The river Chimalapa, on the southern boundary, which falls into the bay of Tecoantepec, and several smaller ones along the coast, all of which proceed from the mountains, water the country, render it fertile, and also fall into the Pacific.
YUCATAN OR THE INTENDANCY OF MERIDA.
Yucatan is the most easterly province of the kingdom of New Spain, and is in the form of a peninsula, jutting out into the gulf of Mexico from the main land of the isthmus; it is surrounded on the north-west by the waters of the Mexican gulf; by the bay or gulf of Honduras on the south-east; the province of Vera Cruz bounds it on the south-west, and Vera Paz in Guatimala on the south. Here it is connected with the continent of North America, by an isthmus of about 120 miles in breadth. The English have settlements extending a short distance along the east coast of Yucatan, opposite Ambergris Key.
The soil of this peninsula is very prolific, and when under proper cultivation, produces great crops of corn, maize, indigo and cotton. The climate is hot, their summer beginning in April and finishing in September, but January and February are very warm months, the rest of the winter cooler, and little or no rain falls throughout that season. The north side is the pleasantest, for although very hot, it is refreshed by gentle breezes; on the whole the climate of Yucatan is not an unhealthy one. It produces and sustains vast quantities of cattle, fowls, and bees; honey and wax, are therefore plenty; and its forests afford shelter to various kinds of wild beasts. It has no mines, for which reason it is not much settled by the whites, the chief part of its inhabitants being Indians, who are employed in making salt in Campeachy Bay, and are subject to the Spaniards. On the coasts of Yucatan, large pieces of amber are frequently found. There is a ridge of considerable mountains pervades the whole extent of this province, which extends from the eastern side at Merida to the western extremity of the peninsula; on this range of mountains, the climate is very fine, and it is asserted that the natives live to a great age. On the north side of this chain the land is refreshed with breezes, and contains plenty of springs; but the southern side is in want of good water, ill cultivated and thinly peopled, the settlers being chiefly on the north. In Merida the nights and days are nearly of a length owing to its situation.
In Yucatan there are very few rivers of any consequence, but springs are numerous, especially on the north side, and in digging for their wells, in which they always find water at a little depth, shells are usually found, from which, with the shallowness of the sea near the coast, it has been supposed that the greater part of the peninsula was once submerged. The eastern coast of Yucatan is not inhabited by Spanish colonists, the English alone appearing there, except in the small fort of Bacalar, which has been built to prevent the British from going into the interior. The British logwood cutters find that article in greatest perfection in Campeachy Bay, and in the Bay of Honduras; but it has been said that the logwood of Campeachy is more plentiful, as well as greatly superior to that of Honduras.
Campeachy, or St. Francisco de Campeche, the principal trading town of Yucatan, is situated in 19° 50ʹ 45ʺ north latitude, and 90° 30ʹ west longitude, on the west shore of the Bay of Campeachy, in the gulf of Mexico, in the river St. Francisco. It has some fortifications which command the town and harbour, and has often been plundered and taken by the English and French buccaneers; In 1659 it was taken by the English under Sir Christopher Mims, in 1678 by the Buccaneers, and in 1685 by the pirates of St. Domingo; the last named year they set fire to the town and fortification, and plundered the adjacent country to the distance of fifteen miles; they also burnt 50,000l. worth of logwood, because the governor would not ransom the place for an enormous sum which they demanded. When the Spaniards first took this place, it contained three thousand houses, with many beautiful monuments of the Indian arts. The houses at present are numerous, and well built of stone; the harbour is large, but not deep; and the chief manufacture is cotton cloth, and wax. It used formerly to be the market for logwood till the British landed; when they cut it at Trieste island, 120 miles from Campeachy, near the isthmus. Great quantities of logwood formerly grew all about Campeachy, but the British have nearly monopolized this trade.
The logwood cutting establishments are under the Spanish governor; but by the treaty of peace in 1783, the British were allowed the privilege of cutting it without being molested.
The wood is felled at stated seasons, and in stated places, by permission of the intendant, and is dried for a year previous to exportation. This wood is not confined to Yucatan; it grows in abundance on the coast of South America, near the mouths of the Orinoco. The town of Campeachy contains 6000 people.
The language of the Indians is styled the Maya Tongue; and Yucatan is remarkable for being the scene of the early conquests and discoveries of the Spaniards, who found the natives in a state of comparative civilization; as they had stone houses, temples, and cultivated fields; some monuments of their industry still exist.
The population, including Indians, is 465,800. We have given a description of Campeachy first, on account of its being the principal trading place, and formerly the metropolis. Merida de Yucatan is now the capital and residence of the intendant, who is also called captain-general. Merida is ten leagues from the coast; its port is called Sisal, being in 21° 10ʹ north latitude, 89° 59ʹ 30ʺ west longitude, with a castle and small harbour, having an immense sandbank opposite its entrance. Merida is situated in a plain almost destitute of water; the population amounts to 10,000. This with Campeachy and Valadolid, famous for its cotton plantations, are the most noted places of the country, with the large Indian villages of Zampolan and Equetchecan, between Merida and Campeachy.