Spanish America? Every captain or discoverer, on first planting the royal standard on the shores of a new country, made proclamation according to a form drawn up by the most eminent divines and lawyers in Spain, the most extraordinary that ever appeared in the history of mankind, entreating and requiring the inhabitants to acknowledge and obey the Church as the superior and guide of the Universe, the holy father called the Pope, and His Majesty as king and sovereign lord of these islands and of the terra firma; and concluding, but if you will not comply, or maliciously delay to obey my injunction, then, with the help of God, I will enter your country by force; I will carry on war against you with the utmost violence; I will subject you to the yoke of obedience to the Church and king; I will take your wives and your children, and make them slaves, and sell or dispose of them according to His Majesty's pleasure; I will seize your goods, and do you all the mischief in my power, as rebellious subjects, who will not acknowledge or submit to their lawful sovereign; and I protest, that all the bloodshed and calamities which shall follow are to be imputed to you, and not to His Majesty, or to me, or the gentlemen who serve under me.' "The conquest and subjugation of the country were carried out in the unscrupulous spirit of this proclamation. The pages of the historian are dyed with blood; and, sailing on the crimson stream, as master pilot at the helm, appears the leading, stern, and steady policy of the Spaniards, surer and more fatal than the sword, to subvert all the institutions of the natives, and to break up and utterly destroy all the rites, customs, and associations, that might keep alive the memory of their fathers and their ancient condition. highest. On the Pacific the temperature is hotter and healthier than on the Atlantic. The population has been estimated as 1,500,000: viz., 125,000 European races, 500,000 mixed, 875,000 Indians. There are mines of gold, silver, iron, lead, and mercury. They are much neglected. Jasper and marble are worked. Brimstone and salt are collected. Forests of valuable woods abound. The trees are sometimes 35 feet in circumference, and 90 in height. There are very large lakes. The rivers are numerous, but short. Mr. Stephens has a most interesting description of the Usumasinta, the largest river of Central America. On the banks of the River Dulce is a small town called Yzabel. San Juan is at the mouth of the river of the same name, and receives its produce, hides, indigo, &c. Omoa receives goods destined for Guatemala, and St. Salvador. Comayagna, Tegucigalpa, and Truxillo, are in the province of Honduras; the last named has 4,000 inhabitants. New Guatemala, the capital of Central America, is on an undulating plain, 4,961 feet above the level of the sea. The houses are low and stout, from the danger of earthquakes, and contain a population of 40,000. The city is famed for its religious celebrations. "The processions, in honor of the Virgin and others, are frequent. All the streets, through which the processions pass, are strewn with pine leaves, and adorned with arches decorated with evergreens and flowers. From the long balconies and windows are displayed curtains of crimson silk, and flags with various devices. At the corners are erected altars within huge arbors of evergreens, and in these altars pictures and silver ornaments, borrowed from the churches, are conspicuous, and surmounted with flowers. The plain, or the valley of Guatemala, is pre-eminent for the vari sions." Old Guatemala is at an elevation of 5,817 feet. It was the capital, but was destroyed by an earthquake in 1773. The old inhabitants and their descendants cling to the ruins, and are in number 15,000. Mr. Stephens says :— The graves cry out for the old historian, and the mouldering skeletons of cities confirm Herrera's account of Yucatan, that there were so many and such stately stone build-ety and brilliancy of its floral kingdom. These flowers are in profusion devoted to ings, that it was amazing. And the greatest the embellishment of the religious proceswonder was, that. having no use of any metals, they were able to raise such structures, which seem to have been temples, for their houses were all of timber, and thatched.' And again he says, ' for the space of twenty years there was snch plenty throughout the country, and the people multiplied so much, that men said the whole province looked like one town.'" Let us now, from the unknown, proceed to the known, and take a practical view of Central America as it is presented at the present day. The valley countries are fertile, and there are mountain elevations of from 5 to 13,000 feet. The coasts on both oceans are unhealthy, The climate varies. According to McGregor it freezes on the highest table-lands in winter. At Guatemala the dry season extends from November until June. The other months are rainy and stormy. The thermometer ranges between 56° the lowest and 86° the "On each side were the ruins of churches, con vents and private residences, large and costly, some lying in masses, some with fronts still standing, richly ornamented with stucco, cracked and yawning, roofless, without doors and windows, and trees growing inside above the walls. Many of the houses have been repaired. The city is partly repeopled, and presents a strange appearance of ruin and recovery. The inhabitants, like the dwellers over the buried Herculaneum, seemed to entertain no fears of renewed disaster. The great volcanoes of Agua and Fuego look down upon it. In the centre of the plaza there is a large stone fountain, and The it is surrounded by magnificent buildings. Antigua was one of the most superb cities of America, and to which Alvarado gave the name of The City of St. James of Gentlemen."" In the armorial bearings granted by the Emperor dor has 16,000 inhabitants, who are indusCharles V., the loyal and noble city,' and sur-trious, and manufacture iron and cotton. mounted by a statue of St. James, on horseback, armed and brandishing a sword, and the roofless the vicinity of St. Vincent are plantations of and dilapidated cathedral, a vast edifice 300 feet indigo and tobacco. St. Miguel is noted long, 120 broad, nearly 70 feet high, and lighted by for its fairs. Sacatecoluca contains 8,000 50 winflows, are monuments which tell us that La inhabitants. Fancy shell-work is manufactured at Sonzonante, on the banks of the Rio Grande, and exported. Sugar is also grown in the neighborhood, and exported. Aguachappa has 8,000 population. In the vicinity of Santa Anna are plantations of indigo and the best sugar; also, iron mines which are worked. Metapa, Managua and Masaya are unimportant. Granada, on the banks of the Nicaragua Lake, has 14,000 inhabitants. Cacao is raised about the city of Nicaragua. Segovia and Comitan are small towns. Totonicapan contains a population of 12,000, and manufactures earthenware, utensils, woolen cloths, &c. Quezaltenango contains 140,000, with some coarse manufactures. Coban has 14,000. Salame, 5,000. Gualan, 10,000. Mr. Stephens describes the last: "Towards evening we strolled through the town. It stands upon a table of breccia rock at the junction of two noble rivers, and is encircled by a belt of mountains. One principal street, the houses of one story, with piazzas in front, terminates in a plaza or principal square, at the head of which stands a large church with a gothic door, and before it, at a distance of ten or twelve yards, was a cross of about 20 feet high. The population is about 10,000, chiefly mestizoes. Leaving the plaza, we walked down to the motagua; on the bank a boat was in process of construction, about fifty feet long and ten wide, entirely of mahogany; near to it a party of men and women were fording the stream, carrying their clothes above their heads, and around a point three women were bathing. There are no ancient associations connected with this place, but the wildness of the scene, the clouds, the tints of the sky and the setting sun reflected upon the mountains, were beautiful. At dark we returned to our house. Except for the companionship of some thousands of ants, which blackened the candles and covered everything perishable, we had a room to ourselves. Early in the morning we were served with chocolate and a small roll of sweet bread. Towards evening the whole town was in commotion, preparatory to the great fête of Santa Lucia. Early next morning, the firing of muskets, petards and rockets announced the arrival of this lady, one of the holiest saints of the calendar, and next to San Antonio, the most renowned for working miracles." The roads through Central America are execrable. The agricultural productions are various. Wheat, barley and fruits abound on the table-lands. Indian corn is the principal article of food. Rice is grown. Sugar-cane, indigo, cochineal, tobacco and cotton are widely cultivated. Mr. Stephens describes a hacienda or estate engaged in producing cochineal. "In the yard were four oxen grinding sugar-cane. and behind was the nopol, or cochineal plantation, one of the largest in the Antigua. The plant is a species of cactus, set out in rows like Indian corn; and at the time I speak of, it was about four feet high. On every leaf was pinned with a thorn a piece of cane, in the hollow of which were thirty or forty insects. These insects cannot move, but breed, and the young crawl out and fasten upon the leaf; when they have once fixed, they never move; a light film gathers over them, and as they feed, the leaves become mildewed and white. At the end of the dry season some of the leaves are cut off and hung up in a store-house for seed, the insects are brushed off from the rest and dried, and are then sent abroad to minister to the luxuries and elegance Realejo is a seaport on the Pacific, and of civilized life, and enliven with their bright colors the saloons of London, Paris, and St. Louis in Misexports mahogany, cedar, &c., to Peru and souri. The crop is valuable but uncertain, as an Chili. The harbor is most capacious. Leon early frost may destroy it, and sometimes all the is the capital of the State of Nicaragua;diers at the moment when they are most needed for workmen of the hacienda are taken away for soland, from a population of 30,000, has greatly its culture. The situation was ravishingly beauti declined. The population, in 1820, was 14,000. "In walking through its streets," says Mr. Stephens, "I observed palaces in which nobles had lived, dismantled and roofless, and occupied by half starved wretches, pictures of misery and want, and on one side an immense field of ruins, covering half the city. I must confess that I felt a degree of uneasiness in walking the streets of Leon that I never felt in any city of the East. My change of dress did not make my presence more acceptable, and the eagle on my hat attracted particular attention. every corner was a group of scoundrels who stared at me as if disposed to pick a quarrel. With some my official character made me an object of suspi At ción, for in their disgraceful fights they thought that the eyes of the whole world were upon them, and that England, France and the United States were secretly contending for the possession of their interesting country." Seba and Valladolid are unimportant. In the neighborhood of Tegucigalpa are mines of gold, silver, copper and iron. St. Salva ful, at the base and under the shade of the Volcano de Agua, and the view was bounded on all sides by mountains of perpetual green; the morning air was soft and balmy, but pure and refreshing. With good government and laws, with one's friends around, I never saw a more beautiful spot on which man could desire to pass his allotted time on earth." Immense herds of cattle are reared in the pasture lands. Manufactures are, of course, in a primitive state. A cotton factory is described near Realejo, built by an Amerisomething was anticipated. can, and owned by another, from which "Of the trade and navigation of this country," says Mr. McGregor, "no statistical account can be obtained. Small vessels from the West Indies and the United States, and occasionally from Europe, frequent the coast, and carry on a trade chiefly contraband in consequence of the pernicious system of high duties, which the government | have been on the north bank of the Alabama, of the day, in some mischievous form or at a place now called Choctaw Bluffs, about other, has attempted to establish. Vessels twenty-five miles above the confluence of the from the western coast of America also land Alabama and the Tombigbee.) The descripvarious articles. Costa Rica has separated tion of this town is interesting. from the other states. Salvador may also be said to act independently. Guatamala is still under the sway of the Indian Carrera. Nicaragua has its separate misrule, and Honduras has published its distinct administration and custom laws. The tonnage duties for anchorage are four reals, or about two shillings per ton for native vessels, and double that amount for foreign vessels. These were the rates established in 1837 for all the other states. Export duties, as well as import, are also attempted to be levied, but at such irregular and changeable rates, that we have not been able to procure correct data to enable us to give tabular statements, or tariff, for any of the states of Central America. "It stood by the side of a large river, upon a beautiful plain; and consisted of eighty handsome houses, each capacious enough to contain a thousand men. They all fronted a large public square. They were encompassed by a high wall, made of immense trunks of trees, set deep in the ground and close together, strengthened with cross-timbers, and with large vines. A thick mud plaster, resembling handport-holes were abundant, together with towers casome masonry, concealed the wood work; while pable of containing eight men each, at the distance of fifty paces apart. The eastern and western gate opened into the town." ALABAMA.-ITS HISTORY, PROGRESS, RESOURCES, ETC.-The thrilling and romantice, yet terribly fatal adventures of De Soto, introduced the European for the first time to the wilds of Alabama. After a long and disastrous march through Florida and Alabama, the once splendid cavalcade of this heroic yet fated chieftain arrived by the waters of the beautiful Coosa. The far-famed province of this name extended over three hundred miles, and embraced the present counties of Cherokee, Benton, Talladega, and Coosa. The chief of Coosa met the warrior, riding in a chair, supported upon the backs of several of his people in great state, and extended to him the hospitalities of the town. He even invited the Spaniards to settle in the country, professing a friendship which covered and concealed the most deadly and implacable hostility. From Coosa the expedition advanced towards the Tallapoosa, and eventually to the town of Tallasse. Crossing the Tallapoosa, it advanced towards the residence of the chief, Tuscaloosa, whose son had been dispatched to invite De Soto into his extensive dominions. The haughty chief received the Spaniards without the least expression of admiration or surprise, though with apparent cordiality. His speech was a model of laconic eloquence, and the interview is supposed to have taken place in the present county of Montgomery. The expedition reached soon after the banks of the Alabama, where a fatal disease broke out in the camp, which is said to have been avoided by those who used in their food the ashes of a weed recommended by the Indians. The Mobilian chief was retained in a condition of semi-captivity, but found means with his leading men to plot the destruction of the party of De Soto, which had reached his capital, Maubilia. (Mr. Pickett supposes it to At this place the savages openly threw off the mask, and precipitated themselves upon De Soto, in one of the most terrible and disastrous battles recorded in the annals of history. Ten thousand Mobilians were in arms, with desperate frenzy, and determined, at one blow, to annihilate the ranks of the insolent invaders of their soil. Prodigies of valor were exhibited upon both sides. The Indians fought in the streets, or on the house-tops, and even when hewed down in fearful nuinbers, uttered no cry for quarter. "The battle, which now waxed hotter and more sanguinary than ever, cannot be as graphically described as the heroic deeds on either side deserve. Often the Indians drove the troops out of the town, and as often they returned with increased desperation. Near the wall lay a large pool of delicious water, fed by many springs. It was discolored now with blood. Here soldiers fell down to slake the intense thirst created by heat and wounds; and those who were able rose again, and once more pitched into a combat, characterized by the most revolting destruction of human life. For some time the young females joined in the fight, and they now contended, side by side, with the foremost warriors, sharing the indiscriminate slaughter. Heated with excitement, smarting with his wounds, and provoked with the unsubdued fierceness of the natives, De Soto, rushed out alone by the gate, threw himself into his saddle, and charged the town; calling in a loud voice, upon "Our Lady and Santiago," he forced his charger over hundreds of fighting men and women, followed by the brave Wuno Tobar. While opening lanes through the savage ranks, and sprinkling his his lance into a gigantic warrior; at that instant a tracks with blood, he rose, on one occasion, to throw powerful winged arrow went deep into the bottom of his thigh. Unable to extract it or to sit in his saddle, he continued to fight until the end of the battle, standing in his stirrups. Everywhere that mighty son of Spain now gorged upon Alabama blood. His fearless bounds filled the boldest soldier with renewed courage. "At length the houses were set on fire; and the wind blew the smoke and flames in all directions, adding horror to the scene. The flames ascended in mighty volume! The sun went down, hiding Maubilia was in himself from the awful sight? ruins, and her inhabitants destroyed!" In this battle, which lasted nine hours, eighty-two Spaniards were slain, or died afterwards from wounds, and forty-five horses perished, an irreparable loss in their condition. The camp equipage, baggage, clothes, medicine, books, armor, pearls, flour, and wine, were consumed in the flames of the burning town. The Mobilians were almost entirely annihilated, their slain being estimated, in one account, at 2,500; and in another, at 11,000. The fate of the chief, Tuscaloosa, is involved in doubt. De Soto had been expecting the vessels of Maldinado to arrive at Pensacola, and learned at Maubilia that they had actually arrived. Notwithstanding this, and the knowledge of a conspiracy among some of the leaders in the camp, to abandon his fortunes, he came to the sudden and desperate resolution, in the crippled and forlorn condition of his followers, to turn his back upon the shipping, and plunge again into the forests of the north. With daring intrepidity he braved the conspirators, and by the mastery of a will and an intelligence, before which the proudest of them were accustomed to bow, he defeated their schemes, whilst yet only in the bud. Thus is it that great natures rise superior to every fortune, making man and the elements alike, and in defiance of rebellious inclinations, subservient to their bidding. Never was a stronger illustration, than that of the heroic De Soto, after the disasters of Maubilia, and in the dense and almost interminable forests of Alabama ! Crossing the Warrior, and interrupted by daily struggles with powerful parties of savages, the expedition reached the Tombigbee, near the county of Lowndes, in the state of Mississippi. The chief of Chickasa met them here, and engaged De Soto to assist him in some of his hostile movements against a neighboring tribe. Quarrels between the Spaniards and the Indians, growing out of the cruelty and oppressions of the former and the cupidity of the latter, soon led to a general outbreak, and an engagement, scarcely less sanguinary and disastrous in its effects than that of Maubilia. them, one by one, to bear allegiance, in his hands, The aborigines of the Southwest and of In laying out a town, the Indians first erected a mound, on which was placed the The subsequent fate of De Soto may be house of the chief and his family. At the briefly told, After the bloody battle of Ala- foot was a square fronted by the residences bama, which was on the Yazoo River, of the lesser chiefs. The wigwams of the in the county of Tallahatchie, he crossed common people came next in order, etc. the Mississippi, being the first, except, The houses were of timber, covered with perhaps, De Vaca, to discover its waters palm, and straw, or reeds. In the colder lati-spent a year in wanderings through Ar- tudes, they were daubed with clay, and sumkansas-returning to the Mississippi at the mer and winter residences were provided. town of Guachaya, below the mouth of the The chief's house was in one instance 120 Arkansas River. Here death ended the chap-feet by 40, and included small buildings like ter of his misfortunes, and left history to em- offices. A remarkable temple was found blazon his fame, as one of the bravest cap-upon the Savannah River at the present tains and most extraordinary adventurers that the world has ever known. He sleeps beneath the waters of that great river, which had never before been disturbed by the voices of civilized man, but which has since ministered to the wants of millions and millions of a race more hardy, energetic, and adventurous, than even the Spaniard himself! "With smiling lips," says Mr. Gayarre, "and serene brow, he cheers his companions, and swears Silver Bluff. The length was 100 and the breadth 40 feet. The walls were proportionately high, and the roof covered with a carpeting of split cane. Beautiful plumes, shells, and pearls, were suspended on the inside. The entrance was by three gates, guarded by gigantic and threatening wooden statues, whilst statues of men and women were arrayed around the hill. By the walls were boxes containing the remains of dead chiefs. Chests of valuable pearls, skins, etc., | were arranged in the centre, with mantles of feathers, etc. In a storehouse near by was contained copper pikes, bows, arrows, shields, etc., and other implements of warfare. The authorities relied upon by Mr. Pickett for this Indian history are the work of Le Clerc Milfort, who long lived among the Creeks, having married the sister of McGillivray, their great chieftain; the work of Hawkins; Adair's History of the Indians; Notes of Mr Compere, a Missionary among the Creeks; several old manuscripts and conversations with old settlers and traders. The Big Warrior, in 1822, confirmed the accounts to Mr. Compere: My ancestors were a mighty people. After they reached the waters of the Alabama, and took possession of the country, they went further-conquered the tribes upon the Chattahoochie, and upon all the rivers from thence to the The Indians planted peas, beans, pumpkins, corn, etc. They made cakes of persimmons, and dug the earth with fish bones, puncturing it with canes for the seed. West of the Mississippi they made fine earthenware and salt. Their canoes were often of the most exquisite workmanship and finish, and were marshaled into fleets. They worshiped the sun, and venerated the moon and certain of the stars, and even the chief, by the cruel sacrifice of the first born male child. The doctor cured his patient by suck-Savannah-yes, and even whipped the Ining out the blood and spurting it into a bowl dians then living in the territory of South from which nursing women were accustomed Carolina, and wrested much of their country to drink, if the subject were young and ath- from them." letic. Sometimes the patient was smoked with tobacco and weeds to produce perspiration. Should the reader desire to become more familiar with the manners and customs of the southern Indians, and more especially of that extraordinary people, the Natchez, he will find the fullest details in the work of Mr. Gayarre, to which we refer him. The third lecture of the second part of this work is one of the most graphic and eloquent, and deeply interesting contributions to Indian history anywhere to be met with. Indeed, we have often desired to extract it entire in our pages. At the time of De Soto, Alabama was inhabited by the Coosas, Tallasses, Mobilians, and Choctaws. Being nearly destroyed by his invasion, their places were filled by the Muscogees and Alabamas, who were of Mexican origin, and were driven out of that country by Cortez. Wandering a long time in the wilderness, the Muscogees reached at last and settled upon the banks of the Ohio, almost to the Wabash. They had previously met and vanquished the Alabamas, driving them to the Yazoo, whence they again drove them to the shores of the Alabama, near the confluence of the Coosa and the Tallapoosa. Further pressed by the warlike Muscogees, the unfortunate Alabamas were dispersed a third time, and sought an asylum among the Choctaws and other tribes, whilst the Mucogees overspread Georgia to the banks of the Savannah. Receiving at last into their bosom the relics of the Alabamas, the Tookabatches, the Tuskegees, who were allowed to occupy the forks of the Coosa and the Tallapoosa, the Ozcallies, the Uchees, and fugitives of the Natchez, after the terrible massacre of the French, the Muscogee confederacy in creased in strength and power until it became the most formidable in the country, receiving the name of CREEK, from the number of beautiful rivers and streams meandering through its limits. We have only space to note a few of the peculiarities of the Creeks. Before the consummation of marriage, it was necessary that the husband should have built a house, produced and gathered a crop, made a hunt and brought home game, and tendered the whole to the girl; a good rule, which our civilized race might very well adopt. Divorce was ad libitum, and both could marry again, though the woman only after the green corn dance was over. Marriage gave no right over the possessions of the wife, or the children she might have. Adultery was punished with many stripes, whoever was the guilty party'; the friends inflicting them, also cutting off their ears, nose, etc., and tearing out the woman's hair. When Bartram visited the nation in 1777, he found fifty towns, containing 11,000 inhabitants, the Muscogee being the national tongue. The general council was always held in the principal town, and was held annually, though each town had its separate legislative system, like the federal system under which we live. The walls of the public buildings were daubed with rude paintings and sculptures, which were as insignificant as writing. The green corn dance, a great national festival, is minutely described by Col. Hawkins, whom Mr. Pickett copies at length. The martial arrangements of the Creeks were peculiar. The great chief, on the opening of war, stuck up in public places a partly red stick, and sent to each subordinate as many pieces of sticks as days that must elapse before his presenting himself for service. These latter called up the warriors with the drum, informed them of the rallying place, and the combatants were chosen from those who were the first to arrive, it being some disgrace to arrive too late, to fill up the required number. The warriors then took the "medicine of war," and were supplied by their wives with little bags of parched corn, two ounces being sufficient to make a quart of broth, and satisfy a man for twenty |