which he in part effected, but not throwing it quite high enough, it entered his neck in front, and came out at the nape, when he fell dead to the ground, and his victorious enemy gave a shout of victory, in which he was joined by all his followers. This enraged the Spaniards to such a degree, that they made a general charge, in which the Indian cavalry again retreated, not withstanding the entreaties of their gallant leader. In another instance a small smoke was discovered on the prairie, and three poor savages were surrounded by one hundred dragoons, and ordered to lay down their arms. They smiled at the officer's demand, and asked him if he could suppose that men who had arms in their hands would ever consent to become slaves? He being loth to kill them, held a conference for an hour; when finding that his threats had as little effect as his entreaties, he ordered his men to attack them at a distance, keeping out of the reach of their arrows, and firing at them with their carabines, which they did, the Indians never ceasing to resist as long as life remained.

In a truce which was once held, a captain was ordered to treat with some of the bands; he received their deputies with hauteur, and they could not come to terms; the truce was broken, the Indians retreated to their fastnesses in the mountains. In a day or two this same officer pursued them. They were in a place called the Door in the Mountains, where only two or three dragoons could enter at a fime, and there were rocks and caves on the flanks. Between these the In. dians secreted themselves, until a number of the Spaniards had come

in, when the Indians sounded trumpet, and the attack began and continued on the side of the Appaches, until the captain fell, when the Indian chief caused the firing to cease, saying, that "the man who had so haughtily spurned the proffered peace was now dead." They made prisoner (for once) of a young officer who during the truce had treated them with great kindness, and sent him home safe and unhurt.

Some of the bands have made temporary truces with the Spaniards, and received from them twenty-five cents per diem each, These people hang round the for tifications of the country, drink, shoot, and dissipate their time; they are haughty and independent, and great jealousy exists between them and the Spaniards. An officer was under trial when I was in the country for anticipating an attack on his fortress, by attacking the chiefs of the supposed conspiracy, and putting them to death before they had time to mature and carry their plan into operation. The decision of his case I never learnt; but those savages who have been for some time around the forts and villages, become by far the most dangerous enemies the Spaniards have when hostile, as they acquire the Spanish language, manners, and habits, and passing. through the populated parts under the disguise of the civilized and friendly Indians, commit murders and robberies without being suspected. There is in the province of Cogquilla a partisan by the name of Ralph, who, it is calculated, has killed more than three hundred persons. He comes into the town under the disguise of a peasant,'

peasant, buys provision, goes to the gambling tables and to mass, and before he leaves the village is sure to kill some person, or carry off a woman, which he has frequently done. Sometimes he joins travellers on the road, insinuates himself into their confidence, and takes his opportunity to assassinate them. He has only six followers, and from their knowledge of the country, their activity, and cunning, he keeps about three hundred dragoons continually employed. The government has offered one thousand dollars for his head.

MORALS AND MANNERS OF NEw

SPAIN. From the same.

For hospitality, generosity, docility, and sobriety, the people of New Spain exceed any nation perhaps on the globe: but in national energy, or patriotism, enterprize of character, and independence of soul, they are perhaps the most deficient. Yet there are men who have displayed bravery to a surprizing degree, and the Europeans who are there, cherish with delight the idea of their gallant ancestry. Their women have black eyes and hair, fine teeth, and are generally brunettes. I met but one exception to this rule at Chihuahua, of a fair lady, and she by way of distinction was called the girl with light hair. They are all inclining a little to en bon point, but none (or few) are clegant figures. Their dresses are generally short jackets and petticoats. and high heel-shoes, without any head dress; over this they have a silk wrapper which they always wear, and when in the presence of men affect to bring it

over their faces; but as we ap proached the Atlantic and our fron tiers, we saw several ladies who wore the gowns of our country women, which they conceive to be more elegant than their ancient custom. The lower class of the men are generally dressed in broad brimmed hats, short coats, large waistcoats and small clothes, always open at the knees, owing, I suppose, to the greater freedom it gives to the limbs on horseback, a kind of leather boot or wrapper bound round the leg, somewhat in the manner of our frontier men's leggins, and gartered on. The boot is of a soft pliable leather, but not coloured. In the eastern provinces the dragoons wear over this wrapper a sort of jack-boot made of seal leather, to which are fastened the spurs by a rivet, the gaffs of which are sometimes near an inch in length. But the spurs of the gentlemen and officers, al though clumsy to our ideas, are frequently ornamented with raised silver work on the shoulders, and the strap embroidered with silver and gold thread. They are always ready to mount their horses, on which the inhabitants of the internal provinces spend nearly half the day. This description will apply generally for the dress of all the men of the provinces for the lower class, but in the towns, amongst the more fashionable ranks, they dress after the European or United States mode, with not more distinction than we see in our cities from one six months to another. Both men and women have remarkably fine hair, and pride themselves in the display of it.

Their amusements are music, singing, dancing, and gambling;

the

the latter is strictly prohibited, but the prohibition is not much attended to. The dance of is performed by one man and two women, who beat time to the music, which is soft and voluptuous, but sometimes changes to a lively gay air, whilst the dancers occasionally exhibit the most indelicate gestures. The whole of this dance impressed me with the idea of an insulated society of once civilized beings, but now degenerated into a medium state, between the improved world and the children of nature. The fandango is danced in various figures and numbers. The minuet is still danced by the superior class only; the music made use of is the guitar, violin, and singers, who in the first described dance, accompany the music with their hands and voices, having`always some words adapted to the music, which are generally of such a tendency as would in the United States occasion every lady to leave the room.

Their games are cards, billiards, horse-racing, and cock-fighting, the first and last of which are carried to the most extravagant lengths, the parties losing and winning Immense sums. The present commandant-general is very severe with his officers in these respects, frequently sending them to some frontier post, in confinement for months, for no other fault than having lost large sums at play.

At every town of consequence is a public walk, where the ladies and gentlemen meet and sing songs, which are always on the subject of love, or the social board. The females bave fine voices and sing in French, Italian, and Spanish,

the whole company joining in the chorus. In their houses the ladies play on the guitar, and generally accompany it with their voices. They either sit down on the carpet, cross-legged, or loll on a sofa. lo sit upright in a chair appeared to put them to great inconvenience, and although the better class would sometimes do it on our first introduction, they soon demanded li berty to follow their old habits. In their eating and drinking they are remarkably temperate. Early in the morning you receive a dish of chocolate and a cake; at twelve you dine on several dishes of meat, fowls, and fish; after which you have a variety of confectionary, and indeed an elegant dessert: then drink a few glasses of wine, sing a few songs, and retire to take the siesta, or afternoon nap, which is done by rich and poor; and about two o'clock the windows and doors are all closed, the streets deserted, and the stillness of midnight reigns throughout. About four o'clock they rise, wash and dress, and prepare for the dissipation of the night. About eleven o'clock some refreshments are offered, but few take any, except a little wine and water and a little candied sugar.

The government have multiplied the difficulties for Europeans mixing with the Creoles or Mestis, to such a degree, that it is difficult for a marriage to take place. An officer wishing to marry a lady not from Europe, is obliged to acquire certificates of the purity of her descent for two hundred years back, and transmit them to the court, when the licence will be returned; but should she be the daughter of a person of the rank of captain or upwards,

upwards, this nicety vanishes, as their rank purifies the blood of the descendants.

The general subjects of the conversation of the men are women, money, and horses, which appear to be the only objects in their estination, worthy of consideration. Having united the female sex with their money and their beasts, and treated them too much after the manner of the latter, they have eradicated from their breasts every sentiment of virtue, or of ambition, to pursue the acquirements which would make them amiable companions, instructive mothers, or respectable members of society. Their whole souls, with a few exceptions, like the Turkish ladies. are taken up in music, dress, and the little blandishments of volup tuous dissipation. Finding that the men only require these as objects of gratification to the sensual passions, they have lost every idea of the feast of reason and the flow of soul which arise from the intercourse of two refined and virtuous minds, whose inmost thoughts are open to the inspection and admiration of each other, and whose refinements of sentiment heighten the pleasures of every gratification. The beggars of the city of Mexico alone are estimated at sixty thousand souls; what must be the number through the whole kingdom? And what reason can it be owing to, that, in a country superior to any in the world for riches in gold and silver, producing all the necessaries of life, and most of its luxuries, there should be such a vast proportion of the inhabitants in want of bread and clothing? It can only be accounted for by the tyranny of the government, and

the luxuries of the rich; the go. vernment striving by all the local restrictions possibly to be invented, without absolutely driving the people to desperation, to keep Spanish America dependant on Europe.

MILITARY CONSTITUTION OF NEW SPAIN.

From the same.

The European troops are some of the choicest regiments from Spain, consequently we may put them on the supposition, that they are well-disciplined and officered by men of honour and science. The regular troops of the kingdom, who are in the vice-royalty, acting from the stimulus of ambi tion and envy, are supposed to be equal to their brethren from Europe. The militia with the regular officers are likewise good troops, but are not held in such high esti mation as the other corps. These three corps, forming a body of twenty-three thousand two hundred and eighty-eight men, may be called the regular force of the kingdom, as the militia of one hundred and thirty-nine thousand five hundred, would, in my estimation, be of no more conse→ quence against the regular troops. of any civilized power, than the ancient Aborigines of the country were against the army of Cortes. The particular observations which follow, must be considered as applying to the troops of the internal provinces, unless specified to the contrary. The appearance of the Spanish troops is certainly (at a distance) à la militaire. Their

lances

lances are fixed to the side of the saddle under the left thigh, and slant about five feet above the horse; on the right the carabine is slung in a case to the front of the saddle (or pummel) crossways, the breech to the right hand, and on each side of the saddle behind the rider is a pistol; below the breech of the carabine is slung the shield, which is made of sole leather trebled, sewed together with thongs, with a band on the inside, to slip the left arm through; those of the privates are round, and about two feet diameter. The officers and non-commissioned officers have them of an oval form, bending on both sides, in order to permit the arrow to glance, and they have in general the arms of Spain with Don Carlos the Fourth, gilt on the outside, with various other devices, which add much to the elegance of their appearance on horseback, but are only calculated to be of service against savages, who have no fire-arms. The dragoons of the vice-royalty do not make use of the lance or shield, but are armed, equipped, and clothed after the modern manner, as are also the dragoons of the eastern provinces. When they recently expected to be opposed by the American troops, they were deprived of their lance and shield, and received the straight cutlass in their stead.

Their dress is a short blue coat, with a red cape and caff without facings, leather or blue cotton velvet small clothes and waistcoat; the small clothes always open at the knees: the wrapping boot with the jack boot, and permanent spurs over it; a broad brimmed high

crowned wool hat, with a ribbon round it of various colours, generally received as a present from some female, which they wear as a badge of the favour of the fair sex, and à mark of their gallantry.

Their horses are small and slender limbed, but very agile, and are capable of enduring great fatigue, The equipments of the horses are, to our ideas, awkward, but I believe them superior to the English, and they have the advantage over us, as to the skill of the rider, as well as the quality of the horse, as their bridles have a strong curb, which gives them so great a mechanical force, that I believe it almost practicable with it to break the jaw of the horse. The saddle is made after the Persian model, with a high projecting pummel, or, as anciently termed, bow, and is likewise raised behind; this is merely the tree. It is then covered by two or three coats of carved leather, and embroidered workmanship, some with gold and silver in a very superb manner. The stirrups are of wood closed in front, carved generally in the figure of a lion's head, or some other beast; they are very heavy, and to us present a very clumsy appearance. The horseman seated on his horse has a small bag tied behind him, his blankets either under him, or lying with his cloak between his body and the bow, which makes him at bis ease. Thus mounted, it is impossible for the most vicious animals to dismount them. They will catch another horse, when both are running nearly at full speed, with a noose and hair rope, with which they will soon choak down the beast they are pursuing.