Enter a name, company, place or keywords to search across this item. Then click "Search" (or hit Enter).
Volume 3 (1858-1859) (592 pages)
Go to the Archive Home
Go to Thumbnail View of this Item
Go to Single Page View of this Item
Download the Page Image
Copy the Page Text to the Clipboard
Don't highlight the search terms on the Image
Show the Page Image
Show the Image Page Text
Reset View and Center Image
Zoom Out
Zoom In
Rotate Left
Rotate Right
Toggle Full Page View
Flip Image Horizontally
More Information About this Image
Get a Citation for Page or Image - Copy to the Clipboard
Go to the Previous Page (or Left Arrow key)
Go to the Next Page (or Right Arrow key)
Page: of 592
JOURNEY TO MEXICO. 59
silver to some extent. 1811 it was besieged by the main army of the insurgents and had to surrender to the commander of that army, Galeana, by capitulation; notwithstanding the terms of
which the “‘ Generlissimo,” Cura Morelos
himself, who arrived a few days afterwards, caused eleven of the most influential citizens to be shot, amongst whom
was the father of my amiable host, who
was brutally forced to be an eye-witness
to the execution. But immediately after
the retreat of the insurgents, who ransacked the place and remained there several months, the citizens of Tasco renewed their allegiance to Spain, and
continued it till the Independence was
proclaimed. Tranquility restored, the
mines were again worked with success,
and Tasco remained highly productive
until 1828, during the occupation by the
blood-thirsty Mangoy, who, being an inveterate enemy to all who had belonged
to the Spanish party, ransacked the town
again and carried on a system of persecution, which obliged the most prominent
inhabitants to leave the place. The mines,
neglected, soon filled with water, and
hardly any of them have been restored
to a good working order. Decay, and
general decay was the natural consequence, and only latterly a few mines,
properly taken in hand, have begun to
yield tolerably. There are strange tales
connected with the previous “‘ bonanzas,”’
amongst them one of a poor coal-carrier,
who discovered a vein from which, in the
course of two years, upwards of a million
and a half of dollars were drawn, and, of
course, spent as freely as they had been
gained, leaving the owner to die no richer than he had been before. Few of the
chief actors of that epoch have left more
than the remembrance of their riches and
freaks of extravagance; with one honorable exception in the person of a Basque,
of the name of Borda, who made a most
judicious use of his immense gains. He
built that beautiful church, which, including the ornaments, cost nearly a million of dollars ; undertook gigantic works
as well for public utility as for embellishment, and he established several charitable institutions, some of which, (a foundling-house in Mexico, almshouse, etc.,)
exist to the present day. He befriended
the poor, and did infinite good with a
discernment that was sure to double the
favor. To each of his relatives he left a
mine in productive condition, an estate,
(una mina en bonanza y una buena hacienda) and a good round sum of money to
work both; notwithstanding all that, his
bounty scarcely outlived the next generation.
[Concluded in our next.