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on the w. coast of Mex. & [[strikethrough]] was [[/strikethrough]] the town was once built on the top of a hill rising half a mile back from the shore. This hill presents a sheer front of rock over 100 ft high toward the sea & slopes back to the general level on the inland side. There are ruins of old churches & other buildings of stone on the hill now but they are hidden in the midst of a tangled growth of trees & vines. This was the former town in the early vice regal days but has been long since abandoned & the present sandy site on the flat shore has been occupied. The town is a typical hot country place of the better kind - Adobe walled houses with roofs thatched with fronds of the nut palm form the majority. Others are of mud daubed wattles (Jacals) & two or three houses of sawed lumber brought from San Francisco. The streets are narrow irregular & only a few are found with cobblestones. The rest are ankle deep with fine loose sand. The custom house & two or three mercantile houses do the main business of the town. Like various other west coast ports this is a fever ridden place & the business houses forward the goods to Tepic which is the supply point for this region. The day after my arrival I delivered my letter to Don Emilio Corsi the head of the Custom house. He was very cordial & agreed to