the population ; and the ignorance of all classes; and the debasing influence of the established religion." The opinion of Mr. Ward, a late traveller, does not confirm this testimony, but, on the contrary, highly lauds the morals and domestic arrangements of the people of the Provincias Internas.—[See Durango. The other more remarkable towns in the state are SAN BARTOLOMEO, a large mart for the inland trade of the surrounding districts; EL Parral, near the mine of the same name, formerly very populous, but now containing only 7,000 inhabitants; and PARRAS, a small town surrounded with vineyards, near the lake of the same name. CHIHUAHUA will ever be famous in history, which will record with enthusiasm the brilliant march of Col. Doniphan and his small band, and their gallant exploits at the capital and other places, nor will it forget to notice the later events connected with the visit of Gen. Price to that place, in 1848. Both expeditions were attended with remarkable success, and were of essential service to American interests. THE STATE OF DURANGO. THE eastern boundary of Durango is the Rio Grande de Parras: on the north lies Chihuahua; on the south Zacatecas and Xalisco, and on the west the State of Sinaloa. Within these limits the superficial area is 54,500 square miles, and the population 165,000, or thereabouts. The Sierra Madre traverses the whole extent of the country, dividing it into two unequal proportions. There re, beside, several detached elevations, and the country is much corrugated by ravines and precipices. Craters of volcanos, and a mass of iron resembling erolite, excite the attention of the natu ralist. Durango is rich in silver ore, and the mines have been very produc tive. Agriculture is in a flourishing condition, and the products, comprising cattle, mules, sheep, coffee, sugar and indigo, form the chief wealth of the people. "To the inhabitants of the southern and central provinces," says Ward, "everything north of Zacatecas is terra incognita, and the traveller, after passing it, is surprised to find an improvement in the manners and character of the inhabitants. Durango, where the change first became visible, may be considered as the key to the whole north, which is peopled by the descendants of a race of settlers from the most industrious provinces of Spain, (Biscay, Navarre and Catalonia,) who have preserved their blood uncontaminated by any cross with the aborigines, and who retain most of the habits and feelings of their forefathers. They have much loyalty and generous frankness, great natural politeness, and considerable activity both of body and mind. The women, instead of passing their days in languor and idleness, are actively employed in affairs of the household, and neatness and comfort are nowhere so great and general as in the north.-(Ward's Mexico, ii.) This applies only to the white population. There are also many Indian tribes residing in towns and villages of their own, or hovering round the civilized settlements, and subsisting by the chase. VICTORIA DE DURANGO, the capital, lies on the Sierra, 6,848 feet above the ocean, in lat. 24° 25' North, and long. 108° 15′ West. Population, 25,000. It is a regularly built town, and contains a cathedral and other churches, several convents, a mint at which immense sums are annually coined, and a theatre. It is the seat of a bishopric. The inhabitants are industrious, and employed in the manufacturing of woollen articles, woodenware and leather, and have a considerable trade in cattle and mules. Iron mines are worked in the vicinity. THE STATE OF SONORA. THIS is a vast tract lying immediately south of the Rio Gila and east of the Gulf of California; its southern boundary is the Rio Mayo. The eastern boundary is not well ascertained. The southern coast is the only part settled by a civilized population; the central and northern regions be ing yet in the possession of various tribes of Indians. The coast is unhealthy, but the interior, which is more elevated, enjoys a mild equable climate, free from deleterious influences. There is an abundance of silver within the mountains, and gold is obtained in the washings of the streams and from the auriferous copper ores. This state has an area of 200,000 square miles, and its population is estimated at 124,000, but it is difficult to arrive at even an approximation to the real amount. ARISPE is the nominal capital, and is a small town on the Rio Ures. Population 5,000. GUAYAMAS is a port of some note, and has a good situation on the southern coast at the mouth of the River Pimas. Latitude 27° 50' N., and longitude 112 W. Population about 5,000. It has grown up within a few years, and owes it rise to its magnificent harbor, one of the finest in Mexico. Much of the trade between Mexico and Eastern Asia centres here, this port being more accessible and covered than either San Blas or Mazatlan. Guayamas is destined to become a flourishing place. There are several places of considerable size on the course of the rivers which run far into the country, but these are chiefly occupied by the natives. The Indian tribes within this state are: the Apaches, who inhabit the northern sections; the Pimas, inhabiting a country called Pimeria Alta, south of the Apaches; the Opatas, in the centre of the state; and the Ceres in the south-west, and Yaquis on the south-east, bordering on Chihuahua. THE STATE OF SINALOA, Is situated immediately south of Sonora, fronting, also, on the Gulf of California. It is much similar in character to Sonora, and has several pearl-fisheries off the coast. Area, 54,700 square miles. Population, 147,000. SINALOA is the capital of the state. Population, 13,000. MAZATLAN, the chief seaport, lies on the southern part of the coast, and has a tolerably good harbor, but much inferior to that of Guayamas. Some trade, however, is centered here; and, were it not for its exposed position, it is well situated as a depôt for distributing imported articles. CULIACAN is a considerable town on the south bank of the river of the same name. VILLA DE FUERTE was the ancient capital of Sonora and Sinaloa. ALAMOS has some 5,000 or 6,000 inhabitants, and is situated in the mining districts, of which it is the central point. All these towns, in fact, owe their rise to the mining operations carried on in this and the neighboring states. The inhabitants, for the most part, consist of different tribes of Indians; among which are the Apaches, Mayas, Moquis, &c. Many of them are civilized and industrious, but the majority lead a nomadic life, scarcely recognizing the control of the civilized communities. THE STATE OF SAN LUIS POTOSI. THIS state, which contains an area of 19,500 square miles, and upwards of 300,000 inhabitants, lies west of Tamaulipas, and partly on the highest table-lands. It is rich in silver mines, and is equally celebrated for the breeding of cattle and agricultural industry. In general the surface is rugged, but extensive plains spread over the eastern portions. It is well drained by the Tampico and other rivers, which intersect it in an easterly and westerly direction. SAN LUIS POTOsı, the capital, near the source of the Tampico River, and about 175 miles west of the port, lies in latitude 22° north, and longitude 100° 31' west. The population of the city is 50,000 inhabitants, including the barrios or suburbs, which occupy a large extent of ground. It presents a fine appearance; the churches are lofty, and some of them very handsome. The streets are well-built, very clean, and intersect each other at right angles. The houses in the plaza, and in the principal avenues leading to it, are of stone, and two stories high; those in the suburbs are low, and of adobes, or sun-dried bricks. The government-house in the plaza, is a fine building; the front, which is of cut stone, and ornamented with Ionic pilastres, would do credit to any of the cities of Europe or America. The market-place is well-supplied with meat, fruits and vegetables. Pedlars hawk up and down the coarse manufactures of the country. Stalls are erected, and set out with mantas, blankets, leather-breeches, and leggings, saddles and bridles, huge wooden stirrups, and iron spurs, weight upwards of two pounds, and a great variety of manufactures from the fila |