CHAPTER VI.
SANTA ANNA DE TAMAULIPAS, AND ITS VICINITY.
The old and new towns.—The French Hotel.—Early history of the place.—Remains of an ancient Indian town.—Situation of Pueblo Nuevo.—Health of the place.—Commerce.—Smuggling.—Corruption in Public Offices.—Letters and Mails.—Architecture.—Expense of living.—Tone of morals. Gaming.—The soldiery.—Degraded condition of the Indians.—The Cargadores.—The market place.—Monument to Santa Anna.—The Bluff.—Pueblo Viejo.—Visit to the ruins.—Desolate appearance of the place.—"La Fuente."—Return at sunset.—The Rancheros of Mexico.—The Arrieros.
On the 17th of February, we bade adieu to Vera Cruz, and sailed along the coast, northwardly, for Tampico, distant over two hundred miles. The passage was a very favorable one; and we arrived at our destination on the evening of the following day. Coming to anchor outside the bar, a launch from the shore, manned by naked Indians, was soon at our service, to take us up to the city. It was a pull of six miles on the river Panuco. On our way up, we passed Pueblo Viejo, or the old town of Tampico, on our left, once a place of considerable trade, but now deserted, and comparatively in ruins. Two miles above this place, we landed at the mole, as it is called, where our luggage underwent the usual vexatious examinations; after which, permission was given us to enter the town of Santa Anna de Tamaulipas, known also as the Pueblo Nuevo, or New Town of Tampico.
I was soon ensconced in a hotel, kept by a Frenchman. It was a sad place. The accommodations, if such a word can, with any propriety, be used in reference to such a house, were as uninviting as could be desired. The house was, in all respects, uncomfortable and dirty, and the charges $2,50 per day. But a shelter, in this country, though a poor one, is something to be thankful for; and, in the almost universal absence of comfort, one often has occasion to be grateful for any thing that bears a distant resemblance to it. With this kind of philosophy, I endeavored to console myself in the present instance, remembering that my situation was not quite as bad as it might be, nor indeed as it oftentimes had been in other places.
Santa Anna de Tamaulipas stands on what was once the site of a populous Indian town, which was first visited by Juan de Grijalva, in 1518. This "hopeful young man and well behaved," as he is described by one of the old historians, was the captain of the second expedition, sent from Cuba, to explore the large and rich islands, as they were then supposed to be, lying to the west, part of which were discovered by Columbus in 1502 and 1503, and part by Juan Dias de Solis and Vincent Yañez Pinzon, in 1506. At this place, Grijalva had a severe conflict with the "natives," who defended "their altars and their homes" with great bravery. The old historians of the conquest agree that Cortes, who followed Grijalva, and finally succeeded in reducing the whole country to the Spanish yoke, met with a warm reception on the Panuco. Few places were more ably defended, or more reluctantly surrendered by the Indians.
But few traces remain of the ancient city, or of its brave inhabitants. Yet occasionally, in digging for the foundations of buildings recently erected, the bones, and sometimes complete skeletons, of that unfortunate race are found, as well as remains of their household utensils.
Fifteen years ago, this place was occupied only by a few Indian huts, and Pueblo Viejo, the old town, was in its most flourishing condition. But the superior advantages of this position were too apparent to be longer overlooked by the searching eye of commercial enterprise. The bank of the river is very bold, and the water of sufficient depth to allow vessels to anchor close to the shore; and the navigation inland is uninterrupted for more than a hundred miles. The town is laid out in regular squares. The site is a sort of low flat shelf of land, forming the terminus of a rocky peninsula, above and back of which there is a cluster of lakes or ponds, having an outlet into the Panuco. These ponds, like those in the vicinity of Vera Cruz, are fruitful of yellow fever, which annually ravages this devoted coast. This terrible scourge, which seems to be one of the settled perquisites of the place, together with the formidable bar at the mouth of the river, are serious drawbacks to the prosperity of the town. Were it possible to remove them, I think there is little doubt that Santa Anna de Tamaulipas would soon become one of the most flourishing seaport towns in Mexico. Its local situation is favorable—it is the nearest point on the coast to the richest of the mining districts, and the place from which the greater portion of the specie is exported. It has also a considerable business in dye-woods and hides.