"Probably no more striking evidence exists of the foresight of that wonderful man who gave Spain an empire in the New World, than the ground plan of the city of Mexico. It was drawn under the immediate supervision of the conqueror, and was intended by him to guide in the construction of a great capital, which 'should rise,' to use his own language, 'to the rank of queen of the surrounding provinces, in the same manner as she had been of yore.'" (Life in a Mexican Street, by Robert H. Lamborn.)

Our Next-Door Neighbors: Canada and Mexico (Collier's Cyclopedia, 1882)

The Hieroglyphs of Central America (Century Magazine, 1882A)

A Diligence Journey in Mexico (Century Magazine, 1882A)

A "diligence" is a type of stage, drawn by four horses.

From Morelia to Mexico City on Horseback (Century Magazine, 1882A)

Life in a Mexican Street, by Robert H. Lamborn (Century Magazine, 1882B)

With the Van-Guard in Mexico (Harper's Monthly, 1882A)

Mexican Notes, by Charles Dudley Warner (Harper's Monthly, 1887B)

Visits to Coatepec, Morelia and Patzcuaro, Tczintczuntczan, and Uruapan.

A White Umbrella in Mexico, by F. Hopkinson Smith (Century Magazine, 1889A)

Who Was El Dorado? by Henry Rowan Lemly (Century Magazine, 1891B)

The author reminds us that originally, "El Dorado" was a person, not a place!

An Indian Fair in the Mexican Hot Country, by Sylvester Baxter (Harper's Monthly, 1892A)

Land of the Living Cliff-Dwellers, by Frederick Schwatka (Century Magazine, 1892B)

The native cliff-dwellers of northern Mexico.

The Blessing of the Animals, by Gilbert Terry (The Strand, 1900A)

A lovely ceremony in the Mexican town of Cuernavaca, where on St. Anthony's day the church blesses everything from burros to bunnies.

Central America

Fuente de Sangre (Leisure Hour, 1860)

The "Fountain of Blood" - a cavern in Honduras that drips a red, blood-like substance.

A "Street Breakfast" on the Isthmus of Panama (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1876)

Panama and the Isthmus (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1880)

[Costa Rica] The Smallest of American Republics, by William Eleroy Curtis (Harper's Monthly, 1887B)

Tarrying in Nicaragua, by Roger S. Baldwin, Jr. (Century Magazine, 1891B)

"Pleasures and perils of the California trip in 1849."

The Isthmus and Sea Power, by A.T. Mahan (Atlantic Monthly 1893)

On the history of Latin America and plans for a Nicaragua canal.

Personal Impressions of Nicaragua, by Gilbert Gaul (Century Magazine, 1893B)

• See also South America