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Show 14· BOOK T. \ ' ' . .. H I S T 0 R Y 0 F M E X I C 0. the name Vokan, has a mouth or vent more than half a mile wide, from which, in the time of the Mexican kings, it frequently emitted flames; and in the laft century many times threw out great quantities of a!hes upon the places adjacent; but in this century, hardly any fmoak has been obfcrvcd. Iztaccihuatl, known by the Spaniards under the name of Sierra Nevada, threw out. alfo at fometimes fmoke and allies. Both ti·\Ountains h:we their tops always covered with fi1ow in io great quan tities, as to fupply w1th what precipitates on the neighbouring rocks, the cities of Mexico, Gelopoli, holula, and othc:r adjoining places, to the dillance of forty miles from theic mountains, where an incredible quantity is yearly confu.med in cooling and congealing liquors ( n). The mountains of Coliman and Tochtlan, confiderably difhnt from the capital, and llill more fo from each other, have emitted fire at difTerent periods, in our time (o). Beiides thefc mountains there are likewife others, which, though not burning mountains, are yet of great celebrity for their height; namely, Matlalcueye, or the mountain of Tlafcala; Nappateu"9li, ·called by the Spaniards, from its figure, Cojre, or trunk; Tentz on, (n) The impo!l: or duty \tpon ice or congealed fnow confumed in the capital, nmoun·ed in 1 7 46, to t 5, 511 Mexican crowns; fome years after, it rofc to :to,o 10, and at prefcnt we may believe it is :1 great deal more. (o) A f, l\' years ago an account was publ;fi1cd in Italy, concerning the mountains of :'ochtlnn_ or Tuflla, full of _curious, but too ridiculous lies ; in which rhere was a defcriptlon of n vers of fire, of fn ghtful clcphantR, ·&c. Vl'e do not mention among the burnin,.,. mounmins, neither J 11ru_yo, no•· Mamotombo, of N icat·agua ; nor that of G11attmala ; br.cau r~ neither of thef.e three was comprehended under the Mexican dominions. That of Guntcmnla, laid. in ruins with earthquakes, that great and beautiful ci ry, the 29th of July , 1773· W11h refpeCl: to Juruyo, fitu;ttcd in th~: valley of Urecho, in the kingdom of Michuacan, before the year 1760, there was nothing of it but n fmall hill whcr·e there was a fugar pl~ntation. B11t on the 29th of ~ eptembcr, 17601 it burll with furious fhoc:ks and, entir<'ly ruined the fugar work, and the neighbouring village of Guaca11a · :tnd fror~ that time has continued to emit fire and burning rocks, which have formed' themfclv cs into three high mountni~ s , whofe circumference was nenrly fix miles, in 176t-, accon.ling to the ac~ount commumcated. to me, by Don Emmanuclle tli BuOamante, governor of that prov1ncr,_ and an cye·llltllCfs of the f,tC~t. The afl1c~ nt the eruption, were fprccd ns fur ~s the. city of ~cr~ raro, one hundred and fifty miks dillunt from Jur11yo, a matter nlmoO: tncred1ble, but public and notorious in that city; where n gc:ntlcman fhewed me in ~ pn~cr, the :r~es which he had gathered. In the city of Val~dolid, fixry mile; difl::~nt, )t ra111ed afhc~ m fuch. abunduncc they were obliged to fweep the yards of th.e hO\Ifca 'WO' or three tunes dunng the day, · near H I S T 0 R Y 0 F M E X I C 0. near t~ the village of Mo_ac~xac, ~oloccan, and others1 which, being B 0 0 K r. of no Importance to the iubJeCt, I mtentionally omit. ·Every one knows ~--...- . --' th:.1t the famous chain of the Andes, or Alps of South America, are continued through the .ifl:hmus of Pana na, and through all New Spain till they lofe th<.:mielves in the unknown countries of the North. The mofl: coniiderable_ part of this chain is known in that kingdoin under the name of Sterra Madre, particularly in Cinaloa, and Tara-humara, provinces twelve hundred miles d.iftant fi·om the capital. The mountams of Anahuac abound in ores of every kind of metal, and an infinite variety of other fofiil s. The Mexican's found gold in the countries of the Cohuixcas, the Mixtecas, the Z apotecas, and in feveral others. They gathered this precious metal chiefly in grains amongft the fand of she riv~rs, and the above mentioned people paid a certain quant~ty in tribute to the crown of Mexico. Silver 'was dug out of the mmes of Tlachco, Tzompanco, and others; but it was not fo much prized by them as it is by other nations. Since the conqueft, fo many filver mines have been difcovered in that country, efpecially in the provinces which are to the north-weft of the cnpital, it is quite impoilible to enumerate them. Of copper they had two forts, onP. hard, which they ufed infiead of iron to make axes, hatchets, mattocks, and other inftruments of war and agriculture ; the other flexible, for making of b1fons, pots, and other veffels. This metal abounded . formerly more than elfewhere in the provinces of Zacatollan, and the Cohuixchas; at prefcnt it abounds in the kingdom of Michuacan. They dug tin from the mines of Tlachco, and lead from the mines of Izmiquilpan, a place in the country of the Otomies. Of tin they made money, as we .!hall obferve in its place, and we know of lead that it was fold at market, but we are entirely ignorant of the ufe it was put to; there were likewife mines of iron in Tlafcala, in Thchco, and other places; but they either did not find out thefe mines, or at leafi did not know how to benefit themfelves by the difcovery. There were alfo in Chilapan mines of quickfilver, and in many places mines of fulphur, alum, vitriol, cinnabar, ochre, aud a white earth ftrongly refembling white lead. Of quickfilver and vitriol we do not know the ufe which they made; the other minerals were employed in painting and dying. Of amber and afphaltum, or bitumen of Judea, there was |