Page:Mexico, Aztec, Spanish and Republican, Vol 2.djvu/284

242 for tin, which had been found in the neighborhood by the Indians; and in the year 1752, Laborde, fully developed its mineral wealth in silver.

Extending our observations further to the south-west, we reach the district of Acapulco, which is divided between the slopes of the Sierra and the shores of the Pacific. The declivities of the Cordillera are cut by deep vallies, which open their long and regular vistas towards the ocean. The principal places in this part of the State of Mexico, are, with 4,000 inhabitants; ; ; ; , with 3,500 inhabitants; , and.

The city of Acapulco is the capital of its district and a port in the Pacific in 16° 50' 29" north latitude, and 102° 12' 12" west longitude from Paris. It lies in a bay, 19,700 yards long, from East to West, protected by a ring of granitic hills and rocks, in which ships may easily load. The entrance to the bay is broad; and the anchorage good, but the water is not deep. Acapulco was formerly the seat of Spanish trade between Mexico and the East; but its