Page:Mexico, Aztec, Spanish and Republican, Vol 2.djvu/241

Rh The other towns and villages in Tamaulipas worthy of note, are Altamira, Horcasitas, Coco, Escandon, Llera, Santillana, Padilla, Hoyos, Guadalupe, Reinosa, Camargo, Mier, Revilla, the most important of which lie on the margin of, or near, the Rio Grande.

The only remains of Indian architecture and civilization of whose existence we are aware, are those described in the small work published by Mr. B. M. Norman in 1845, to which we have already alluded, entitled "Rambles by Land and Water or Notes of Travel in Cuba and Mexico." This gentleman's notices of the antiquities in this region are exceedingly brief, sketchy and indefinite, nor are the illustrations with which his text is accompanied, calculated to convey more vivid pictures of the relics he visited or discovered in the course of his investigations along the margins of the Panuco.

Departing from Tampico, in March, 1844, he ascended that river in a canoe, paddled by an Indian, and before nightfall, on the second day of his primitive voyage, reached Topila creek, three miles from the mouth of which he landed at a rancho or cattle farm, belonging to Señor Coss, of Tampico. Five miles from this spot, lying to the eastward of another rancho, he found several considerable mounds, one of which was more than twenty-five feet high and of a circular form. At its sides, a number of layers of small flat well hewn stones were still to be seen; while scattered about were many others of larger size and various shapes. All were perfectly plain or unadorned, and had apparently been used for the door posts and lintels of edifices.

On the following day, the traveller visited the rancho de las Piedras, distant about two leagues and a half in a southerly direction from the bank of the Topila. Passing through a dense wilderness, he reached after much toil, an elevated table land or plateau, near a chain of hills running through this section of country and known as the Cerro de Topila. Here he found more scattered stones which had once formed parts of buildings; while, further on, he discovered several mounds, whose sides were constructed of loose layers of smooth and uniform blocks of concrete sandstone. Most of these layers, had, however, fallen from their places in the tumuli, and were heaped in masses near their base. About twenty of these mounds, lay contiguous to each other, varying in height from six to twenty-five feet, some being circular and others square. The principal elevation in this group of pyramids covers an area of about two acres, and at its base, Mr. Norman discovered a cylindrical