M. de Humboldt has given a very animated picture of the sensations excited in a traveller when he ascends the acclivity leading from the coast of Vera Cruz, the capital, to the Plain of Perote. Here, he says, nature may be observed in the course of a few hours in all her variety; suffocating heat prevails on the coast; ascending, the air becomes gradually more pure and less heated; the face of the country sensibly changes; the productions of the torrid zone first meet the eye, then those of the temperate, and the eager step of curiosity advancing may place it amid the region of ever during snow and ice. The mountains covered to a certain height above and below with a belt of oaks, of bananas, and trees of the liquid amber, denote that the climate is conducive to health; the hardy pine ascends the higher regions, and becomes more and more stunted in its growth, till it is lost in fields of snow. The majestic features of the volcanoes, the vast expanse of the ocean, the verdure of the forests, and the fall of the cataracts, rushing from the mountains, cause the most wonderful and gratifying variety in the _coup dʼ[oe]il_ of this singular province. The pimento, the vanilla, jalap, cacao, tobacco, sarsaparilla, cotton, indigo, and sugar are amongst the principal productions of Vera Cruz, and in some of which a very lucrative and considerable trade is carried on. The population of the Intendancy has been estimated at 156,000; part of which is concentrated in the town of Vera Cruz, and in the towns on the table land; and the remainder thinly scattered over the extent of country between the coast and the mountains. The capital of this province is _La Vera Cruz_, which is the seat of government, situated in 19° 11ʹ 52ʺ north latitude, and 96° 8ʹ 45ʺ west longitude; with a secure harbour sufficiently large for a great fleet, having from four to ten fathom water; the only danger being from the northerly winds, which are excessively violent, and have sometimes done much damage to the shipping in the port. This harbour swarms with aquatic birds. The defence of the port is principally Fort St. Juan de Ulua, situated on a small island at the entrance of the channel, strongly fortified, and mounting three hundred pieces of cannon. It was this island that Juan de Grijalva discovered in 1518. This city is neither the Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz, nor Vera Cruz el Antigua of the followers of Cortez, both of which were deserted on account of their unhealthiness; it stands on the spot where Cortez first set his foot on the continent, on the 21st of April 1519.