Toluca

“ Toluca, a large and important city, lies at the foot of the mountain of San Miguel de Tutucuitlalpico; and is an old, quiet, good-looking, respectable-seeming place, about as sad and solitary as Puebla. The streets, the square, and the churches are clean and handsome. To the south of the city lie extensive plains covered with rich crops; and about ten miles in the same direction is the volcano. We walked out in the afternoon to the Alameda, passing under the portales; handsomer and cleaner than those of Mexico ”

“ The fields beneath the hills are very like the farms of the West, all except the mountains. Culture and comfort seem to nestle in these shaded retreats. The sierras of Toluca and Guadalupe come together in a narrow and not lofty pass, which our engineering associate is easily surmounting with his gauges and his trains. Over it, and we are in the Valley of Mexico. The city lies fifteen miles off, a garden of foliage being our ceaseless escort to its gates. ”

“ Although Toluca appears to have been one of the earliest Toltec settlements in Anahuac, its foundation dating probably from the 6th century, it has preserved no remains of its ancient grandeur, nor have any monuments been discovered in the district in any way comparable to those of Cholula, Tula, Teotihuacan, and other ancient centres of Toltec culture. ”

“ At the hotel Leon d'Oro, an excellent and well-served dinner was enjoyed, and it is spoken of here because such an experience is a rara avis in the republic of Mexico. Among the numberless churches, a curious one will long be remembered, namely, the Santa Vera Cruz, the façade of which very much resembles that of a dime museum, having a lot of grotesquely-colored figures of saints standing guard.
Toluca, notwithstanding its appearance of newness, is really one of the oldest settlements in the country, dating from the year 1533. Activity and growth are manifest on all sides. ”

“ Toluca.—Queretaro, Guanajuato, and Zacatecas.—Fresnillo.—"Romancing."—A lucky Priest.—San Luis Potosi.—The Valenciana at Guanajuato.—Under-mining.—A Name of Blasphemy.—The Los Rayas.—Immense Sums taken from Los Rayas.—Warlike Indians in Zacatecas.
A stage runs daily from the city of Mexico by Tacubaya and the Desierto to the beautiful valley and city of Toluca. This town is greatly indebted for its present celebrity to successful mining adventures. Its Cathedral is a monument of the munificent liberality of the Frenchman Laborde, whose fortune was ever unequal to his generosity. ”

“ Here the elevation is 8,872 feet. It is worthy of remark that one of the few steam flour-mills in the country is found at this town. Wood is brought from the neighboring hills for fuel. Fine wheat grows here, and the maguey is also cultivated. The track now winds round many long curves, and presently a grand view of the broad valley of Toluca is obtained. Looking out of the car-window, the observer may see the line of the road far below him. ”

“ Don Xavier Hechavarria had returned to Mexico, but we were cordially welcomed by his brother-in-law, Don Manuel Gorospe, and so kindly pressed to remain some days, that nothing but our limited time would have induced us to set off next morning for Toluca. Here we arrived last night, having performed our journey by a different and more agreeable road than that of the "three hundred barrancas." We entered Toluca by moonlight, and found that respectable city all in commotion on the subject of copper ”

“ The road leads along the aqueduct by Chapultepec, and through Tacubaya, and is the high road that goes to Toluca. The first part, after passing Tacubaya, is steep, bleak, and uninteresting. Plantations of maguey and occasional clumps of Peruvian trees are the only vegetation, and Indian huts the only traces of human life. But after a tedious ascent, the view looking back upon Mexico, with all her churches, lakes and mountains, is truly magnificent. The road also begins to wind through a fertile and wooded country. ”

“ Venegas now set himself about recovering the places the independents had seized; and to that end he formed a plan of campaign from which he expected brilliant results. But the point about which he felt particular anxiety at this time was Toluca. Soon after the supreme junta settled in Sultepec, leaving his colleagues Liceaga and Verdusco there, the president, Rayon, had placed himself at the head of a respectable number of troops, with his headquarters at the hacienda of La Huerta, and early in April appeared before Toluca with the view of taking the city. ”

“ Two weeks later a rough and heavy-bodied man, garbed in the rough apparel of a mining prospector, made his way into the sun-steeped town of Toluca. There he went quietly to the wooden-fronted hotel, hired a pack-mule and a camp-outfit and made purchase, among other things, of a pick and shovel. ”

“ A few lines while waiting for tea and callers. This morning we made a wonderful run out the Toluca road with Seeger and Mr. and Madame Graux, our Belgian friends, Chemins de fer secondaires, as we call them. After Tacubaya the road rises high above the city, and for miles we motored along the heights, through stretches of dazzling white tepetate and pink tezontle, the buildingstones [173] of the city from immemorial days. The road was fairly alive with Indians bringing in their wares, this Sunday morning. ”

“ The royalist commander, Castillo y Bustamante, after taking Tenango rested a few days, and then returned to Toluca, where he began active preparations for a campaign against Sultepec, hoping to capture the members of the revolutionary junta. The district affording large resources, and the junta having no reason to fear surprise from the viceroy's troops, Liceaga and Verdusco had busied themselves in providing war material, while indulging in the formulas of government. [37] There was much dissension among the members, Rayon's failure at Toluca contributing to bad feeling ”

“ The climate of Toluca is colder and drier than that of Mexico City, the town being so much higher above the sea. The temperature at night, all the year round, is said to be nearly at frost, falling as low as thirty-nine degrees (Fahrenheit) . In the markets to-day I have seen oranges, limes, tamarinds, apples, guavas, hawberries, three sorts of bananas, strawberries, and several other fruits I did not know, as well as fresh peas, beans, lettuce, turnips, beets, potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, and several other edible tubers. ”

“ In the political world nothing very interesting has occurred and as yet there is no change of ministry. Yesterday morning C—-n set off in a coach-and-six for the valley of Toluca, about eighteen leagues from Mexico, with a rich Spaniard, Señor M—-r y T—-n, who has a large hacienda there. ”

“ Only three trees of the kind are said to exist in all Mexico, two in the botanical garden, and one (the mother plant) in the mountains of Toluca.
Directly opposite the cathedral, at the southern side of the plaza, is the municipal palace, supported, like the buildings bounding the greater portion of the western, upon the picturesque portales, or arcades,—a feature in the architecture of the public buildings of this country, as we have seen in Yucatan. Here the tide of human life flows at the full ”

“ It is decided that the first night of our pilgrimage, we shall request hospitality at the hacienda of the Ex-Minister Hechavarria—La Gabia, which is about ten leagues of very bad road from Toluca—which is sixteen from Mexico. All these important arrangements being made, and a sketch of our journey traced out, we are about retiring to rest, in the agreeable prospect of not entering any four or two-wheeled vehicle, be it cart, carriage, coach or diligence, till we return here. ”

“ Zamboes, the offspring of Negro and Indian, 2,000,000.
To these, about 15,000 European foreigners are to be added.
↑ The table land of Toluca lies 8,530 feet over the Pacific, and nearly eleven hundred over the valley of Mexico. It is the most elevated of the four principal plateaux of Mexico, but produces fine crops of maguey and maize. ”

“ The objective points of our excursion were Toluca and Morelia, on the Ferrocarril Nacional, and as the railway had then been opened only a short time to the latter place, it was an event of no small magnitude, our visit to these famous old cities. In a charming letter to the Two Republics Madame de C—— thus expressed our sensations on taking our departure from Mexico: "After we leave Colonia station, as the cars carry us rapidly past the familiar landmarks, the restfulness of the landscape seems reflected in ourselves. ”

“ It appears to me that the only fault of the climate consists in its being monotonously perfect, which is a great drawback to easy and polite conversation. The evening deluge is but a periodical watering of the earth, from which it rises like Venus from the sea, more lovely and refreshed than ever.
C——n has returned from Toluca, after an absence of eight days. . . . . Every one is hurrying to the Theatre just now, in spite of the rain, to see some Spaniards, who are performing tours de force there. ”

“ A great hill overlooking the town is called the hill of crosses, and here a cross by the wayside usually signifies a place of murder. Many a traveller in the not distant past found his way from here as best he could to the capital city minus burden and money, minus hat and shoes, and sometimes minus clothing. They used to say that from Toluca to the city a man was robbed three times ”

“ What I had intended, general, was to charter the diligencia; and use it, as if it were going on its regular trip between here and Puebla. The robbers are also troublesome upon the Toluca route; so I don’t care which we try first. I should dress my twelve men in Mexican costumes; have a monk or two along with them, and at least a couple of ladies. The reboso would disguise them sufficiently for our purpose. ”

“ Mules to be loaded, horses to be fitted with saddles; and one mule lame, and another to be procured, and the trunks found to be too heavy, and so on. We rose at five, dressed by candlelight, took chocolate, put on our mangas, and then planted ourselves in the passage looking down upon the patio, to watch the proceedings and preparations. Colonel A—— arrived at seven with a trooper, to accompany us part of the way; and we set off while it was cool, without waiting for the rest of the party. Toluca looked silent and dignified as we passed through the streets—with its old convents and dark hills. ”

“ He considers them an exceedingly handsome, fine-looking race; whose resources, both for war and trade, are so great, that were it not for their natural indolence, the difficulties of checking their aggression would be formidable indeed. Colonel A—— being obliged to return to Toluca, left us in charge of his trooper, and we waited at the rancho for about half an hour, when our party appeared with a long train of mules and mozos; the gentlemen dressed Mexican fashion as well as their men; the best dress in the world for a long equestrian journey. ”

“ The important towns alluded to were Córdoba, Vera Cruz, Orizaba, Puebla, and Toluca : the three first named had been under the control of the French arms from the first days of the military operations; the fourth, having been taken by assault, had to submit to the will of the conqueror; and the fifth, situated only sixteen leagues from Mexico, had ever shared, nolens volens, the fate of the capital. These and subsequent acts were made to appear as the will of the Mexican people. ”

“ Lastly, the central tableland, the part of the territory where the maguey is cultivated with notable profit and every class of cereals is produced, constitutes the tierra fria (cold land) . It is the most populous part of the Republic.
In the high valleys, as those of Toluca and Mexico, the descent of the mercurial column often shows considerable falls of temperature; in winter the column reaches 8° or 10° below 0 C. and frosts are frequent. In general, however, the winters are mild. ”

“ So it seems that the excitement is extending. We have tidings from Toluca in which we are informed that a Mr. Valero, an invalid, was attacked in his own house in Metepec by a party of 'good Catholics,' who, armed with swords and muskets, entered the dwelling of said Protestant, wounding him, and then left him nearly dead. ”

“ Toluca (19,340 ft.) , Orizaba (18,000) , and Popocatapetl (17,000) ; the largest lake is Chapala, in the centre; the rivers are mostly rapid and unnavigable; the chief seaports are Vera Cruz (29) and Tampico (5) on the E. and Acapulco on the W., but the coast-line is little indented and affords no good harbours; along the eastern seaboard runs a strip of low-lying unhealthy country, 60 m. broad; on the Pacific side the coast land is sometimes broader; these coast-lines are well watered, with tropical vegetation, tropical and sub-tropical fruits; the higher ground has a varied climate ”

“ He would have wished to stay the remainder of his life with his family, but it was his duty to return to Mexico after the expiration of the period allowed him, and there he died of consumption on his return, the 6th May, 1839. After his death, his widow and her children came to Cuba, where she died the 16th June, 1844, leaving a son and two daughters in the kindly charge of his relatives.
The Toluca edition of Heredia’s poems in two volumes, 1832, does great credit to the Mexican press, being one of the best printed Spanish works to be found. ”