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Show 22 APPENDIX TO PART III. Chihuahua, the freight being eight dollars per cwt. and they gene· r.dly put 300 pounds on each mule. Th<; merchants make thcit• r emittances twice a year in bullion. Goods sell at Chihuahua about 200 per cent on the prices of our Atlantic sea port towns. Their horses aYet·agc at six dollars, but some have sold as hi gh as 100: th eir train ed mules at 20 dollars; but extraordinary matches for carriages have solei at 1·00 dollars per pair. Rice sells at four dollars per cwt. They manufacture some few arms, blankets, stamped Ieathct·, emhroitl c ry, coa1·se cot ton and woollen cloths, and a species of rough carpelin~. Theit· blankets average two dollars, but some sell as lugh as~.> dollars. .!lgriculttlrc.--They culti,·atc wheat, corn, rice, oats, cotton, flax, indi ~o, and Yincs. 'Vhat I have !laid relative to the cultivation of t ~JOse :.tt•ticlcs in New Mexico will equally apply to this province, bulll mny ue proper to observe here that one of Nolan's men construct c:d the first colton gin they ever had in the province, and that Wnlkcr hac.l caused a few churns to be made for some private families, and tau ght them the usc of them. Thnber, Plains and Soii.-To the north of Chihuahua, about 30 miles to the righ t of the main road, there is some pine timber, and at a spring on this siJc of Cal'l'acal we snw one walnut-tree, and on all the small streams there arc shrubby cotton-trees. 'Vith these few excrptions the whole province is a naked, barren plain, which presents to the eye an arid, unproductive soil, and mo1·e especially in the ncighbol'hood of mines; even the herbage appears to be poisoned by the mineral qualities of the soil. Antiquities.-There are none in the province which came within my notice but the Jesuits' college and church at Chihuahua, which were about a century old, and are used as hospitals. In these there was nothing peculiat·, except a certain solidity ancl streng th, which ~ppcared to surpass the other public buildings of the city. .!lborigincs.-There arc no uncivilized savages in this province except th0 Appachcs, of whom I have spoken largely. (ViJe Ap. to Part III. p . 10 .) The Christian Indians are so incorporated amongst the lower grades of metifs that it is scarcely possible to ch·aw the line of <listinction, except at the ranelios of some nobleman 01• large )and .. holder, whet·c they arc in a state of vassalage. This class of peo· pic laid a conspiracy, which was so well concerted as to baffie the inquiries of the Spaniards fot· a lcn ~th of time, and to occasion them the loss of several hundred of the inhabitants. The Indians APPENDIX TO PART !If. used to go out from theie vi llages in small parties: in 3 5hort time u part would return with the report that they had been attacked by the Indians; the Spaniards would immediately s.:ncl out a detachm ent in p ursuit, when they were led into an ambusc,\dc aml every soul cut on·. They pur~ u ed this COill'tie so long· that the whole province became alarmed at the t·apid manne1· in which th eit· enemies multiplied; but some ci rcumstances lcacl in ~ to a suspicion, tltev m ade use of the superstition of those people for theit· ruin. Som~ oUiccrs dist~u i scd themselves like fr iat·s and went I'OlltHI amon~st the l ndiaus, p retending to be possessed of the spi rit of prophecy. They preached up to the Indians tint the day was approaching· when n genet·al deliverance from the Spani'lh ty1·anny was about to take place, ~n d invited the Indians to join in concerting with them the work of G od. The poot· creatures came for ward, ami in their confessions stated the great hand that had already been put to the work. After these pretended ft·iars had ascertained the nature and extent of the conspil'acy, and hud a body of troops IH'epat·ed, they commenced the execution and pnt to death about 400 of the unsuspecting Indians. This struck te l'l'or and dismay through the I ndian villag·cs, and they dared not rise and declare thciL· freedom and independence. Go11emmenc alld La'lus.-Tn this province there is some sh a~ dow of civil law; but it is merrly a shado·w, as the following anecdote may illustrate. An of1icer, on arriving at a village, demanded quarters fot· himself and troops. The supreme ci vil officer of the place sent him wot·d that he must show his passport. The military offlccr immediately sent a file of men, who brought the judge a prisonet• before him, when he se verely reprinuu"Hled the judge for his insolence and obliged him to obey his orders instantly. This has been done by a subaltern, in a city of 20,000 inhabitants. The only laws which can be said to be in force arc the military and ecclesiastic, between which there is a perfect understanding. The governor is a brigadie r-general, resides at Dm·ango, and receives 5000 dollars, in addition to his pay in the line. It is pro· per to observe that there arc ordinances to bear on each subject of dvil discussion, but the administration of them is so conupt, that the influence of family and tortune genci'ally procure the determi· nation that they have right on theit• side. In each town is a public magazine for pt·ovisions, where every farmer brings whatever grain and produce he may have for sale, where he is sure to meet with u market ; and should there be a scarcity the ensuing yeat•, it is retailed out to the inhabitants at a |