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4,000,000. These constitute the lowest and most depressed rank, and may be considered as the cerfs of the country. Their number is about half what it was at the time of the conquest. The history of the wars by which thousands of them were slain; of their being compelled to work in mines, by which many perished, and multitudes were led to put an end to their unhappy existence; with the continued pressure of despotism for three centuries, and the consequent degradation, will sufficiently explain this wasting of the race. It is painful to admit, in taking leave of this renowned nation, that the future seems to offer a prospect but little brighter than that which lies in the backward view of the dark and painful past.

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THE Country which was formerly known under the name of Guatimala, has recently adopted a republican government, and is known by the title of Central America. It lies to the south of Mexico, and consists in part of the isthmus which connects North and South America. The country is mountainous, and has at least twenty volcanoes in constant activity. Its chief rivers are the Chiapa and St. Juan, and the principal

akes Nicaragua and Leon. The western coast is subject to terrific earthquakes, which have overwhelmed cities, and exterminated complete tribes of people. It is a prolific country, abounding in the useful and luscious products of nature.

At the time of the invasion of Cortés, this and the adjacent territories were occupied by the Toltecs, who appear to have moved hither, and farther south, after their departure from Mexico. The country was then exceedingly populous, and was studded with numerous and flourishing cities.

The country of Guatimala was occupied by a people called Quiches. Their king was Tecum Umam, and their capital Utatlan. A Spanish commander named Alvarado was despatched by Cortés to conquer this country. In this he succeeded, after many desperate struggles. Six battles took place on the banks of the river Zimala, which in that vicinity received the title of the River of Blood.

At this time Utatlan abounded in palaces and other sumptuous edifices, being hardly surpassed in splendor by Mexico and Cuzco. It was encompassed by a lofty wall, and was capable of being entered only at two points; on one side by a causeway, and on the other by a flight of steps. Within, the buildings stood high and compact. In the hope of exterminating their enemies, the Quiches invited the Spaniards into their capital, pretending a willingness to submit. After their entrance, the Quiches set fire to the city, and if the Indians of another tribe had not been false to their countrymen, Alvarado and his followers would have perished. Having escaped this danger, the Spaniards

pursued their victorious course until all opposition was crushed, and in 1524 laid the foundation of the city of Guatimala.

The bigot rage of the Spaniards was directed not only against the superstitions of the Indians, with the temples and idols consecrated to them, but even against the palaces and other monuments of the people whom they conquered. The city of Mexico, as is well known, was totally destroyed by Cortés. The other cities of Mexico and Guatimala were in process of time depopulated, fell into decay, and their ruins became so overgrown with trees that all knowledge of them for the most part was lost. Dr. Robertson, in a note to his History of America, makes the following statement:"I am informed by a person who resided long in New Spain, and visited almost every province of it, that there is not in all the extent of that vast empire, any monument or vestige of any building more ancient than the conquest! 99 The author of another account in manuscript observes that "at this day there does not remain even the smallest vestige of the existence of any ancient Indian building, public or private, either in Mexico or in any province of New Spain." In the course of the last century, however, some vague accounts reached Europe respecting the ruins of an ancient city at Palenque, on the southern border of Mexico. These were explored by order of the Spanish government, and found to exhibit architecture and sculpture of a very extraordinary character. But such was the jealousy of this government, that the results of these researches were for a long time concealed from the world.

The first new light thrown upon the subject of Mexican antiquities was by the celebrated traveller Humboldt, who visited the country at a time when by the cautious policy of the government, it was almost as much closed against strangers as the empire of China. The monuments of the country were not a leading object of his inquiries, but he collected from various sources information, and drawings of many antiquities, particularly of those at Mitla, in the southern part of Mexico :-this name is a contraction of the word Miguitlan, signifying, in the Mexican language, the Place of Woe, or Desolation. The term appears to have been well chosen for a site so dreary and lugubrious that, according to the narration of travellers, the warbling of birds is there scarcely ever heard. According to the traditions that have been preserved, this was the spot where the ashes of the Tzapotec princes reposed. The sovereign, at the death of a son or brother, withdrew into one of the habitations which were here erected over the tombs, to deliver himself up to grief and religious rites. These edifices are now in ruins, but the plans of five separate buildings have been made out, and they seem to have been disposed with great regularity. The walls of these buildings were covered with ornaments consisting of mosaic and carved work, remarkable for their elegance. In the neighborhood of these ruins are the remains of a great pyramid.

Another singular monument of which Humboldt obtained information, was Xochicalco or the House of Flowers, near the city of Cuernuvaca. This structure consists of five stories or terraces, narrowing as

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