Page:Mexico in 1827 Vol 2.djvu/477

Rh The town of Guănăjūātŏ, in the immediate vicinity of which all the mines mentioned in this sketch are situated, contains many splendid memorials of the former wealth of its inhabitants. The houses of the families of Ŏtērŏ, Vălĕnciānă, Rūhl, and Pĕrĕz Gālvĕz, are all magnificent, as are the Church, formerly belonging to the Jesuits, built by the Marquis of Rayas, the rich ornaments presented by the family of San Clemente to the Parroquia, the road to the Valenciana, and the numerous chapels, and religious edifices, constructed in different directions, in the surrounding district. Many of these are still in an unfinished state, for the piety of the miners usually commenced with a Bonanza, and this did not always last long enough to enable them to complete the works, which it prompted them to undertake.

A great part of the landed property both in Guanajuato and in the neighbouring States, likewise belongs to mining families. The Countess Ruhl has large possessions near Aguas Calientes. The estates of the Pĕrĕz Gālvĕz family occupy no inconsiderable portion of San Luis Pŏtŏsī; and the Ŏbrĕgōnĕs, (descendants of the first Conde de Valenciana,) possess some beautiful Haciendas near Leon, with many others of less importance, which it is needless to enumerate.

From the Governor of the State, Don Carlos Montesdeoca, a man of liberal and enlightened views, the Foreign Companies have received every