conduct began to excite my suspicions strongly, when an Indian of the country informed one of my interpreters, that the people of Cholula had sent their wives, children, and valuable effects, out of the city, and intended, in concert with the soldiers of Montezuma, to attack us, and not suffer one of us to escape; but that if he would go with him he would save his life, and place him in security. The interpreter disclosed the plot to D'Aguilar, who immediately made it known to me. On receiving this information I had one of the inhabitants privately seized and examined. He confirmed the account of the interpreter, and I determined to anticipate them by striking the first blow. With this view I sent for the principal caciques to come to me, pretending that I had a communication to make to them. I immediately had them shut up and closely guarded in a hall, and bidding those soldiers who were near me be on the alert, I ordered them to attack all the Indians who should be found in or near my quarters. I then mounted my horse, summoned my men to arms, and in less than two hours wholly defeated the plans of our enemies, after killing more than three thousand of them. They had already occupied all the streets, and the troops were at the posts assigned them, but I had not much difficulty in defeating them, as they were taken by surprise, and I had used the precaution of securing their chiefs. I set fire to the towers and other strongs places, in which they had shut themselves. My quarters, which were very strong, I secured by a strong detachment, and employed but five hours in driving from street to street, and finally dispersing our numerous enemies, assisted only by four hundred Zempoullans and five thousand Tascaltecans.

On returning to my lodgings, I interrogated my prisoners, and asked them the reason of such treacherous conduct, they replied that it was wholly owing to the Mexicans, who had collected an army of fifty thousand men, at a league and a half from Cholula, and by menaces obliged them to join in the execution of their plot. They acknowledged that they had been misled, but promised that if I would release one or two of their caciques, they would go and recal the inhabitants, and bring back their families and effects, begging me to forgive them and grant them my friendship, promising in future to be loyal and faithful. After I had represented to them the baseness of their conduct, I ordered them all to be released, and the next day the city was repeopled, and as tranquil as if nothing had happened. In the course of fifteen or twenty days, the markets and shops were as much frequented as usual, during which time I succeeded in reconciling the people of Tascalteca with those of Cholula. They had formerly been friends and allies, but Montezuma by negociations and presents had found the means of disuniting them.

The city of Cholula* consists of more than twenty thousand houses. It is situated in a plain, well watered, highly cultivated, and abounding with corn and excellent pasturage, as is the case with all the lands in this part of the country. From time immemorial the government of this state, like that of Tascalteca, has been independent. Its population is so numerous, that notwithstanding the most careful cultivation of the land, and its fertility, great numbers of the inhabitants suffer for want of bread, and beggars are numerous in every quarter. In general, they are better clothed than the Tascaltecans. Persons of distinction wear over their other garments cloaks, in fabric and trimming like the African mantles, but of a different shape. Since my contest with them I have had reason to be pleased with their submission to the orders which I have given them in your majesty's name, among the number of whose most faithful subjects, I believe they may hereafter be ranked.

I spoke to the ambassadors of Montezuma, concerning the conspiracy at Cholula, and told them that I was not ignorant of their monarch's having had a share in it; that it was extremely unworthy of so great a prince to offer me friendship by his ambassadors, while at the same time he was plotting to destroy me by means of others, in order to excuse himself in case of failure, that since he had not observed his engagements with me, but had treated me with duplicity, I should hereafter change my conduct; that instead of going to visit him as a friend, and living in peace and harmony with him, as I had intended, I was now resolved to make a most bloody war upon him, and to lay waste and destroy whatever I could; that I was, however, sorry in being compelled to adopt such a course of proceeding, as I could have wished to have had him for a friend, and to have advised with him on all my undertakings.

The ambassadors most solemnly averred that they were wholly ignorant of what had taken place, and did not believe that their master had the least concern therein. They begged me before I declared war against him, to inform myself fully of the truth, and permit one of them to go and acquaint him, and return immediately. As the place of Montezuma's residence was but twenty leagues from Cholula, I complied with their request, and allowed one of them to depart. At the end of six days he came

"The city of Cholula much resembled Valladolid, being in a fertile plain, very thickly inhabited; it is surrounded by fields of maize, pepper, and maguey. They had an excellent manufacture of earthenware, of three colours, red, black and white, painted in different patterns, with which Mexico and all the neighbouring countries were supplied, as Castile is by those of Talavera and Placencia. The city had at that time above a hundred lofty white towers, which were the temples of their idols, one of which was held in peculiar veneration. The principal temple was higher than that of Mexico, and each of these buildings was placed in a spacious court.-B. Diaz, p. 124.

back accompanied by the nobleman who had been with the first embassy, and had returned.

I received by them from Montezuma, a present of ten golden plates, five hundred pieces of cloth, many fowls, and a great quantity of a certain liquor, which they make use of, called Panicap, made of maize, sugar and water.

The ambassadors assured me from their sovereign, that he had no share in the projected revolt of the Cholulans; that it was true the soldiers who garrisoned that city belonged to him, but that they were there, not in consequence of his orders, but a particular stipulation subsisting between them and the people of Cholula, which obliged them to assist each other, and that in future his conduct should prove to me the sincerity of his professions. That he requested me, however, not to enter his territories, as the land was unproductive, and I should be in want of necessaries; but that on making my wishes known to him, he would with pleasure, immediately, send me whatever I desired. I answered the ambassadors that I could not comply with their master's request of not entering his dominions, as my duty obliged me to render to your majesty, an accurate account of their sovereign and his possessions. That I believed what he affirmed was true, but that he must permit me to satisfy myself of it in person, and that I begged he would not attempt to obstruct my intention, as I should in that case be compelled to resort to measures injurious to him, which would ever be with me a subject of regret.

When Montezuma found that I was determined to visit him, he sent a great number of persons to accompany me, at the same time declaring that nothing could give him greater pleasure. I had hardly entered his territories, when his people urged me to take a road, where they might with ease have destroyed me, judging from the account I have since received of it, and the information of some Spaniards whom I sent that way. On this road there were so many openings, defiles, bridges, and difficult passes, as to have enabled them to execute their designs with perfect security; but as God has ever, in a particular manner, from your earliest years, watched over whatever concerns a sovereign, in whose service the army and its commander were employed, he in bis infinite goodness, discovered to us another passage, bad enough in truth, but much less dangerous than that which they wished us to pursue.

Eight leagues from Cholula are two chains of very lofty mountains, the more remarkable from their tops being covered with snow in the month of August; one of them both by day and night, frequently emits volumes of fire, the smoke of which is forced up perpendicularly, with such violence, that the wind, though very strong in this elevated region, produces no change in its direction. In order to be able to give a more particular account to your majesty of whatever is remarkable in this country, I selected ten of my companions for discoveries of this nature,

and directed them to attempt by all means to gain the summit of this mountain, in order to discover from whence the smoke proceeded; but they found it impossible to reach the top from the extreme cold, the great quantity of snow, and the clouds of ashes which perpetually envelope it. They proceeded however, as far as possible, and whilst at the extreme point of their ascent, the smoke issued with so much noise and impetuosity, that it seemed as if the mountain was falling to pieces under them. On their return they brought with them some snow and ice, substances very unusual in a country, situated in the twentieth degree of latitude, where the heat is very powerful.

While my people were occupied in this research, they discovered a road, and on inquiring of their guides whether it led, they informed them that it was the most direct road to Chulua, and that the other by which the Mexicans wished to conduct us was extremely bad.

On receiving this information the Spaniards followed the road to the height of land, which it crossed, and discovered from the loftiest point of this height the plain of Chulua, the great city of Temixtitlan, and the lakes of that province, of which I shall hereafter give an account to your majesty.

The detachment returned much pleased with having made this discovery. God only knows what joy I felt on this information; I told the ambassadors of Montezuma, who had been sent to accompany me, that I was resolved to take this road, which was nearer than the one they had recommended. They acknowledged that the road I had discovered was shorter and of less difficult travel than the other, but that their objections to taking it were that they should be obliged to pass through the territory of their enemies, the Indians of Guascingo, and that we should not be able among them, as in the dominions of Montezuma, to procure such necessaries as we wanted, but that since I was desirous of pursuing it, they would take measures for supplying us with provisions.

I was fearful lest these ambassadors were preparing a snare for us, but as I had mentioned the road which I intended to take, I thought it not prudent to turn back, or change our course, as nothing was more to be apprehended than that a suspicion of our courage should be entertained.

I accordingly left Cholula, and the same day proceeded four leagues to some hamlets in the province of Guascingo, where I was well received by the inhabitants, and presented with slaves, pieces of cloth, and gold, all in small quantities, but as much as their means would allow, for, as they belong to the Tascaltecan confederacy, and are confined to their own country by Montezuma, they are compelled to depend on their internal resources, which are very trifling.

(To be continued.)

147

RURAL ECONOMY.--FOR THE PORT FOLIO.

"Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field."

Isaiah xxix, 17.

Western Plaister. The following is an extract of a letter from Mr. Peter Lorillard, dated " New York, 25th March 1817." Before we present it to the reader, we shall just remark that we have seen another letter from a gentleman in South Carolina, who put a ton of plaister from Manlius (N. Y.) on a piece of ground, near the seaboard, where Nova Scotia plaister had produced no effect. The result in this instance far exceeded his most sanguine expectations.

MR. LORILLARD says, about six years ago, I bought a plaister of a black cast, similar to our western plaister, and had it put on an exhausted piece of land near salt water, which had been sown with red clover. I found the clover had grown so rank that it all lodged. The experiment was only tried on one-half of the field, and several years after French and Nova Scotia plaister of different colours were tried on the remainder of the field, which had not the same effect, this plaister, when ground, had the smell of lime. Last summer I tried several experiments to ascertain whether some substitute might not be found for manure, near salt water; the result of the experiments was as follows: in the first place, I prepared a mixture of ground charcoal, plaister, and slaked lime, which answered every purpose. I next ascertained that lime would answer very well in the fall, and plaister in the spring. I also ascertained that plaister and horn shavings, which the plaister dissolved in about fifteen minutes, answered very well for cabbage, and esturcheons, but not for grass, wheat, corn, or potatoes. It appears that the mixture of plaister and lime has the following effect: part of the sulphuric acid in the plaister, is separated from it, and joins with the slaked lime, and discharges the carbonic acid which it has imbibed; a portion also of the sulphuric acid decomposes a portion of the carbon in the charcoal, and thus becomes a manure. It cannot be possible that the muriatic acid is contained in the salt vapour. I have ascertained by experiment, that plaister is very well adapted to lands at a distance from salt water, but will