The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1847-02-06
From the Washington Fountain p"
A Hasty Sketch ofVera Cruz.

a Ai"oty ONCICu VI vera .SruZ..
AS it is probable that this town and
the provnce or Stale bearing its name
will be the next scene of military op-
eratons by the army of invasion, we,
propose to throw together few points
of information respecting this region Of
country. hastily gathered from Hum
bold,'s New Spain.
The old Intendency Of Vera Cruz
lies under the burning sun Of the tropics
and extends along the Mexican Gulf
from the river Baraderas on The South
to the great river of Panuco. on the
North. Its length is about 600 niles;
and its breodth inland from rs to so
miles. The intendencies of Oaxaca,,
Pue bla and Mexico skirtit on the west.
The conformation of the country with
in this province changes almort with
every half dozen miles, while from tho
sea coast to its western boundary the
most opposite climates are assembled.
in the space of twenty-four hours you
may descend from the regions of eter-
nal snow on the CordiIleras of Anahu.
&C, to the plains where the ost suffo.
eating heat revas.
The diAerenitrIbes Of vegetables rise
above one another by strata, as you
ascend from Vera Cruz to the table
land Of Perole. The physiogmy Of the
country, the aspect OF the sky, the form
of tile plants, the figures Of animals,
the manners Of the people, and the
different kinds of civilization change at
every step of the progress Of the trav-
Teller. In a few hours the naturalistin
this miraculous provence can ascend
the whole scale of vegetable creation
from the helIconia and the banana plant
whose glossy leaves swell out into
wonderful dimensions to the stunted
parenchyma of the reasones tree.
The productions of this Stat. are of
the richest order. There grows at the
foot of the CordiIeras, in the evergreen
forests of Papantla Nan,a and Tuxtla,
the epldendrum Vanilla used to per-
iume chocolate and icecreams. Near
the Indian villages OF Colipa and Mi
sontiIa, Is found the beautiful convulvus
JaIapawhose tuberous root furnishes
the jaape Of medicine. The Tabasco
spice is produced in the forests near
the river Baraderas on the south. The
Coca OF Acayucon can be produced in
large quanteles. The Cordoba tobac-
co grown on the accIivites of the Pic
d Orlzaba. Welded q revenue to the
crown ofSpain of near four millions of
dollars per year. You get the similar
whose name is 'he sassaparilla, in the
humid and outrageous ravnes of the
Cordi!lera. The cotton of the coast is
noted for its fnencss and whiteness,
and the sugarcane is even more fruit
iu than that of San Domingo or Cuba.
Passing for the present the noun
tains and pyramids Of this province,
we devote u few lines to the CITY of
Vera Cruz. 1t is beautifully and reg
ularly built. The district in which It
is situated was lormermerly called
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. This island,
on which the fortress of San Juan de
Ulua is built, was. visited by Juan de
Grscaula in 1918. He8gaye it the
name OF Ulua, because he found the re-
mains of sacrafced men there, and
having enqniredof the natives why hui,
man sacrifices were upon that spot. he
mistook their repl y that it was done
by the order Of the kings of AcolLua or
Mexico, and interpreted it to mean
that the island was called Ulua. These
sacrafices took place on the small islands
near Yer, Cruz. and one of them is
called to this day Ela de Sac,oJccios.
The presost city of Vera Cruz was
Ibid out and built by the Vceroy Count
of Monterey at the end Of the 10th
century, on the very spot where Cor
frs, landed the 2lst Of, April, 1919.
1t did not receive its privileges till the,
year 1915, 5,under Philip Hit is situ-
ated on the arid plain, destitute Of run
ming water. The noSlh winds that
blow with 6erceness from October to
April from hills of moving sand upon
this changing them every year.
They are from 26 to 38 feet high, and
contribute by the reverberation of the
suns rays 10 increase the heat OF Vera
Cruz. Between the city and the Aro-
yo Gavilan in the midst Of the sand
downs, are mashy grounds covered
with mangNes and other brushwood.
In the vicinity are the stagnast waters
of the Tembladurn and the Lakes Of
Hormija, Hortaliza and Arizona. The
edilices of Vera Cruz are built of mad
repore stone drawn from the bottom
of the ocean. The inte ndancy ofVera
Cruz has no metallic mines Of any
great importance, VA 8,s4,..~,