Wild beasts are very numerous in its forests, and wild hogs, foxes and rabbits are seen every where in its plains; snakes of a formidable size, said to be twenty feet long, are found in the mountainous parts, also others of a red colour, streaked with black and white, which are tamed by the Indians, who carry them about their persons. The inhabitants of this country are a well made, fair people, very courteous in their manners and skilled in music and painting, with great knowledge of the mechanical arts. The chief town of this province is CHIAPA or _Cuidad Real_, or _Chiapa de los Espagnoles_; it is the see of a bishop, whose revenue is 8000 ducats per annum. It is also the seat of the courts of justice, and is situated in 17° north latitude, and 96° 40ʹ west longitude, in a beautiful plain environed with mountains, at nearly the same distance from the Pacific Ocean as from the gulf of Mexico, and 300 miles to the north of Guatimala. Chiapa Real is neither very populous nor very rich, and it is said that the upper orders of the Spaniards who inhabit it are proud, poor and ignorant to a proverb. The families amount to four hundred in the city, and the Indian families in the suburbs, to about one hundred. The cathedral is an edifice of beautiful appearance and the city has several monasteries. It is governed by a magistrate chosen amongst the burgesses, in consequence of a privilege granted the city by the king of Spain, and its principal commerce consists in cacao, cotton and cochineal. CHIAPA DE LOS INDIOS, or _Chiapa of the Indians_, is the next town of rank in this province; this is the largest city which they have in the country, and is situated 36 miles north-west of Chiapa Real, in a valley near the Rio Tabasco. The town is extensive and opulent, and is filled with Indians who hold a high rank amongst their tribes. It is asserted that this city contains 20,000 people of the native race. The climate is excessively hot during the day-time in this part of the country, but the evenings and nights are cool. There are many monasteries and churches in this town; the first bishop was the celebrated Bartolomeo de las Casas, who struggled so hard for the rights of the Indians, and whose memory is consequently very dear to them. On the river Tabasco the inhabitants amuse themselves in performing naval actions with boats; and all around the town are farms which are plentifully stocked with cattle; in the vicinity there are also some sugar plantations: wheat is sold here from Chiapa Real, and biscuits are made of it, which are bartered by the natives and Spaniards for cotton, wool and other necessaries. _PROVINCE OF VERA-PAZ._