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ERRATA ET CORRIOENDA.

AUb

Copyrightad leW. by F. C. BAICIB PREFACE.

In presenting'this little volume to the public, a word or two In exp1;rnntlon ofthc circumstances which gave it birth may not be dcemcd inupproprink. The author had originally intended . . n~rrkingn littlc pnmphlct covering nomeof the more interesting , cxpcricnccs of thc-Ildexicnn Expedition. It ham been thought, however, that the important nature of the expedition and the linking tògether of narrativo, science, and hietory (a cambination not oRcn atlempkd by authors) were circumstaneee eufflaent to juntify ib publicntlon in a more pretentious form. Thc tour which forms ita subject WRBBundertaken under the auspicca of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, the author acting(LB Zoologist. The expedition wan under the leader- whip ofProfessor Angelo Heilprin, Cumtor-in-charge.of the Philadelphin Academy, anil ita object was h collect data and npecimcnr illustrnting the faunr. flora, and Geology of Yutzitau rrncl Noutllcrn Mcxico, with n consideration of the high mountain pcrrkw OP the Yexicnn Plateau. For full accounts concerning the scientific portion of the expedition, the reader is reapeetfully referred to the Proceeding8 ofthe above Academy from I@O to 1895. The illustrations used are mostly from photographs taken by the party,together' with sketches made by the author. The majority of new species'of mollusks discovered bythe expedition are figured in thefollowing pages. As to the literary character of the work, if not EO good m might be wished, it is yet such BE circamstancea have permitted. The , text han been written during the leisure honre of a busy pro- fernional life, which fact will explain, if it doee not excu~e,its errors. The author has cndeavored to picture the scenes which came under his observation, as they appeared to him. The author desires to expresa his gratitude ta the friends, both in Mexico and the United Btates, who have in various ways ameiated him. He troeta that this little sketch of a naturalista experiences may awaken a scientific intecent in thin little under- stood country. FRANKC~LLINE BAKER. chlE.go Academy of Belmcw. JalYv

.. . .. CHAPTER VII. . Humming-bird+Magacy and Pulque-The Aicent of Orlraba-Hard C1imbing-A Cold Night-Effect of Rarefied Atmonphere-Speaes of Birds ...... 75

. CEAPTERVIII. CHAPTER I. City. of Mexico -Pation-Plaza MaJor-Paeeo de la Dolphins-Gulf Stream-Havana-BotanicalGarden- ltcformn-Interesting objecte-Soldiers-Famouß Cathedral- Progreso-Col. Glenn-Hotel Yucateco-Merida-Old Gute- (Irlmct View-National Palace-Hand Tree-Academy of San Cathedral-Bird~Historg- MarketFranciscan Convent Crrlbn-Aztec Fenther Work-NationalLibrary-Names of Arrival at Constraction Camp ...... L.. . I HLn.c.b+-HntclR nndTheatree-Monte de Piedad-National Worcllm-ltlln! Rpecimens-Birds- Antiquities- Analee of CEAPTER II. ..++Q- ~UNl'lllll...... 88 Firnt Morning nt Camp-Isak HcGinty eneque Sitilpech-Cenotes-Native Dance-Mexican Parro CllAPTER IX. nt-Cacti Goat-suckern Preparing Torti - - ~'l~~~~~~~lk~~~~~r~-llcllx-~'Wcw~I'oinVof Mexico-Poople nd-Izamal.. 19 ...... ur Nvrlro I'VIIII-MIWIISIB - Cnwlrm -.- 11eporo11-Aqu~do~ CHAPTER III. Abl@l*lil..B, ...... 99 Apparent Scarcity of Birds4urious Lizards-Molluskm 4' II A l''l'l5 It X. not Plentiful-Santa Cruz-Intense Cold-Large Cave-Ticul -Church and anvat...... 34 AIIIVI~IIIIIFCII - Hoatlllritl Hrwrery - Popocatepetl - Giant C'rulur N~I~IA~WIL-I~II Cirnll-lrn Omn Ciudadxde Lerma- CHAPTER IV, K~IIIII-l Vnlcunra - Tolllar - Nntlvc Home- Ixtaccihuatl - 'I'I~~~IIII!'FIIIrodvr HkBrrn-HaKc Gl,wier--6nce the Giant of Hnciendv of Uxmal--House of the Dwarf-Ruined State MVBIFIIII VlIl~WllOCH...... 104 of Buildings-House of the Governor-Elaborate Sculpture- House of the Nuns -Sculptured Lynx-Hacienda of Tabi- CII A PTER XI. Cave of Loltun4ve of Bolonchen ...... 38 '. Zqdl~rk-Calrnn--Ya~lin--Patzeua~Hilly Town-Lake CKAPTER V. I'rlrv~raro- MayrdtlcentView-Duck Shooting-Peculiar t'allwm ~~~rh~l~~~l~il.wl~w~lmd-~ulhs~val~ey Joruk- Ruins of Labna-Arche of ~'IIIIII~VcdL'llnlrb-Volclmo Jorullo-Crater-La Playa- Soen -Spanish Conversatin of Cl~lcr~tlv Mryo 117 AmericanConsul-Marine ...... Civilizntion-l'ho~phoresence...... 50 CHAPTER XII. l VI. CEAPTFIR hem Monk-Cuautla-Town ofYautepec-Cerro de City of Veracruz-Yellow Fever-Atoyac River-Cordoba Calvrrlr-Naw Ppecica Discovered-Cretaceoum Limestone- -City of Orizaba- EI Borrego - Small Plaza -Beautiful C~nrwCof Vqy-Zumpango-Drainage of Mexico-Tree of Scenery-Village of Nogales-Moll~ska-cerm de Emcamela Llro H~rcl NlNht-Town of Tehuacan-Beautiful Yomica-Snn . Anlonln-Alwnce oP Animal Life.. , 186 -Fossils-Townof Maltrata-San AndresCha1c)icomulu.. .. Br ......

... I A NATURALISTIN .MEXICO.

CHAPTER In . We left Philadelphia on the morning of February 15th, and reached New York City to find it clothed in a wintry garb. That afternoon we took passage on board the steam-

ship Orizaba, of theWard Steamship Company's Line. ' The mail steamer sailed promptly atthe time assigned, hauled.out into the stream by a couple of noisy little tugs, with two-inch hawsers made fast to stem and stern. Bejore sunset the pilot left the ship, which was then headed due south for Cuba. The sharp north-west wind, though blus- tering and aggressive, was in our favor, and helped us not alittle on our journey. We doubled Cape Hatterasand Cape Lookout well in towards the shore, sighting on the afternoon of the third day the Island of Abaco, largest of the Bahpma Isles. The woolen clothing worn when we came on board ship had already become oppressive, the cabin thermometer indicating '15O Fahrenheit. With nothing . to engage the eye save the blue sky and the bluer water, the most is made of every circumstance at sea, and even' trivial occurrences become notable. The playful dolphins went through their aquatic pantominesfor our amusement. Half a dozen of them started off just ahead of the. cut- . water, and raced the ship for two hours, keeping exactiy the same relative distance ahead without any apparent ef- fort. The broken main-mast of a ship, floating, with consid-. erable top hamper attached, was passed, suggestive of a recent wreck. ..

I a NATURALI8T A IN MEXICO. . EAVANA. B The voyager in these latitudes is constantly saluted by cl1ln-c.olorccl rock, upon whose precipitous side the fortifica- gentle breezes impregnated with tropical fragrance, intensi- tim is tvrr;w:ccl. It stands just at the entrance of the nar- iq rtlw I.IIIIIIIIC~ltxrclitl~ to tllc city, so that in passing in, one fied effect by the distant view of palmetto trees, clothing i the islands and growing down to the water's very edge. A5 . I *II rwdy rxc:llnngc greetings with the sentry on the outer reglide along, little groups of flying-fish are seen enjoying llIllll~lll~lll, an air bath, either in frolic or in fear; pursued, may be, by )II 11111 clpl~lmitn nllorcthe battcry of La Punta stands Bome aquatic enemy, to escape from whom they essay these RIII~VI~IIVI-~ 111111 kiclcm III th: cl~~lnncl. Passing through the aerial flights. On the port side may be seen the dim outline IIUIIIIW I IIIIIIIW~I)c-~wecw tlwnc two fortifications we entered of the Bahamas. Here is the harvest 'field of the conchol- IIIII IIU:~IIII,hlwmlvl 1111 thmait to wlrcrc it widens into a ogist, the beaches andcoral reefs affording-an abundant Imn111, IIIMI~I~lunt t11 n I)uoy, nnd Ilad our first glimpse of supply of exquisitely colored shells of many different I In IIU ~IIIIW.SIIIIIC! lI;Irl)cJr-boat# took us ashore. We species. IIIIII~I~nt IIIIIIII~ stllllc: ntcps pervaded by smells, passed into It was interesting to remain on deck at night and watch tlln I :IILIIJIII I IOIIW, und out of it into paved lanes full of the heavens, as we glided silently through the phosphores- .. dl~nhlq-~, III~HIIIIW,htrlclicrn, ncllers of fruit and lottery-tick- cent sea. Was it possible the grand luminary, which ren- ~m,rwyrycvl III Ilnllnec.titm in ;I clol~;~scdfractional currency. dered objects so plain that one could almost read fine print 'I lm IIIIIIIV~III th111-1)t rillllan islmd is that of our "shin- with no other help, shone solely by. borrowed light? We plantrl" WUI Iwinl. A c.ouldc of boiled cggs in a common all know it to be so, and also that Venus, Mars, Jupiter, rvntuumut c'llst lorty ccntr; u ride in a horse-car thirty-five. 1 III! II $40 and Saturn shine in a similar manner with light reflected .. wr~gc!n uf l~~i~lorclerk at the same ti.me were but

from the sun. or #ßt1 II arontlr. ' How does he make ends meet aud pro- . We were' now runningthrough the Florida Straits, Villu IIJC hi8 flltlm!? where one branch of the Gulf Stream finds its way north- I~IIVIIII~is P thoroughly representative city-culian and . ward. The Gulf Stream1 Who can explain the-mystery twtlling clrc. Its history embraces in no small degree that of its motive power; what keeps its tepid waters in a course III dl 1111: island, being the center of its talent, wealth, and . of thousands of miles from mingling with the rest of the pphttion. The harbor, or bay, is shaped like one's out- aea; whence 'does it come? The accepted theories are qmccad 11111rc1, with the wrist for an'entrance, and is populous familiar enough, but it is hard to believe them. with the nllips of all. nations. . It presents at all times a On the morning of the fourthday wesighted the Island ntme of great maritime activity. Besides the national ships of Cuba, and studied its long, bold outline. Soon after IJ~uthr countries ind those of Spain, mail steamers from . sighting the island, the famous Moro Castle is seen. This Ihropc and America are coming and going 'daily; also antique, yellow, Moorish-looking stronghold is picturesque I c:orwtiny steamers froE the eastern and southern shores of to the last degree, with its crumbling, honeycombed battle- lllo island, added to regular lines for Mexico and the isl- ments, and queer littleaanking turrets, grated windows, rnclu of the Caribbean Sea. The large ferry steamers ply- and shadowy towers. It is built upon the face of a lofty, hg constantly between the city and the Regla shore, the . BOTANICAL GARDEN.- 4 A NATURALISTIN YEXfCO. S fleet of little sailing boats, foreign yachts, and row-boats, glancing in the burning sunlight, created a scene of great maritime interest. The city presents a large extent of public buildings, Zathedrals, antiqueand venerable churches. Thereis

nothing grand in its appearance as one entersthe harbor .! ' and comes to anchor. Its multitude of churches, domes, andsteeples arenotarchitecturally remarkable, andare I dominated by the colossal prison near the shore. This im- mense quad.rangular edifice flanks thePunta, and is de- signed to contain five thousand prisoners at a time. The low hills which make up the distant background are not sufficiently high to add much to the general effect. The few . palm trees wh'ich catch the eye here and theregive an Oriental aspect to the scene, quite in harmony with the atmospheric tone of intense sunshine. Neither the city nor its immedi- ate environs is elevated, so thatthe whole impression is l that of flatness, requiring some strength, of background to form a completepicture. The low-lying, many-colored city of Havana was orig- inally surrounded by a wall, though the population has long since extended its dwellings and business structures far into . what was,half acentury since, the suburbs. A portion of the old wall is still extant, crumbling and decayed, but it has mostly. disappeared. The narrow streetsare paved or . macadamized, and cross each other at right angles, like those of Philadelphia. Thereare no sidewalks, unless a narrow line of flagstones can be so, called, andin fact the people haveless use for them where nearly every one rides in a victoria, the fare being but sixteen cents per mile. . The architecture of the dwelling-houses is exceedingly heavy, giving them the appearance of great age. They are built of the porousstone so abundantupon the island, I - 6 . A NATURALIST IN MEXICO. PROQRESO. I solemnly impressive was the liberal splendor of the sky. squares in the sides, where shells are carefully set in vari- The full moon looked down upon and wasreflected by OIIR shapes in the mortar, and which make a pleasing waters of perfect smoothness. The air was as mild as June dlvct, 1110 diamonds and other shapes giving the walls a in Pennsylvania, while at night the Southern Cross and the varirty III;II is rc:dly artistic. Here I first tastedthe sort North Star blazed in the horizon at the sanie time. As we of t.hot~Ih1wid wlhAl Mintczuma was so fond. A brown, steered westward, after leaving Havana,both of these IIIIIWII~llltlirlll III;I~I!.II$ a cop of the same in a corner caf6. heavenly sentinels were seen abeam, the constellation on II i- p1q~;1rwIill Inilk, ilwl is A thick, soft liquid that melts our port side and the North Staron our starboard. OIIpur [IIIIgllc!. OIIC llwst come to Mexico to knowhow On the morning of the 83rd we reached Progreso, and "l IlIll 11111111!'* 1'1111 l;l9lll!. came to anchor four miles from shore. It was necessary to '1'111. Mals ;Ilwat l'rogreso IIPVC chiefly shrubsand keep at this distance on account of the extreme shallowness rnrti. llv;tutifd Ilrnvcrn of purpic, ycllow, and crimson of the water, and, also, to be in readiness for the sudden ~IIIIIIII~. I Icw IIIC Ildiotropc grows wild, thefragrant advent af a norther. We procured a shore.boat to take us ~IIII~II:hwvr tll;lt is scattcrctl so gcncrally at funerals. and our baggage on shore, and landed at a wharf covered 'I'III-HWWI III*;I ;IIIII otllcr cllltivalocl clcligllts of the northern with bales of hemp and brown-skinned natives with white IIIII IIIIIIW IIIIII gi1I111-n.m! Iholuing abunclantly. suits on. The customs examinations were soon passed, . 'l'h t III'II~IJI~I~III thrown outits long spines, deep and we were at,liberty to go wherever our own will should MCIWI, thrunt Ntr;1igllt ollt Zrm a gray trunJr, that looks as lead us. il wr;tppcd in old clotllcs agaipst the cold. This gray bark. Progreso, like some of our new western cities, is in il nlriking offset to the dark, rich leaves, which are the better laid outthan 'settled. It hasits straight, broad I)roncllcs thcmselves. Where these leaves push forth from streets running through.chaparral, its grand plaza, with the trunk, from ten to fifty feet frgm the ground, a cluster scarcely a corner of it yet occupied, and its corner lots at of green balls, of various sizes and ages, is hanging. Then fabulous prices. The market-place is a projecting, thatched. , the black shell known t_o us is reached, and inside of that, roof over the side of a one-story edifice. On mats sit not the thick, white substance we find on opening it, but a brown old ladies, with almost equally old-looking vegeta- thin, soft layer, or third rind, the most of the hollow being bles. Here . are oranges, bananas, black beans, squash filled with milk. Later in the season the milk coagulates seeds boiled in molasses, a sort of candy, and other escu- to meat, and the cocoanut of commerce is completed. lents, to us unknown. The people are chiefly natives; not of the Aztec, but I The houses of Progreso are of one story, of mortar or Toltec variety. This is a nation ,hundreds of years older thatch, covered with a high roof of thatch. This high than the Aztecs, and who are supposed to be the builders roof is open inside, and makes them shady and cool. The of the famous monuments of Central America, and to have sides are also often of thatch, and they look like ä brown been driven fromMexico southward abouta thousand dwarf with a huge, brown straw sombrero pulled over his years ago. Both sexes wear white, the men and boys hav- eyes. Some of these built of mortar have ornamental. ing often one leg of their trousers rolled up, for what pur- I I 8 NATURALIST A IN MEXICO. YUCATECO. HOTEL B !i

pose we could not guess, unless it be for the more cleanly were seen under cultivation, herequen being the principal fording of the'brooklets and mudlets that occur. The . article. This henequen, substancethe from which the i women wear a skirt of white, and a loose white waist sep- famous Sisalhemp is made, is a Maguey plant(the Agave I arate from the skirt, and hanging sometinles near to the Sisahsis of botanists), and much resembles plantthe 1 bottom of the under garment. This over-skirt, or robe, is found on the plains of Apam, in Mexico, from which the . ornamented with fringe andborders worked inblue. The celebrated Mexican drink, pulque, is made. The growing head-dress is a shawl, or mantle, of light cotton gauze, of of henequen is one of the chief industries of Yucatan, if .i blue or purple, thrown gracefully over the head and not the chiefone. In thedistance several ruined mounds i shoulders. were seen, but nothing which gave us the faintest concep- Before leaving Progreso for Merida we engaged the tion of grandthe and wonderful buried cities of the j services of a Spaniard, Señor Lopez by name, who spoke intorior. English, Spanish,and Maya (the native tongue), toact Alter a two hours' ride we reached Merida, a little after as our interpreter during our stay in Yucatan, He proveda clark. WCput 1113 at thc Hotel Yucateco, the best hotei in most valuable adjunct to ourparty. A little before 6 o'clock IIWcity, kqlt IIY SI!I~II~Escalcntc, a vcry worthyand oblig- P. M. we boarded the train for Merida. Before leaving the IIIW~I.II~~C*IIIIIII. Allvr SII~~CI-,wltcn in a cafe keptin a dgpot we were accosted by a gentleman, who introduced WIIIIwy nlalw, w19 vwm¡nc!d IIIII~~:cl~~sely our quarters. The himself as Colonel Glenn, and who extended to us an invita- llrllwn UWI* 1111 ~~III;III~on the ground floor, and were IIIMJIIItwmty-live Icct in hcigllt, twenty in length,and ' . tion to visit his railroad copstruction camp, situatednear the town of Tekanto. We accepted his kind invitation, and liltwe in widtl1,with a cloth partition extendinghalf-way to promised soon to see him and his camp. At 6 o'clock sharp the ccilinff, making two rooms of one. The furniture con- the train pulled out from Progreso, and we were soon steam- níatccl ofa bed, chair, and wash-stand; the bed clothing ing rapidly toward the capital of Yucatan. of but a pair of sheets1 The character of the country for some little distance We were awakened early next morning by the clanging of the bells of the cathedral close by. One these bells outside of Progreso was decidedly swampy. , A short dis- of tance beyond the town we crossed a broad lagoon, in which was cracked, and produced a most doleful sound. After was said to abound many species of wildfowl. As our making a'careful toilet, for it was Sunday, we made a more train sped along, numbers of birds rose upon either side, accurate survey of our surroundings than we were able to and with discordant cries flew deeperinto the swamp. I do the evening before. Our room looked very prison-like noticed particularly several large herons, which I judged with its barred windows, the early morning light streaming were the common GreatBlue Heron of our southern through, and its high, plastered walls; It brought forcibly states. Several egrets,and numerous members of the to mind the pictures I had seen of Columbus in prison. raptoral, or hawk, order of birds were seen. The land soon Stepping from our room we entered a spacious court-yard, changed from swampy to very dry, and continued thus the ,upon which allthe rooms opened. In thecenter of this remainder of the journey. In many places whde acres murt yard was anancient well, and beside it a modern lo A NATURALIBT IN MEXICO. . OLD GATE. Il

steam-pump, a strange object to see beside so antique a wel.1. Several tree-like vines were growing in the court, and upon the ground several bright plumaged birds were feeding. After eating a light breakfast we left the hotel to look about the city. Merida is a city of about forty thousand inhabitants, situated twenty miles from Progreso. It stands on a great plain, on a surface of limestone rock, and the temperature . and climate aresaid to be very uniform. The general aspect of the city is Moorish, as it was built,at a time when ’ the Moorish style prevailed in Spanish architecture. The houses are large, generally of stone, andone story in height, with balconies to the windows, andlarge court- yards. The windows are invariably barred, which give the houses a prison-like aspect. In thecenter of the city tlw oltl I~~~ilclinga,viz., an elec- stands the phsa major, or great square. This is about six trie: light, placed at the top of a

hundred feet square. The eastside is occupied by the wry Iligh, ladder-like platform. ’ cathedral and the various quarters of the bishop. On the Ilc~~catllthis clectric light “pole” north stands a long, low, two-storied building, the lower is a beautiful fountain. Seats story occupied by stores, restaurants,and offices.. The are placed in convenient places upper story is devoted to private dwelling apartments. On nATR IN YERWL for the comfort of those visiting the west is the government municipal building, its front Illo plaza. Thc whole is surrounded by an iron fence. supporteduponarches, the long colonnades giving it an im- This plaza was the scene of a great battle, in 1540,’ be- posing appearance, it being a handsome stone building of tween. theSpaniards and natives, thelatter numbering good dimensions. On thesouth is a building which at- 70,000, while the former numbered but 800; so says the tracted our attention as ,soon as we -entered the plaza. It hintorian. The natives, however,were defeated, butnot is distinguished- by a richly-sculptured Cagadeof very curious until they had killed or wounded nearly all the Spaniards. design. The subjectrepresents two knights in armor, A lnrge mound once stood on the ground now occupied by ’ standing on the shoulders of naked figures, probably rep- tllc plaza; it was razed to the ground by the Spaniards, and resenting the conquering Spaniardtrampling upon the from it, and numerous-ancient buildings,- the present city fallen native. It is probably native work from Spanish . of Merida was built. design. In this fapade is astone with the following in- The greatdistinguishing feature of Merida, as of all the scription: cities of the Spanish-American countries, is in its churches. Tllc greatcathedral, the Church of theJesuits, the . 19 A'NATURALIBT flV MEXICO.

8' Church of San Cristoval, the Chapel of San Juan Bautista, and the convent .of Mejorada, are all interesting. Many of them are of good style of architecture, and rich in orna- ments. Of the manychurches of .thecity, the cathedral, - I situated, as before said, on' the east side,of the'plaza, is the I. largest and most interesting. While the service was yet in progress we entered and stood near the door, th0 better to study the interior. At the extremeend stood the altar, upon a raised platform abopt thirty feet in height, elabor- atelycarved and ornamented. Upon either side, in large cases, were life-size wax figures of biblical characters. The organ was situated on the right-hand side. The center .of the church rose in a spacious dome of great height. Sev- eral priests were officiating at the altai, and the floor of the church was .covered with kneeling women dressedin white. Through the entire body of the church not a mau was to be seen. The musicslowly died away, and the women rose from their knees, appearing like a white cloud; but, as they . turnedtoward the door, the horizonbecame dusky with black faces, the whole front rank being composed of na- tives. The Spanish ladies occupied the part of the church immediately in front of the altar. It was a beautiful sight to *e that party of pretty nativegirls, many ofwhom wee.of a decidedly handsome cast, slowly file out. After dinner we walked out one of the streets leading

north from the plaza.. On either side ,of the street'were the . ~ huts the natives They were built of stone and m.ortar, of 't

androofed over, or th'atched,withpalm leaves. Sometimes ' ..

there was a window, but more often two doors facing each , other on opposite sides, and -in the $enter, of the hut. They were set back a few feetfrom the road, and were,in most I. ..,- cases, surrounded by a stone wall. Inside they contained l but one room, witha fire placei.n one end,and several ham- mocksswung in the other. At one of these huts we

I '1' .

BUBWRBIY OF MERIDA. l3

stxwrcd i'photograph of a group of _.-.. .m _- -

\ve searched for fossils; andsucceeded in findingseveral line specimens. WC foundhere several fossil Inollusks identicalwith those found in the Caloosahatchic bcds of southern Florida. This fact seemed to point toward a later ecological pcriodthan is generally assigned to Yucatan, and showed it to bc clearly rclated to the Post Pliocene of lilorida. We alsofound large numbers of landshells about the stone walls bordering tlw road, and occasionally ÍI lively little lizard would start holn a crcvicc and scamper under a projccting rock. As we penetrated farther into tlle country, birds, and ;mimal lifein general, beca~ncinore abundant. Bright plu- . Inaged birds flew from trce to tree, and gaudy butterflics llitted slowly by. Anlong thebirds we coulddistinguish swll species as theGreat tailedGracklc, numerous fly- mtchersand jays. Thc mostnoticcablc objects wcrc a Ilumber of turkcy vultures, mho were regaling tl~cmsclves 1111 thehalf-eatcn carcass of ahorse. Thescvultures arc 1;rcat scavengers, and quickly devour any refuse matter, or tIt:;d animal, that is left where thy can get at it. They are III.: chief garbage gathcrersof Mexico, an3 a fine is imposed 1111. ltilling them. We rcturned to thc city toward nightfall, .IIIIIspent tlle evening listening to a vcry good band in the phmrjorm It ivas in the year 1500 that Juan T)ias de Solis discov- 1.11.11 1111:castcoast of Yucatan, and sailed along it sonle dis- 1.1111 I.. On thc 8th .of February, 1.i Lî, Francisco Hernan-

111.1 111: Cortlova landed at Cape Cotoche, wasattacked l#\ 1111. natives, and a battleensued, in which thelatter

N I II- II'IIII~SC~with great slaughtcr. They next landed at t .IIII~II..I~.~I~,and noted a citytherc composed of stone .

14 NATUBALIBT A IN MEXICO. HINTORY. 16

houses. They next landed at a town called Chamboton for We next hear of the attempt toconquer the country by water, and a terrific battle tookplacebetween the Spaniards converting thenatives to Christianity. The Franciscan and natives, in which fifty.seven Spaniards were killed and Friar, Jacob de Festera, with four companions, set out to many wounded. Onthe 6th of April, 1618, another ex- . convert the country. This project, after a trial, failed. pedition, under command of Juan deGrijalva, set forth; and In 1537, the Adelantado again landed in Yucatan, at discovered the Island .of Cozumel. They landed at Cham- Champoton, where.another terrific battle took place. For poton, called by the Spaniards Bay dc-MaZ a PcZca, or “of several years theSpaniards remained at this place. In the bad fight,” and anotherbattle ensued, in which the 1638, -the Adelantado put in the handsof his son the pacifi- Spaniards were compelled to retreat to their ships. cation of Yucatan. Again settingout, the Spaniards In the year 168’1, Don Francisco Montejo set sail from marched from Champoton to Campeachy, theirline of Seville in four vessels, with four hundred men, for the con- march being marked by numerous battles with the natives. quest of Yucatan. They landed at the Island of Cozumel, Don Francisco now sent his cousin, Captain Francisco de took a native for an interpreter, sailed to the mainland, and Wontejo, into Quepech, to found a city in the native town 1540 landed all the Spanish soldiers. Under the guidance of the , of Tihoo. In the year he arrived at Tihoo. Here native from Cozumel they marched along the coast, and, occurred one of the most sanguinary battles of the conquest, without receiving any resistance from the natives, arrived at 70,000 natives against 800 Spaniards, in which the natives , Conil. From Conil the expedition marched to the province were defeated with great slaughter. The caciques, finding of Choaca, and from there to Ak6, where they were con- it impossible to drive the bpaniards from the country, came fronted by a multitude of natives. Here a fearful battle ea- to Don Francisco with offers of peace. On the 6th of. Jan- - sued, which lasted two days, and ended in the defeat of the uary, 1642, on the site of the native town of Tihoo, the natives with more than 1,800 of their number killed. From very “loyal and noble” city of Merida was founded. Five Ak6 theSpaniards went to Chichen Itza. Herethe ,a years later the curious house was built of which we before Adelantado divided his forces, andsent Captain Davila spoke. Fromthat time tothe present the Spanishspeak- . with sixty-six men toBa Khalal. Those left at Chichen ing people have held undisputed sway in Yucatan. Itza were soon in a very desperate condition. An immense We spent the follokng day in looking about the city. multitude of natives having assembled before them, the Under the guidance of a gentleman whom we had met at Spaniards sallied forth, and a terrific battle followed. Great the hotel, we traversed the cityin every direction. Of slaughter was made among the natives, and one hundred especial interest to us were the rc~oics,or natural wells. and fifty Spaniards were killed. One which we visited was situated in the rear of a grocery Two years later, Captain Davila andthe Adelantado, .. in the northern part of the city. It was thirty-five feet in . after much suffering, met again at Campeachy. The suffer- depth from the surface of the earth to that of the water, ings of the little band at Campeachy were terrible, and after and the latter, in its deepest part, measured about five feet. enduring the hardships until all but five were reduced to Leading from the surface to the floor of the ccnotc was a sickness, they abandoned the place. rtone stair-case, weli worn as though it had been much used

.. . ..- .. . ._._...... -. . ... - . . . -_ ..

le A NATURALIST IN MEXICO. l' FRANCISCAN COAVVEAVT. 17 in times part. On the sides of the well were stone benches, In the eastern part of the city is situated a second, but and in one end the floor shelved down to the water's edge. much smaller market, where the merchants, if such they , The water was of a bluishcolor, and had a tasteof sulphur. may be called, sit cross-legged before a piece of straw mat- This cenote, its roof and baFe, was an immense fossil for- ting, upon which is displayed for sale beans, maize, fruits, mation. Marine shells were conglomerated together in etc. Here, also, is theabode of thepottery and lcather solid masses,many of the shells be-ingvery perfect. It trade in Merida.

was used for bathing purposes during the dry season, and , Near this smaller market is the old Franciscan convent, also to furnish water to the inhabitants. builton the site of anancient temple. It stands on aO While returning to our hotel we passed several natives eminence, and is enclosed by ahigh stone wall, now in with bundles of ramon, or fodder, on their lacks. They ruins. It is now called the Castillo, and is used as barracks were known as vmedors de rumon, or sellers of ramon, and for a regiment of soldiery. It was once a powerful factor they seemed to do a thriving business. Several caltzlrs con- among the peoplc, and its walls sheltered thrce hundred

taining handsome señoras and señoritas were also passed. ' Franciscan monks; but by-the new constitution obtained by These culezui were drawn by a single horse or mule, the the revolutionists in Spain, in 1820, the monks were driven driver being perched 'on his back, and were very curious and out, their order destroyed, and they themselves obliged to interesting vehicles. flee for their lives. Insidc the convent the noise of an anvil A visit to Merida is not complete without visiting the could be heard, and several Mestizos were seen at a black- market. This is situated in the southern part of the town, smith's forge. This convent contains one memorial of far and is a large and roomy building. . He;e were displayed more interest than the old couvent. In one of the corridors for sale all kinds of meats, vegetables, fruits, sweetmeats, going north is seen th'at peculiar arch so puzzling to arch- toys, wearing apparel, and in fact about everything to be zeologists-two sides rising to meet each othcr, and cov- found inYucatan. The servants of the well-to-do people I ' ered, when within about a foot of each other, by. a flat were here getting .their daily provisions. Onc young native layer of stones. woman I noticed particularly. With her were two small On the afternoon of our third day in Merida we left children, and at her breast was a young child apparently that city for Tekanto to visit Col. Glenn's railway camp, he about nine months old. She was very pretty, with a shapely having reported that region as abounding in interest to the . head covered with an abundant growth of glossy black hair. naturalist and antequarian. The scenery was the same as . Her features were regular, and her form graceful and sym- that about Merida-flat and dry. At dusk we reached metrical in outline. She wore the usual dress of the native Tekanto, and were met there by the colonells locQmotive, ' population. This consisted of a skirt, called a pic, extending which was to convey us from the latter place to the con- from the waist to the ankles, and an outside over-skirt, or struction camp. A twenty minutes' ride brought us to the u@àl, extending from theshoulders to the knees. It was camp, and we alighted in front of a freight-car, in which a cut low in the neck, was without sleeves, and elaborately bountiful supper, and the colonel also, was waiting to re- embroidered. She was barefooted and bareheaded. çeive us. While the meal was in progress we took a mental . l8 A NAl‘URALIHT IN MEXICO.

inventory of our surroundings. It was an ordinary freight- car turned into a house. In each end’ were two cot beds, in the center the table at which we were eating, and about the walls hung hats, coats, guns, andother objects. Three CHAPTER II, lamps with powerful reflectors gave ample light. us We were awakened by the shrill whistle of the loco- After supper we paid our respects to Mrs. Glenn, an motive, summoning the men to their labors. All was bustle estimable lady, who was braving fhe hardships of a con- and confusion. The menwcre gathered about the watcr- struction camp that she might be with her husband. As we tank, performing their morning toilet. Urcakfast was soon walked fromour “dining” car to that occupied by the announccd, and the men rushcd pell me11 to their seats at a colonel, we passed the camp of the men engaged on the long tablc. They fell to eating with a will, and forsome construction. Fires were burning, and groups of men time nothing was hcard but the steady click, click of the standing or lying about them. Here was a group amusing knives against the plates. Soon they had emptied thcir itself singing songs, there another listening to the jokes or plates and eaten everything within reach, and were calling stories of one of its mcmbers- The night was’ beautifully for more. One tall negro at thc foot of the table rose, and clear, and objects about could be as plainly distinguished us pulling from its sheath a knife, or muchctc, flourished it in as by day. The queen night sailed high in the heavens, of the air, shouting at the salne timc, .‘Heah, waiter, bring which were bespangled with millions of stars. Having paid somc moah meat heah, or I’ll scalp yer!” At this there was our respects to the “lady of the camp,” we returned to our a general laugh among the men. car and were soon the “arms Morpheus.” in of The coloncl’s men wcre of a rather mixed character as regarded nationality. There wcre English, Scotch, Irish, Germans, Americans, Spaniards, Negroes and Yucatccans; in fact, Col. Glenn boasted of having about cvcry nation reprc- sented in his camp,. They were dressed in all manner of costumes,from old, half-worn-out black suitsto overalls and jumpers. After breakfast I took my gun, and made an excursion into the woods near the camp. The morning was beauti- ful, the air crisp, and birds plentiful, and I had not becn absent from camp but a short time ,before I had my pockets filled with small birds. One of the first objects which greeted mewas a beautiful bird I had not hithcrto met with,namely, the Yucatan Cardinal Grosbeak, flocks of . which I saw sporting about the low bashes. It was a small l bird with bright red plumage. It was a glorious morning, a0 A NATURALIST IN MEXICO.

._. the' sun not having risen high enough to be uncomfortable; Seemed to be quite a favorite object of wearing apparel with . the air had a'balmy smell, and the woods teemed with ani- the Yucatecans, and thebrighter and more varied the colors, '-. mal life; everything seemed here to delight the heart of the the better was the garment liked. naturalist. The country about the colonel's camp was flat, Theday was most brilliant; the sky without a cloud. .. . dry, and covered with a growth of low bushes; but few In fact, it was one of those glorious days preceding the largetrees were seen. The woods abounded with wood- rainy season. The radiation of heat from the limestone . peckers, jays, crotophagas, and hawks. One fact which I road was visible by the quivering motion of theair about .. noticed part.icularly was the scarcity of insect life. Hardly it. We saw and heard but few birds; a few cattle, belonging . an insect was to to be seen, save an occasional butterfiy or to a hacienda near by, were seen congregating beneath the spider. About the roots of trees I found heaps of land friendly shelter of a wide-spreading tree. The very soil shells, but all were .dead. was watm beneath our feet, and we were exceedingly re- i,, . , During one of our excursions we ran across a flock of lieved to reach a large hacienda, about noon, where we 3, Ocellated Turkeys,but did not succeed inobtaining a halted to rest, eat our lunch, and slake our burning thirst. specimen. This species is quiterare, and specimens are This hacienda was devoted principally to the cultiva- much needed in our museums, On the afternoon of the ?8th we engaged a volan and driver, and started on a journey toward Valladolid. This volan, or volan coche, as the Yucatecans called it, was a heavy, clumsy affair, but admirably adapted for the rough roads of the country. It was supported upon two large 'wooden wheels, about as heavy as those used upon our trucks, placed at either end of an eight-foot axle. Upon this axle was a frame-work like our ice-cart covers, supported by a heavy woodenframe. There were no springs,and the jolting was something awful. It was drawn by three dimin- Add 18 to 20 years, about a third more in the rainy than i. utive burros. in thedry season. It takes over 8,000 leaves to make a ".., The driver, whom we christened, for want of a better name, Isaac McGinty," was a little,dried-up native. of 2 uncertain age. He had the .usual coppery color and small stature of the Maya people, and was of a most taciturn tree near an old well, from which the water was drawn by disposition, His dress consisted of white jacketand means of an endless chain of buckets, propelled by a long pants, sandals, kept in place by a string drawn between the pole acting upon a series of woodencogs. Here I tasted great toe and the next, and a serape, or blanket, of many for the first time the sepote, a fruit resembling our peach, of colors, drawntightly about his person.These serapes which I had heard much. It was very sweet and quite de-

.. Q9 A hraTV&ÀLISlr tN MEXIC6. CENOTES. 23

licious. While eatingour lunch several native. women Glenn's camp. Foilowing this road for about two miles we came to the well, bearing cintaros, or water-jars, to draw reached a cross-road, into which we turned. Here the veg-

water. Theymade a scene fit fora painter, dressed in their ' etation changed to a thick and luxuriant forest of frrrpen- characteristic costume, 'standing beside the old well. From tine, ceiba, anbother large trees. Orchids were to be seen this hacienda we could see the large mound at Izamal, here in abundance, as weil as numerous climbing plants. which was once used as a place of sacrifice by the ancient This luxuriance of vegetation indicatedthe presence of inhabitants. some body of water in the vicinity. Nor were we mistaken; Again starting on our 'journey we passed through the for in :! few minutes we reached a point in the road; on each plaza at Izamal, and entered a road leading to a litt14 town side of which was a large body of water enclosed in a cir- called Sitilpech, in which we wished to pass the night. 'At cular basin about one thousand feet in diameter, and some the distance of a league we passed a finë hacienda, and at thirty feet below the level of the road. These were known

' half-past firn reached the village of Sitilpech ,seven leagues as the twin ceaotcs, and were called Shkoluk and Skashck. from Tekanto. This village.consisted of a.few native huts, These crnofes were surrounded by dense vegetation, in -a couple of stone buildings facing the plaza, and an old which numerous birds were seen. Several snow-white 'Spanish church. The population was mostly native, very egrets flew off as we approached, and several other species few of .whm'spoke anythhg but Maya. There was not a . were seen standingabout the margins of the pool. The , white man in the pIa& . The village had but one principal water was filled with a kind of water-lily. Among the birds street, which wis tlieroad over which we came, and which which inhabited this spot was the Mexican Jacana. It would passed through 'the".iquirenear' the church. We rode start up at our approach andfly over the water,with its'long through the "street without meeting. a single person. feet stretchedout behind, utteringa plaintive cry which

Crossing' *the' pliza :. tRe entered "a grocery store, and . was pitifulto hear. This bird was apparentlyquite com- obtained permissiod'to'itore our baggage for the night; we mon, but none were captured. also secured a good supper of beans, soup, and tortillas. Not Several other birds started up as we worked our way being able to sedure at%ommödations in any of the huts, we through the vegetation, and one, which I had a good view made our beds on the groünd in 'front of the church, and of, seemed to be the Ardea cœruleu, or Little Blue Heron of soon fell asleep. the States. In a little cove, under the overhanging bank, We awoke with soreand aching limbs, but, withal, . I found aspecies of Atnpullurid (A: Yùcatancnsis), and a ready for a fresh start. Early in the day the clouds gath- Planorbis (P.Caribaur). In one portion of the cenote, where ered and the raincame down in torrents, completely drench- there were no lily pads, the bottom was covered with small ing us. Not wishing to lose a day on account of the rain, stones, and from these I picked a number of small shells we hitched up and followed the road eastward. We passed resembling a patella (Ancyhs . excc~ztricus). The banks down aiong streetleading through the suburbs of the village; .were strewn with dead land shells, but not a single living beyond this our road.lay across a tractof country,'wild and land mollusk was to be found. The edge of this ccraotc was stony, covered with the same vegetation noticed about Col. bordered by a thick growth of cane, so that shooting was ad A NATURALfST IN MEXICb. P.A~no TS. 86

. rather difficult; and, indeed, had we shot any of the birds into a primeval forest of large trees, showing that beautiful, rich green foliage so characteristic of the tropics. Here I we would not have been able to get them, as we had no , boat and did notdare to wade in after them. Photographs . first heard the notes of the parrot; they flew over our heads were taken of both ccmtcs, together with several of the trees . . inflocks of fifteen or twenty, utter- about. ing the most unearthly screams. We fired into several flocks and secured We returned to Sitilpech to spend the night. , During the evening we had the pleasure of witnessing a native half a dozen specimens. They were dance. Aswe approached we heard the noise of a drum, the common green variety, but were and, upon entering the enclosure, found the.men seated on very handsome specimens. one side, and the women on the other. For some time there We ate our dinner on the edge was no dancing; but, after a while, a young man stood up in of a large ccnafr. I was disappointed the middle of the floor. Another, with a handkerchief in in not meeting with many birds here, for the locality seemed very favorable hishand having a knot tied in one end, walked along the , line of women and threw the handkerchief. at one, after to their habits. Occasionally we heard, doing which he returned to his seat. This was considered however, the long-drawn, wailing note a challenge, and the woman rose, and, slowly taking her of 'a jay somewhere in the adjacent woods; and, also, in the shawl from herhead, placed herself opposite the young foliage edging the ccnotc, the noisy chattering of some man, at a distance of about eight feet, and commenced danc- small birds. Another bird had a most sweet and melan- ing. The dance was called the toros, or the bull. The choly song; it consisted silnply of a few notes, uttered in a plaintive key, commenced high, and descended by harmonic performers occasionally changed 'places; when thetune . .. ended, the woman walked off. The master of ceremonies, intervals. It was ,probably a species of warbler, but we called the bastancro, again walked alongthe line, and . were unable to identify it. All these notes of birds were toucbed another woman in the same way, andshe also very striking, and characteristic of the forest. danced with the young man for a time; and in this way Late in the afternoon we again took upour line of they continued, the dancing man being always the. same, mirch for Tunkas. As we continued our walk the brief twilight commenced, andthe sounds of multifarious life and the partner being always provided for him. ' Early next morning theparty divided, two members . . came from the vegetation around. The whirring of cicadas; going north to visit Silam, and the balance, with the volan, the shrill stridulation of a vast number and variety of field continuing toward the east, Tunkas being our objective crickets and grasshoppers, each species sounding its pecul- iar note; the plaintive hooting of tree-frogs-all blended point, a village six leagues east'-of Sitilpech. The road ' ' for the first two miles was straight, level, stony, and unin- together in one continuous ringing sound,-the audible ex- teresting. On both sides were. low, thick woods, so that pression of the teeming profusion of nature. As night there was no view except that of the road before us. This, came on, other species of animals joined thc chorus. 7:30 however, soon changed, and the nevt few miles brought u8 . We arrived at Tunkas about P. M. This village was .. of small size, containing but several hundred inhabitants. We succeeded in hiring'a deserted hut, for the sum of one dollar a day, in which we. swung our. hammocks, and settled down for a few days' collecting.. Our meals were taken in a grocery-store, and consisted of chocolate, black-beans (j~Qolas),tortillas, and beef. Next morning we arose with the sun, shouldered our guns, and walked down a road which ran east from the'vil- . lage. Bird-life was .here quiteabundant, and we added largely to our collections.Among the insects we were especially interested in the (Ecodoma, or leaf-cutting ant. . This antwas seen everywhere about the suburbs, marchir g to and fro in broad columns. The habit of this ant of clip- ping and carrying away immense .quantities of leaves has long been recorded in books of natural history. When em- ployed on this work, their processions look like a multitude . of animated leaves on the march. . In the course of mycol- . lecting, I had plenty of opportunities for observing them at work. They mount the trees in multitudes, the individuals being +l workers. Each one places itself on the surfaceof a leaf, and cuts with its sharp, scissor-like jaws a nearly semi-circular incision on the upper side; it then takes the edge between its jaws, and by a sharp jerk detaches the piece. Sometimes they letthe leaf dropto the ground, where a-little heapaccumulates, until carried off by another ariny of workers; but generally, each marches off with the . piece it has operated upon, and all take'the same road to '. their colony. It was a most interestingsight to see the vast host of busy workers occupied in this work. The leavea are used to thatch the domes which cover the entrances to their subterranean dwellings, thereby protecting from the deluging rains the young broods in the nests beneath. The nests of thisant are sometimes very extensive, being forty . ' yards in circumference, but not more than two feet in I i

i !

! i TORTILLAS. 98 MEXICO.A NATURALIST IN i PREPARING as

' About 8 o'clock we hitched upthe volan, and finches, tanagers, and several other small birds, were quite P. M. abundant. Insects were more numeroua in this neighbor- startedon our ieturn to Colonel Glenn's, camp. Night hood than in any previously visited overtook us while yet some miles east of Sitilpech, and we These: were, however, mostlyants and turned off on a side road which led to a hacienda, wherc beetles. But few species' of butter- we hoped to spend the night. The road, though smooth, was narrow, crooked, and dark. Occasionally herd of flies were seen, and these of a small, a yellow variety.. cattlewas seen, but they did not offer to molest us. Half a mile of this road brought us-to a small, open space, in As soon as night approached, which was a native hut, built upon an elevation. Two or swarms of. goat-suckers made their three dark-skinned children, with a man and woplan, occu- appearance, wheeling about in a noise- pied thehut; on seeingus the man came out, and after less manner, in chase of night-flying hearingour wants, offered tolet us have the use of an insects. They sometimes descended empty hut for the night, and also to give us a supper. and settled on the pathway, squatting Here I first saw the morlrcs ojtrandi of preparing tor- mncm QOEEAWX. down on their heels, and were then tillas; they werc made from maize, which was first soaked hard to distinguish from the surrounding soil. In the day- in water for some time. When they were ready to .be fried, time they lay concealed in the woods, and venture forth they were taken from the dish in which they had been soak- only at night. They make no nest, but lay their eggs on ing, and transferred to a large flat stone, called a mctntc, the ground. which was setat an anglelike a washboard. A round March 4th we took our lastramble through tcis delight- stone, like a rolling pia, was then taken, and the corn was ful region. The whole of the countj for a score of miles reduced to dough by a half-rolling, half grinding motion; was covered with an almost pathless forest, and there were they were then taken in small balls and patted with the but few roads which penetrated it. One road, in particular, handsinto a thin cake, like our buckwheat cakes. They ' I was very fond of. following. The trees were largeand were fried on a flat, earthen dish, over a woodfire. The many of them in bloom. 'This place was the resort of tad- natives eat this with chile, but they have a very flat taste agers, jays, groove-billed ani, and various species of hawks. when eaten alone. Birds generally, however, were not numerous. The nurn- ' The native woman was thin and wrinkled, with sharp ber of butterflies, sporting about in this patch of woods on features, and, I should judge, a sharper tongue. The man a sunny day, was so great as to give quite a character to the was equally as wrinkled, but more amiable than his wife. physiognomy of the place. It was impossible to walk far Upon inquiring for the hut, wewere shown a miscrably without disturbing flocks of them from the damp earthand dilapidated concern, but as it was the best we could do, we pools of water left .by the recent rains, where they congre- did not complain. We slungour hammocks, hada fire gated to imbibe the moisture. The most abundant were lighted to keep off the mosquitos, and prepared to spend the sulphur-yellow and orange-colored varieties, which I the night as comfortably as possible. WCsuffered terribly, started in swarms as'I made my way along the road. ' 90 A NATURALIST IN MEXICO. IZÁMAL. . 31 however, from insect pests; it was’quite impossible to sleep day the balance of the party arrived from Silam, they hav- on account of the mosquitos; they fell upon us by myriads, ing ridden the whole distance in a volan in less than twelvc and without.much noise came straight at cur faces. T.0 add hours. to our discomfort, the place was a perfect nest of fleas, and other pests too numerous to mention. . The. day following we reached Sitilpech, andabout noon of March 0th we reached Izamal, three miles from the camp. As we entered the town our eyes turned invol- untarily toan immense mound rising grandly above the tops of the houses. It measured seven hundred feet long and sixty feet high. The whole of thisstructure was over- . grown with trees and small shrubs,, which aided us greatly in our ascent. The top of this mound commanded a grand view of level plains and undulating woodlands. This structure, like all those of Yucataqwas a truncatedpyramid, terraced on one side, and descending perpendicularly to the ground on the opposite side. A wide and elaborate .,stair- case once led to its summit, but this was now in,ruins. Opposite this mound, at a distance of a few yqrds, was another of lesser size, but containing a gigantic head cut in bas-relief. It was seven feet in height, and the same in width. The expression of the face was sternand re- ’. pulsive. On the north side of the plaza stood the church and convent of the Franciscan monks, on an elevation. .. Two flights of stone steps led up to it, opening upon an area fully two hundred feet square; on three sides of this square was a colonnade, forming a noble promenade, over- looking the town andsurrounding country for agreat distance. This elevation was probably artificial, andnot the work of the Spaniards. About 1 o’clockwe again took up our line of march toward the camp, and arrived there three hours later, after suffering severely from the excessive heat.. On the same

I .. !

CVRIOUS LIZARDP. 33 l CHAPTER III, would run along the top of the fences, or on thc ground, DURINGthe three days spentat tho camp, following our kecping their wipgs close to their body and dropping tllcir l trip to Tunkas, we thoroughly explored the neighborhood head to a level with the rest of tllcir body, resembling so and added very largely to our collections. One day was so closely the iguanas that on several occasions I lct them go I thinking they were that animal. l much like another that I will refrain from a detailed account . l of each days' episodes. Of the vertcbrate animals we saw very little, except of The first thing that would ,strike a newcomer in the lizards. They wcre sure to attract our attention by rcnson i woods about the camp would be the apparant scarcity of of thcir strange appearancc, great numbers, ancl varicty. The species which were seen crawling over thc walls of thc i birds; indeed, it often happened that we did not meet with i a single bird during half a days' ramble in thc .most varied haciendas were diffcrent from those fol!nd in thforest. I parts of the woods. Yet the country was tenanted by many They were unpleasant looking animals, with colors assimi- i hundred species, many of which were .in reality abundant, . lated to those of thc stone walla and trees on which they wcre seen. A small species found near the haciendas was I and some of them conspicuous for their brilliant plumage. The cause of this apparent rarity was to be sought in the of speckled gray or ashy color. A slight rap would cause l sameness of the forest which constituted their dwelling- the tails of these lizards to snap off, the loss being partially ! place. The majority of the birds of the country were gre- repaired by a new growth. garious, at least during the season when they were. most Among the insects collected, the most interesting was readily found; the fruit-eating species were to be met with the tarantula. These monstrous, heavy spidcrs, three or only when certain wild fruits were ripe, and to know their four inches in expanse, were found in many places about exact localities required a great deal of experience. the camp. The different kinds hadthe mostdiversifictl While hunting along the narrow path-ways through the . habits. Some constructed dens of closely 'wovenweb among the'tilcs of thatch houses; others built similar ncsts forestin the neighborhood of the camp, we would pass in trees, whileyet others built handsome nests in the several hours without seeing many birds; but now and then the surrounding bushes and. treesappeared suddenly to ground, closing the aperture by a neatly constructed door. swarm with them. There were scores of birds, all mov- Several of the species were nocturnal in habit. ingabout with thegreatest activity-Crotophaga,wood- It was a great disappointment to me that peckers, tanagers, flycatchers, and thrushes, flitting about the mollusks were not more abundant; scarce- 'the leaves and lower branches. The bustling crowd .lost ly a living shell could be found. The cause no time, but hurried along, each bird occupied on its of this paucity, SO the Yucatecans informed account in scanning bark, leaf, or twig in search of insects. me, lay in the dryness of the season, the In a few minutes the hostwas gone, and theforest remained c wet season being the most favorable for Mol- as silent as before. In the woods aboutthe camp I wit- ap~~ma~Pr% luscan, as well as for insect life. I found, nessed quite frequently a curious case of protective resem- VAB.pzLBIIILI. DUBIA. however, numerous specimens of the gcnera

blance; the Road-runners (Geococcyx.. afiais) when disturbed, ' Glandina, Cyclotus, Cylindrella, and Choanopoma. 34 A NATURALISTMEXICO. IN INTEAWE COLD. I

' and impressive custom, which we observed throughoutour Early on the morning of the loth, we packed up our travels in Yucatan. The cold was so intenseduring the .. specimens and left the Colonel's camp for Menda;the night that I awoke several times actually suffering from its . ' Colonel and Mrs. Glenn accompanied us. From Merida effects. During the day the sun beats down upon the earth we took the Perro carril de Meridu c' Culkini for Santa Cruz, with intense force. The rapid radiation at night sometimes situated in the nortwestern part of Yucatan. Here we were produces cold intense enough to cause water to freeze. met by three volans which conveyed us to the hacienda of Señor Escalente, where we expected to add very largely to In the morning, after a refreshing bath, WC shouldered our collections, and also to visit a famous limestone cave. our guns, insect boxes, and pouches, and walkèd into the Our nine mile ride was most interesting. The drivers woods covering the north side of ,the Sierra. On our way whipped the mules into a gallop, and kept it up throughout we , saw numbers of swallows, flycatchers, and hawks.. Their shrill cry wasoftcn heard, with now and then the ' the entire journey. To urge the mules he uttered the words loud tapping of a woodpeckcr. WC were not successful in (1 moola, moola! 'l at the same time clucking loudly W ith shooting, and in about an hour were joined by the rcst of his lips. . As we approached the hacienda, cultivated fields of henequen appeared on either side, stretching away in the the party on horseback, on their way across the Sierra to distance as far as the eye could reach A turn in the road visit the large cave of which I spoke before. Aftcr passing the summit of the Sierra, we descended twenty fcet or more brought us in sight of the hacienda, and with a rush we galloped through the open gateway into the courtyard, and to the mouth of the cave. drew up at the foot of a broad flight of steps. This was This was in the form of a circular well, thirty feet in one of the finest estates in Yucatan, employing several diameter and twenty in depth; descending this we found hundred natives about the place. In addition to the haci- . ourselves in a circular chamber, fromwhich numerous pas- a sages branched to right and left. At one corncr was a rude . enda building there were huts, cattle-yards, and a church enclosed by a high stone wall. Hcre were native men and natural opening in a great mass of limestone rock, low and women passing to and fro through the court, each busy with narrow, through which rushed a powerful current of air, his or her daily task. The henequen machines were busy agitating the branches and leaves in the immediate vicinity. At the distance of a few feet the descent was precipitous, preparingthe henequen for . shipment,and everything and we went down by a ladder about twentyfeet. Here all . had an air of business which was quite new to us. The major-domo received us, SeñorEscalente being light from the mouth of the wellwas lost; Lutwe soon reached the brink of a very steep descent, to the bottom of ill, and extended to us the hospitalities of the house. In a short time a savory supper was prepared, to which 'we did which a strong body of light was thrown from a llolc in the full justice. At sunset we heardthe bells of thechapel surface, a perpendicular depth, as we afterward learned, of sounding the orucion, or evening prayer, and the natives one hundred and ten feet. . As we stood on the brink of gathered around with uncovered heads. Whenit was . this precipitous path, under the immense shelving mass of finished, they gave us, and eachother, the salutation of rock, seeming darker from the stream of light thrown down the hole, gigantic stalactites and larger blocks of stone as- (6 Buenas nodes '' before retiring. This was a beautiful !: '.: SANTACRUZ. 86 A NATURALISTIN MEXICO. 91 the north lay the buildings composing the hacienda, con- sumed all manner of fantastic shapes, and seemed like the bodies of monstrous animals. From this passage others cealed among a grove of palms and ceiba trees. branched off to right and left. Beyond the circular open- In the afternoon we visited several newly constructed ing we passed intoa large vaulted chamber of stone, wells for geological information. On the road we saw a number of huge mounds, but as our time was limited we did with a high roof supported by enormous stalactitic pillars. Farther on we climbed up a high, broken piece of rock, and not stop to examine them. In the evening, at sunset, the scene was lovely. The groups of tall palms, the large ceiba descended again by a low, narrow opening, through which trees relieved against the golden sky, the native huts sur- we were obliged to crawl, and which, from its closeness, rounded with trees, and the background of dense forest, all and the heat and laboroi crawling through it, made us pant softened by. the mellowed light of the magical half-hour I with exhaustion. This brought us to ,a rugged, perpen- after sunset, formed.a'picture indescribably beautiful. dicular hole, three or four feet in diameter, with steps barely large enough for a foothold, worn in the rock. The pass- On the 19th we returned to Merida, and from thence took the Merida and Peto railroad for Ticul. On our way to age here descended rapidly, and we were again obliged to . Merida from Santa Cruz, the railroad officials allowed the stoop to avoid knocking our headsagainst the roof of the us unusual privilege of having the train stopped wherever we . passage. It thenenlarged into arather spacious cavern, which was filled with giganticstalactitic columns. Here wished to study a good cut. And all this for science! On our way to Ticul we were delayed several hours by a de- our journey in this direction ended. Several passageways railed tender. Arriving at Ticul we were received by Señor led from this chamber, but they had not been explored, and Fajada, and given rooms in his mercantile house for our the guides would not attempt their exploration. What lay use during our stay. We took our meals at a caf6 near the beyond no one knew. Leaving this chamber we returned to the circular well near the'mouth of the cave, and explored 'plaza. a long passage leading in a northerly direction. This was . The town of Ticul was worthy the- visit .of any of our European travellers. The first time I looked upon it from found to descend rapidly for three or four hundred feet, and the roof of the convent, it struck me as the perfect picture . then to end in a shelving point. Thegreatest depth of this of stillnessand repose. The plaza was overgrown with, cave was 180 feet, and the longest passage explored by us one eighth of a mile. The whole range of hills was com- grass; a few mules were pasturing upon it, and now and posed of transition, or mountain limestone, and was said then a single horseman crossed it. The roof of the convent to contain many such caves as the one we had just visited. was on a levrl with, or above, the tops of the houses, and Swallows (Sirlgidopteryx serripennis) wereseen flying about the view was of a great plain, with houses of 'one story, flat the outer chamber of the cave in great numbers, and seemed roofs, high garden walls, above which orange, lemon, and plantain trees were growing, and the only. noisewas the to be constructing nests on the rugged face of the walls. singing of the birds.All business was done early in the Theview from the summit of the Sierrawas verypicturesque; morning or toward evening, and through the rest of the day, away tothe south could be seen two parallelranges of during the heat, the inhabitants were within doors, and it mountains, the intervening spaces being well wooded. To might almost have passed for a deserted town. sa A NATURALIST IN MEXICO.

Like all Mexican towns, it was laid out with its plaza and streets running at right angles, and was distinguished among the towns of Yucatan‘ for’ its .stone houses. These CHAPTER IV, were on the plaza and streets adjoining; outside these, and On the morning following our arrival in Ticul, Sciíor extending more than a mile each way, were the huts of the Fajada provided three volans,. with drivers, to convey us to natives. These huts were generally plastered, enclosed by the ruins of Uxmal. We left Ticul abput t o’clock, passing stone fences, and overgrown and concealed by weeds. The through the southern portion of the town, which was com- population-was said to be about ten thousand, of which posed of native huts. As we sped along, theinhabitants about a thousand were white people, and the rest natives. came out to look at us. The townwas soon left behind, , The church and convent occupied the whole of one side and we entered the scrubbily-wooded portion of thc com- of the plaza. Both were built by the Franciscan monks, try. Our road ran along the base of the Sierra for several and they were among the grandest of those buildings with lcqpcs, but finally turned north and crossed the range of which that wonderful order marked its entrance into the hills at an elevation of about two hundred and twenty-five country. They stood on a stone platform about four feet feet. We passed several haciendas, at one of which we high and several hundred feet in front. The church was stopped for water. Here we shot our first humming-birds large and sombre, and adorned with rude monuments and (Lampomis Prcvostz’). Flycatchersand grackles were very .. figures calculated to ,inspire the ignorant natives with awe. common, and several small warblers were seen,but we had The convent was connected with the church by a spacious , not time enough to procure them. corridor, now much in ruins.. It was a large structurebuilt The ascent of the Sierra was steep, broken; and stony; of stone, with massive walls, and four hundredfeet in length. the whole range was a mass of linlestone rock, with a few The entrance was under a wide portico, with stone pillars, stunted trees, not numerous enough to afford shade, and from which ascended a broad flight of steps to a spacious white under the reflection of the sun. In three-quarters of corridor twenty feet wide. This corridor ran through the an hour we reached the top. Looking back, our last view whole length of the building, with a stone pavement, and of the plain presenteda long stretch of scantily-wooded, ’ was lighted from the roof which had fallen in. Everything level country, and high’ above everything else a group of about the old convent bespoke ruin and decay. cocoa-palms neara large hacienda. The only people we met was a hunting party of natives, who had shot a young doe. About 1I o’clock we reached the Hacienda of Uxmal (pronounced Ush-mahl). This hacienda stood in the midst of the plain, with its . ..L cattle-yard, tanks, and cieba trees. Stoppingbut a few l .b I .. . minutes, to procure a guide for the ruins, we continued on our journey, and in fifteen minutes, emerging from thc

. 41 H) A NATURALIST IN MEXICO. RUlNED STATE.0P BUILDINGS.

woods, came out upon a field in which stood alarge ing structure of this mound was a long and narrow build- mound surmounted by a ruined building-the House of the ing, measuring fully seventy feet in length by twelve in Dwarf, or Cars dd Adivino. The sides of this lofty struc- depth. The front was much ruined, but enough was intact ture were covered with high grass, bushes, and small trees, I to show that it must have been elaborately ornamented. twenty or more feet high. The mound fronted acourt- The interior was divided into three apartments of nearly yard measuring one hundred and thirty feet by eighty-five. equal size. What was very curious was the fact that none The mounditself measured two hundred and thirty-five of these apartmentshad any communication with each feet in length, and one hundred and fifty-five in width. It other. Two doors .opened to the east and one to the west. was about eighty-eight feet in height, and one hnndred feet On the eastern front there was a grand stair-case over a to the top of the building on its summit. .It was not a true hundred feet high, half again as wide, andcontaining some eighty or ninetysteps, now very much in ruins. This i mound, and the building on its summit, was used by the l ancient Mayas as a Teocalli,or temple, and upon it they offered up their human sacrifices. The viewfrom this height was grand, taking in the whole field of ruins. Looking from the House of the Dwarf, the first build- ! , ing to catch the eye was the Casa del Gohmzador, or House I of the Governor, built upon several terraces. This was . the largest building among the ruins, and measured three hundred and twenty feet in length. A portion of the right- EOUBE OF TEE DWABI. hand side of the face of the building had fallen, and now pyramid in form, for its ends were rounded. It was encased lay in a mass of ruins. The left-hand side was more per- in stone, and appeared to rise solid fiom the plah.. At a fect, and we could see that the building must have been height of sixty feet was a projecting platform, on which elaborately ornamented, and must, indeed, have been a stood a building loaded with ornaments, whichwe after- grandsight when entire. The building was constructed wards found wère more rich and varied than those of any entirely ofstone; up to the cornice, which ran entirely other building in the ruins. A great doorway opened upon around, the fagade presented a solid mass of ornamenta- the platform; inside this aperture were two chambers; the tion. One ornament which was very conspicuous, and outer one fifteen feet wide, seven feet deep, ànd nineteen which attracted our eye at once, was over the center door- feet high, and the inner one twelve feet wide, four feet deep, way, and while very much in ruins, yet enough of it was and eleven feet high. Both were plain, without ornament left for us to make out its general character. It represented of any kind. a figure seated upon a throne, which must have been sup- ported by an ornament of some kind, bnt which had n6w . Thesteps leading tothe building were all in ruins, . and it was dangerousto ascend them. The crown- fallen. The head-dress was lofty, andfrom it proceeded E a A NATURALIST IN MEXICO. ELABORATESCULPTURE. 43 plumes which fell symmetrically on each side, and touched were thirty-nine feet deep, and had each a single doorway. the ornament on which the fect of the figure rested. 'The scnlptured ornaments were very much simpler on the Another ornament which was seen about the ruins ' ends and rear than those in front. The roof was flat and more frequently than any other, consisted of a stone pro- was originallycemented, but thecement had become broken, jecting from the wall one foot and seven inches, and in the and the whole was now covered with a mass of vegetation. There were eleven doorways in frontand onc at each end. . The doors were all gone, and the woodcn lintels had rotted away and fallen. In front and in the ccnter were grand flights of steps ascending the three ierraccs, but they were in a ruinous condition. The interior was divided longitudinally by a wall into two corridors, and these again, by cross partitions, into ob- long rooms. These rooms communicated with the exterior by doorways, the inner one being exactly opposite tlw outer one. Thc floor was of cement, in many places broken, and covered all over with fallen dbbris from the cciling and walls. The terraces upon which stood the Casa dcZ Gobernador- . wcre very interesting, anda dcscription of thc building would not be complete without a description also of these terraces. The lowest was three feet high, fifteen feet broad (it formed part of a shelving mound), and five hun- nnox IN THE HOUBE OF THE QOVEIWOB. dred and seventy-five feet long; the second was twenty feet shape of a coiled elephant's trunk. This projecting stone high, two hundred and fifty feet wide, and five hundred and forty-five feet in length; the third was nineteen feet high, was seen in many places about the building, and cspecially thirty feet broad, and thrce hundred and sixty feet long. on the corners. It was always associated with, and The second terrace was still in a good state of preservation, formed part of another, consisting of scroll.work and but the others were more or less in ruins. The whole was squares, and was probably intended to convey some idea, covered with a rank growth of bushes, weeds, and small trees, either historical or mythical, to the people Wh2 inhabited so we were not able to well make out all the characters. this city. In fact, everything aboutthese ornaments To the left of the House of the Governor rose a gigantic seemcd to point to the fact that they were hieroglyphics, mound, sixtydive feet in height, and thrce hundred at the intended to represent the history. of these strange people. base. Its sides were covered with a rank growth of vege- The rear elevation of this building was a solid wall, tation, which helped not a little in its ascent. the top without doorways or openings of any kind. The two ends On u A NATURALISTIN MEXICO. HOUSE OF THE NUN8. P

' was a great platformof solid stone, seventy-five feet square; ,which encompassed nearly all theother ornaments. The fifteen feet from thetop was a narrow terrace running other two buildings were about the same size, and almost around on the four sides. The corners once bore sculptured equally as rich in ornamentation. Frontingthe entrance ornaments, but the remains were now all that was visible. gate was a lofty building, two hundred and sixty-four feet In one side of the mound, at the narrow. terrace before long, standing on a terracetwenty feet high. It was ascended spoken of, was a small. chamber about four feet square, but by a grand staircase ninety-five feet wide, flanked on each aside from this not a hole was to 'be seen. From the sum- side by a building with sculptured front, and having three mit agrand view could be had, showing a wellwooded doorways, each leading to an apartment. .plain in the distance, and the ruined city lying at its base. The height of this building to In a line directly north of this mound was another large theupper cornice was twenty-five building-the Casa de las Monjas, or House of the Nuns. feet. It hadthirteen doorways, over This building was quadrangular, with a courtyard in the each of which rose a perpendicular center. . It stood on the higher of three terraces; it was two wall ten feet wide and seventeen feet hundred and seventy-nine feet long, and above.the cornice, high, above the cornice. The stair- from one end to the other, was ornamented with sculpture. case was verymuch in ruins, as in- In the center was a gateway ten feet wide, leading to the deed were allthe buildings. In one courtyard. On each side of this gateway were four door- of the wings of this building was seen ways, opening to apartmentstwenty-four, feet wide and the curious Maya arch, built without seventeen feet high; these rooms had no communication with a keystone. THE MAYA ARCH. each o:her. The building that formed the right or eastern. Near, the Casa de las Monjas was another building, side of the quadrangle was one hundred and flfty-eight feet the Casa de /as Tiirtugas, or House of the Turtles, but it long; that on the left was one hundred and seventy-three was in such a state of ruin that a description was impossible. feet long, and the range of buildings opposite, or at the end Away to the southwest lay the range of ruined walls known of the quadrangle, measured two hundredand sixty-four as the Casa de Pa/nr~~us,or Houseof the Pigeons. It feet. These three ranges of buildings had no doorways on wastwo hundred and forty feet long; the front was very the outside, butthe interior of each was a blank wall, and . much in roius, ancl thcapartn1cnts'filled with thefallen above the cornice all were ornamented with rich sculpture. dblris. On the roof, running longitudinally along its center, The courtyard upon which these four buildings faced was was arange of structures built in pyramidal lorm, re- two hundred and fourteen feet wide, and two hundred and . sembling some of the old Dutch houses. These were fifty-eight feet deep. The first building spoken of contained originally nine in number, built of stone, about three feet sixteen rooms, in two rows of eight, the outside not opening , thick, andhad small oblong openingsthrough them. It upon the courtyard: The face of this building was covered was from these holes, resembling pigeon houses, that the with the most elaborately sculptured ornaments, most con- building derived its name. The names of all the buildings spicuous among which were two colossal serpents entwined, were misnomers, given by the Spanish residents andnot by 40 A NATURALIST IN MEXICO. HACIENDA OF TABI. 47 the natives. This building was very much in ruins, but seemed to reign supreme over thc woods. Hardly a sound enough remained to show that it once contained a large could be heard, save the clatter of the volan, the voice of courtyard in, its center. Several other ruined buildings lay the driver as he urged the mules, or the occasional cry of buried among the underbrush ,but they were in such a fallen some wild animal. condition that it was useless to make a study of them. On the following morning we again set forth, this timc Such was Uxma1,one of the most interesting of the ruins to visit the Hacienda of Tabi, owned by Señor Fajada, and of Central America. Ruin and decay have heen steadily also to visit a large cave and the ruins of Labná. Our road ' at worki and before many years have passed, this. famous . was very rough and rocky, and bordered by dense woods. . relic of the ancient Mayas will be a thing of the past. Over At eleven o'clock we came to the clearing in which was sit- allthe buildings a rank vegetation isstruggling for the uated theHacienda of Tabi. It was a noble building of mastery, andthe end is inevitable. Uxmal is probably good proportions, built of stone, and of two stories. The better known to the general publicthan any other of the . cattle-yard was large, shaded by fine ramon trees (a species Yucatan ruins, on account of the published writings of of tropical oak), with here and there atowering cocoa-palm, Stevens, Leplongeon, Charnay, Norman, Waldeck,and and filled by a large herd 'of cattle. I have already given others. It was with many regrets that we enteredour the reader some idea of a hacienda in Yucatan, with its volans, and saw the ruined city disappear from our view. cattle-yards, its great tanks of water, and other accessories, Animal life was remarkably rareabout the ruins. A All these were upon a large scale, equal to any we had seen. few bats, insects, dead mollusks, and occasionally a fly- Besides the hacienda building, native huts, etc., there was catcher, were all we saw. It is quite possible that during a rum distillery and sugar refinery, fromboth of which Seííor the rainy season, life is much more abundant. . ' Fajada derived an immense r'evcnue For theslfety of the - Lunch was taken at theHacienda of Uxmal. Here I ' hacienda against the maraudingnatives of the interior, there saw many sculptured figures'which had been taken from the was a company of soldiers stationed here. About the cocoa- ruins. Among others was alarge sculptured ornament, palms in- the cattle-yard largeflocks of grackles were flying; representing a double headcd lynx, with the bodies joined' these birds seemed always to congregate about haciendas, together in the middle. It was carved from one piece of but were never found in the forests. In one portion of the stone, and must have been a tremendous undertaking. The cattle-yard I discovered a small land snail which sculpture, however, was rude and uncouth, as were all the proved to be a new species (Orysosoma Tubiensis, ornaments at Uxmal. Pilsbry). At dinner I tasteda dish of which I At four o'clock we again entered our volans and ,started hadheard much, but until thistime had not for Ticul, arriving there late in the evening. Our ride over tasted-cuttle-fish. It was a small species of the Sierra was something of an experience, for we went gal- Octopus found abundantly on the coast, and OB~XXIOY~ TADIEXLIIS, loping'down the steep slopes, the volan swaying from. side was very palatable,tasticg much like chicken. pTLIIDILpm6 to side in a way most alarming to weak nerves. A.very Early in the afternoon we started for the Cave of LOI- noticeable feature of Yucatan evenings was the silence which. tun, situated a league from the hacienda. The road for the 40. A NATURALIST IN MEXICO. CAVE OF BOLONCHEN. 49

distance of two miles was level, and bordered fields of hen- aich led to a huge cavern strewn with broken rocks which quen; it then ascended at a moderate angle until we reached had fallen from the roof above. For the space of twenty hn abrupt openiug, circular in outline, fully sixty feet in cir- minutes we clambered over these boulders, and finally cumference, seeming a magnificent entrance to a great tem- reached a level path in a passage some fifteen or twenty feet ple for theworsh:p of the god of nature. We first des- high and twenty-five in width. The floor was broken into cended by a succession of short ladders laid against the face ripple-marks, like those on a sea-shore, and looked as though of the wall of the cavern, and entered a large, vaulted cavern water had flowed over it atsome distant day. This pathwas about sixty feet in height, lighted from the mouth. In this followed for some distance, when it branched in several di- chamber were many weird and gigantic stalactites incrusted rections; one branch led straight ahead andwas said to lead with the disintegrated earth, which gave them a brownish to a small village some six miles away, and was' used by the tinge. Fromhere weentered a second chamber about twenty ancient Mayas as a place of retreat when hard pressed by feet below,in which wasa mcst beautiful display of stalactitic their enemies. The other passages led through a laby- growth; here were gigantic columns of pure, white calcite, rinth d stalactitic columns, and we did not explore them. As reaching from the floor to the roof above. We had been evening was approaching, we returned to the hacienda. told of numerous figures and objects of domestic utensils This cave was but one of many such which arescattered used by the ancient inhabitants, which were to bc found in throughout Yucatan. The whole surface of the country is this cave, but as was most usually the case we were doomed flat and without a water course of any kind, so that the in- to disappointment, for the so called figures were nothing habitants are compelled to depend upon the water obtained more than the huge. stalactitic columns before us. in cenotes, caves, andtanks for their supply. Thereare From this chamber we jöurneyed on by a downward, numerous streams throughout the country in the depths of . shelving path, and entered another of surpassing weirdness; . these caves; one notable instance is the Cave of Bolonchen, it was fully three hundred feet in diameter, and lighted from in which, at the depth of some four hundred feet, a stream a circular hole in the.roof, eighty feet above, through which of good water is found. This is probably true of all the streamed the sunlight. At one end of this large chamber caves, although some have not yet been explored suBciently was a smaller one, about as large as a good sized room. to determine whether all are thus supplied or not. As the ' Against the wall of thisapartment was a most delicious country is composed of transition limestone it is natural that fountain of clear, cold water, bubbling up from a hollow stal- . numerous caves should ,abound, and that the water should

agmite. When emptied of its contents this fountain slowly seek ita lowest level in the softest rock. , filled again, but did not run over. The exact. temperature we were;unfortunately, not able to determine. Fromthis small chamber several dark passage8 branched to right and left, but they had not been explored, andthe guides would notenter them. Recrossing the large cavern we entered a dark passage, fifty feet in height, ARCHED GATEWAY. 61

acrack had already separated the remaining portion; it irr only a question of B few years when the whole of this CHAPTER wonderful building will be a mere shapeless mound. V, l At distancethe of a few hundred feet from this THEnext morning we setout for the ruins of Labni. . l structure was archedan gateway, remarkably beautiful in Our road 'lay southeast, among the hills, and was very its proportions and grace of ornament. On the right, run picturesque. A damp fog hung over everything, andthe ning off at an angle of thirty-five degrees, was a long build- air was quite cold. It was in fact a most dismal dav. 1 ing much in ruins. On the left it formed an angle with an- At the distance of two - other btilding. The gateway was ten feet wide, and fifteen leagues we reached a field of . feet high, passing through which we entered a spacious

ruins hidden in. the dense ' forest. The first building we saw was the most curious and extraordinary structure we had yet seen, surmounting a 'A VOLAN COCHE. pyramidal mound forty-five feet high. The stepshad fallen; and trees and Maguey plants were growing out of the place where they had stood. A nar- row platform formedthe top of the mound. The building B-ED BUILDING. faced îhe south ,and when entire measured forty-three feet courtyard overgrown with weeds and- small trees. The in front and twenty feet in width. It had threedoorways, of . doors of theapartments on both sides of the gateway, each which one, together with ten feet of the whole structure, twelve feet by eight, opened upon this area. Above the had fallen, and now lay a mass of ruins. The centerdoor- cornice, the face of the building was rich in sculpture. The way opened into two chambers, each twenty feet long and buildings around the courtyardformed a great irregularpile, six feet wide. measuring in all two hundred feet in length. Above the cornice of the building rose a gigantic per- Northeast from the mound on which stood the great pendicular wall thirty feet high, which had once been or- wail, and about one hundred and sixty yards distant, was a namented from one side to the other with colossal figures, . largc building, erected on a terrace, and hidden among the .now broken and in fragments, but still presenting n curious trees growing upon it, with its front much ruined. Still appearance. Along the top, standing out on the wall, was further in the same direction was another large liuilding of a row of deaths' heads; undernelth were two lines oi really magnificent proportione. It stood on n large terrace, human figures in alto relievo. Over thecenter doorway four hundred feet long and one hundred and fifty feet deep. was a colossal seated figure, of which only detached portions The whnle terrace was covered with buildings. The front now remained. The wall was tottering and ready to fall, and of the building measured two hundred and eighty feet in I 54 A NATURALMTIN MEXICO. length. It consisted of three distinct parts, differing very much in style. Tbe whole long fapade was ornamented with sculptured stone, of good workmanship. On the left end of thc principal building, in the angle of the corner, ! was the most curious and elaborate ornamentwe had as yet seen. It represented the open jaws of an alligator, enclos- ing a human head. In the platform in front of the buildings were several l circular holes leading to subterranean chambcrs, dome- shaped, elevcn feet long, seven wide and ten high, to thc center of the arch. These chambers were'probably used as storehouses for maize. Aswe obscrved at Uxmal, the facade below the cornice was of plain stone without orna- mentation of any kind, while above it was covered with sculptured stones. There were about twenty doors facing the front, andthe rear elevation was . perfectly blank. Above this building, and built upon its roof, was a second, much smaller, with an elaborately sculptured facade. This building was divided into several rooms. The doors here had an addition, not before observed in any building in Uxmal; this was two pillars of stone dividing the doorway into thrce apertures. This character was not observed in the buildings below. The roof was much fallen and overgrown with large and small trees, which were running their roots I into the crevices anlong the stoncs, and slowly but surely causing the ruin of thesc interesting relics of by-gone days. In the interest of our work, I had not discovered that thousands of garrapatas were crawling over me. These I insects are the scourge of Yucatan, and altogether were a more constant source of annoyance and suffering than any we encountered in the country. These, in color, size, and num- bers, wcre llke grains of sand, and dispersed themsclves all over my body, getting into the seams of my clothes, and burying themselves in my flcsh. Their habit W-' to attach BIRD8 SEEN. 69

themselves td the skin by plunging their proboscis into it, and thus suck the blood until their flat bodies were dis- tended into a globular form. It was very curious that so. few birds were seen about the ruins. Among those observed were' the Guatemalan Woodpecker, Uxmal Woodpecker, Ruby-throated Hum- mingbird, Mexican Kingbird, and a single specimen, which we obtened, of Gray's Thrush. Gfandina Cyfindrace, one of the most abundant mollusks of Yucatan, was found here in

' considerable nùmbers. Another abundantspecies was the Chondroponra Zargilfierfi,'a beautiful yellowish-white shell

with rows of brown spots. ' Bulimulus tropicalis and Cyclotrrs . nysoni, a beautiful ribbed species, and a Hel¿cina, were the common forms seen. One new variety of Cylindrelfa was found (C. @elun¿œ, var. dubia). A single snake (Dryophis jklgdrrs) was seen and captured. A rabbit was also seen,

butnot obtained. ' Insects were not seen (excepting the troublesome garrapatas). It was with much regret that we left the region without

' . visiting theothcrruinedcities of the country-Chichen Itza, Xampon, Kabah, Chunhuhu, etc. -and comparingtheir arch- itecture with that of Uxmal and LabnA. The predominating character, however, was that they were all built upon arti- - .ficial pyramids or terraces. A truncated pyramid supported a building of greater or lesser dimensions. The walls were very, thick, many of them faced on the interior with carved stones, and presentingrichly sculptured fapades, sculptured in bas-relief. Human heads, figures of.men and animals, . and hieroglyphics consisting of squares, scrolls, and other geometric figures, constituted the principal ornamentation. Although these ruins have been studied by the most famous archaeologists of the present .century, yet little is known concerning their history. A shortstop was m,ade at the Hacienda of Tabi, and then we started for Ticul, arriving there shortly after dark. I

AGRICULTURE YUCATAN. 55 . A NATURALIST IN MEXICO. ÏN towns and haciendas. The Aztec Paroquet was seen Duringour two days sojourn in Ticul, we added in small flocks aboutthe mountains nearTicul. The largely to our collections. Here I was, unfortunately, laid Groove-billed Ani, or Crotophaga, was everywhere abund- up with fever.and not able to do much collecting. While ant. After dark, on the roads, theParauque was seen preparing insects or skinning birds in the house, the window frcqucatly. Thc little Cinnamon Humming-bird was which opened into the courtyard was generally filled with quitc common in thcsuburbs of Ticul. TheLeast Fly- men and boys, who wouldwait for hours, watching our catcher, Yellow-bellied Green Jay, and Great-tailed Grackle operations with the most untiring curiosity. They would wcre quite common. The Yucatan Cardinal was one of the whisper among themselves, and as we dexterously removed most bcautiful and conspicuous birds. At Ticul it was com- a skin, they would give exclamations of wonder. And then monly scen about the slopes of the mountains. Among the they would guess as towhat we were going {o do with them; maller birds, the following were seen and many captured: some thought they were to show, and others that we used White-eyed Vireo, ParulaWarbler, Sycamore Warbler, them as medicine. Black-throated Green Warbler, Yucatan Mockingbird, and Our stay in Ticul was marred by my sickness, having Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher. Many of these small birds were been seized the second day with an attack 'of dysentery, mec11 fc!ecling on the berries of the Palmetto trees. which confinedme to hammock for some time. The my Gray's Thrush (Merufa gru~t)was seen about Ticul, balance of the party, however, did good work, and added but nonc capturedat that place. One was shot byMr. largely to our collections. During my.indisposition I took Stone at Labnd. Our visit occurred during the dry season, . my meals, when strong enough, in a caf6 near the plaza. and was not the best for ornithological purposes. Later in Nothing but Spanish was spoken, of course, and at every the season, we were told, occurs a migration of birds north- meal the following dialogue took place. It is a fair sample ward, and at that time they are much more numerous, both of the restaurant conversation between native and foreigner: in species and individuals. Tiene Vd. pun9 Have you bread. On the 18th we left Ticul forMerida. The road be- Si, 'Senor. Yes, sir. tween Ticul and Merida bordered large tracts of ground, in Y huesos fietos? And fried 'eggs? which henequen and corn were being cultivated. The Si, &nor. Yes, sir. system of agriculture in Yucatan is rather primative. Be- Y cufe? And coffee? sides hemp and sugar, the principal' products of the country 'Si, Senor. Yes, sir. are corn, beans, and calabazas, like ourpumpkins and Y carwcfiio? And cold meat? squashes, camotes, like our potatoes, and chile or pepper, Si, Yes, sir. Senor. of which last an enonnous quantity is consumed, both by Traigamc Vd. todo. Bring me all. nativeand Spaniard. Indian corn, however, is thegreat Si, Senor. Yes, sir. staple, and the cultivation of this probably differs but little explorations in this direction were productive of Our from the system followed by the natives before the conquest. good results, so faras the avifauna was concerned. The In the dry season, generally in the months of January and Mexican Ground Dove was .very common about the ._ . . .__ .. - - .. . . ____ . .

61 66 NATURALIaT A IN MEXICO. MARINE ANIMALS.

February, a place is selected in the woods, from which the growth of low, thorny bushes, interspersed with tall cocoa- trees are cut down and burned. In May or June the corn is palms. In this scrubby portion we shot a number of very planted. This is done by making little holes in the ground interesting specimens. Thelittle CactusWren was ve,ry with a pointed stick, putting in a few grains of corn and . abundant,constantly on the move amohg the bushes, . covering them over. Once in the ground, it is léft to take and very difficult to shoot. We frequently saw the Man-o- care of itstlf The corn has a fair start with the weeds, and War Bird flying several hundredyards off shore, but thus keep pace together. The hoe and plough are here un- although we fired at them constantly, we were not able to known; indeed, the plough could be of but little use here on shoot one. In the mangroves bordering the lagoon we found . account of the stony nature of the ground; the machete, a numerous small birds, among them a number of flycatchers. These birds were the most abundant in Yucatan, both in , long, hatchet-like knife, is the only instrument employed. While in Merida we called upon the American Consul, species and individuals. About the edges of the mangroves Mr. Thompson, who is a most enthusiastic archæologist. the White-rumped Swallow, GreatBlue Heron, Killdeer He had himself discovered upwards of forty ruined cities, . Plover, White Egret,and Louisiana Heron were quite before unknown. He had accumulated quite a collection of I abundant; the Blue-winged'Teal was often seen, but not in hatchets, vases, birds, and other relics found about the ruins. any numbers. The Kingbird was not uncommon. Of this What was of the greatest interest to me was his superb col- - bird (7yrannw nrcZuncAolicw) we obtained three specimens. lection of photographs, numbering many hundred, of all the The same species (apparently) was seen in the' interior, al- large ruins.* From him we learned that duringthe wet though butone specimen was shot in thelatter region, and . season, animal life is very abundant, and many species of that differed in some respects from the Progreso specimens. birds are found which do not live here in the dry season. The Progreso specimens are much lighter beneath and con- At three o'clock in the afternoon we left Menda for tain much less red in the crest, than in the inland bird. Progreso, there to spend a few days before leaving the . We spent most of our afternoons and evenings in wan- country for Veracruz. Col. Glenn and his wife left us at dering up and down the beach, picking 'up the specimens Merida, toreturn tothe construction camp. Duringthe which had been thrown up by the last tide. evening, we all enjoyed a much needed bath in the watersof During our stay, I observed the habits of many of the the Gulf. common marine animals. Among others, a large sea-slug The next four days we spent in collecting, and as bird- (Aplysia) was very common. This mollusk is about five life was very abundant; we added considerably to ouralready inches long; of a dirty yellowish color, veined with purple. full collections. Back of the town was a broad lagoon in- It feeds on the delicate sea-weeds which grow among the habited by many species of aquatic birds. Flocks of gulls stones in shallow water. When disturbed, this slug emits were seen flying overhead, uttering theirwell-known cry, and a fine purplish-red fluid, which stains the water for some herons of several species wading about the swampy portion. i distance. These harmless creatures were once supposed The land bordering the Gulf was sandy and covered with a to be poisonous,. on account of this purple fluid. . .Nom.-The mim of YacmtM in front of the Anthropol l Bullding of In many places the beach was fairly heaped with dead th. World'. collunbkn Expodtion, wem ehr of chla &ELb Le ’ A NATURALIVTMEXICO. IN FUCA TAN CI VILIZA TIOÌV. b9

shells, while in othersit was nearly clean, being .one vast , cient name of Maya, and call ’themselves a Macegual in- extent of smooth, glistening sand. I enumeratedabout stead of a Yucateco. fifty species, mostly confined to the class Gastropoda. The Before leaving Yucatan, a few words in regard to its

Pelecypods werefew in species, but numerous in individuals, I civilization may not be deemed inappropriate. The popu- more so in fact than the Gastropods. Of the predominat- ktion numbers about 500,000, andis mostly native. Be- ing genera I noted the following: Fulgur, Crcpidula, . . sides its churches, convents, and public buildings, it has Columbella, Fascioharia, Strombus, OliveZla, Venus, Arca, thirteen newspapers, several electric light plants, telephone - Pinna, and Ostrea. Venus cancellata was very common exchange, street cars, and six lines of railway, viz: two and of extreme interest, as it is found fossil throughout the lines from Merida to Progreso, one narrow and the other interior. The little Olivella mutica was as common as on . wide guage; a line from Merida to Ticul, one from Merida . the first day we hunted for it, four weeks ago. By the side to Peto, one from Merida to Calkini, and one from Merida of an old, wrecked hull of a schooner, I found a heap of to Sotuta. There are also in the state eight cities, fifteen shells in which I reaped my greatest harvest. Inside the towns, one hundrcd and fifty villages, three hundred and

’ old schooner I found a colony of Melampas (M.cofew), I fifty baciendas, and over one hundred ruined cities, besides from which I collected a dozen or more specimens. numerous abandoned settlements. This abundance of material indicated a rich zoological . Late on the afternoon,of the. Mrd, we left Progreso for province off the Yucatan banks, and this indication has been Veracruz. Our trip across the Gulf was without any no- proven correct by the dredgings of the United States Fish, table event. During the evenings, which we spent on deck, Coast and Geodetic Survey Steamer,“Blake” in the last we were interested in studying the phosphorescence which fifteen years. could be plainly seen as the vessel sped along. This was On the afternoon of the 22d, we left Progreso and em- caused by myriads of little animals, whose bodies gave off * bgrked on the City of Alexandria, which was to sail next the silvery light. Chief among these animals were the day for Veracruz. A word in relation to the derivation of minute creatures called by naturalists Noctiluca, ani- the word Yucatan, before we leave the country. It is sup- mals belonging tothe Sub-Kingdom Protozoa. Other posed by some to have been derived from the plant known animals, such as larval mollusks, Acalephs, and some fishes, as Yuca, and thale, the heap of earth in which this plant contributed toward this light. It was sometimes so intense grows; the most general belief is that it isderived from cer- as to make the light of the stars seem dim in comparison. tain words spoken by the natives in answer to the question: On the aqth we reached Frontera, and were compelled to 1‘What is the name of this country?” and the answer, #*I .. wait all day for the little steamer, which brings off passen- do not understand your words,” which expression, in the gers and freightfrom the town. Leaving Fronterawe headed language of the natives, has some resemblance to the pro- toward Veracruz, expecting to reach there on the 26th. nounciation of the wordYucatan. The natives have never . My evenings were all spent on deck enjoying the fresh recognized the name, however, and tothis day, among . and invigorating sea air, and in silent contemplation of .themselves, they speak of their country only under the an- nature. The phosphorescent water could be plainly seen 60 NATURALIBT A IN MEXICO.

at the prow of 'the steamer, and ran away from her bows like molten fire...... s.- . . ..,, ..... :.:,.- - . .. -

c

CHAPTER YI, EARLYon the morning of the 96th we sighted the snow- capped peak of Orizaba, rising above the clouds. It was a grand sight; the sun was shinning brightly, and the clouds about the peak were golden-tinted. It was not a grand sight that met our gaze, as, a few hours later, we sighted the City of Veracruz. 'Ahalf mile or so of buildings, com- pact and solid, with blackened domes and steeples; yellow for .the most part, scarlet, pink, green, and blue, in patches; c a stone landing-quay, and a series of iron cranes projecting "? from it. the left was a reddish fort. There were no i.. To suburbs, only long, drearystretches -of sand. Very far down on the sand, ,with the sea breaking over her, wäs a vessel, wrecked. during a recent norther. As we' steamed I into the ,harbor,, I,no.ted on either side a number of coral reefs which apee& to..form atolls. We came to anchor I under the lee 9f the ald .forcpf SanJuan rlc k UZutz. The

C health Officer; soon .appeared, and after their inspection we were permitted to land. . Passengers were obliged, here as in the States, to open their baggage for inspectisn, and declareany dutiable articles. The Mexican free list included perso?$! flothing, r, ariicles ..worn in use, as watch, cane, etc., and firearms (one a or two with their accessories). . Each adult male passenger may bring in ninety-nine cigars, forty packages of cigarettes, and one and one-half pounds of snuff or chewing tobacco. Professional men 'may bring in free the tools pertaining to their professions. The custom house officialswe found polite and obliging, and in a very short time we were at iiberty to proceed on our journey. ,having our baggage at the HotelMexico, we called in . t19 A NATVRrLLIBT IN MEXICO;

a body upon the 'American Consul. This gentleman wm very cordial, and gave us 'much information. Here we obtained'statistics concerning yellow fever, which were very interesting, They showed that for the last three years pre- ceding ISSO, there had been but nine deaths from the 'ever. The following table I copied from the official record, and

. shows a gradual decrease since 1886. ' YELLOWFEVER IN VERACRU~.

The highest month was June, 1988, when 961 deaths occurred. The total number of deaths in twenty years m 6493. From 'the lighthouse, situated near the quay, we secured an excellent view of the city and sumrlnding

country- Looking seaward, we saw the aarbor with its ' numerous shipping lying at anchor, the grim old fortress on the Island of San Juande la Ulua, the coral reefs stretchhe away in the .distance, with-the waves beating over them, throwing up a line of white foam. Inland, the view pre- ,. sented'a very interesting scene. Just back of the city rose a series of sand dunes, which extended several miles'into . the country; and. back of these rose a chain of mountains, looking faint and misty in the distance. From our high position the city appeared about a mile square, built upon, . and.surrounded by, sand. The houses were flat roofed and 'nearly square, built of stone, 'and two or thrie stories in height. The only vegetation about the city was low'scrubby bushes and cacti. The domes were, in some places, black with buzzards. In the afternoon we visited the south end . of the town, and walked a little way into the country, but. all we could find were a few dead and bleached shells, and an occasiona! lizard of small size.

I .. - -. .. .

u c > O l- a I

CITY OB' ORIZABA. 66

64' A J?ATURALIST IN MEXICO. quarters at a casa de huerpcdcs, 'or boarding house. Here Just before reaching the depot of Atoyac, we crossed we were to spend a week in collecting, and studying the the bridge, three hundred and thirtyfeet long, spanning the fauna, flora, and Geotogy. river of the same name. Here the steepest portion of the i Orizaba has over twenty thousand inhabitants, and is . ascent began, a grade of four per cent., and the double- one of lhc oldcst and .quaintest cities inMexico. The enderPairlie locomotive was attached tothe train. Be- winclows of the l~ouscs arelow and iron grated, as is usual tweenAtoyac and Cordoba, we passed througha fertile with Spanish towns.Most of the dwellings are but one country which' supporteda tropical vegetation. Several .I story in hcight, built with broad, overhanging eaves, and small tunnels were passed through, and then we reached arc colnposctl of mortcr, sun-dried brick, and a variety of Cordoba. At this station a number of natives boarded the otlrcr matcrial. Wood, however, does not enter to any train, with fruit to sell, for Cordoba is almost in the center Krcat cxtent in their construction. The pitched roofs are of the tropical fruit region. covcrcd with big red tiles, which serve to throw off the heat From Cordoba the scenery was of surpassing grandeur; of the burning sun, as well as the rain. the railway slowlywound up the sidesof the mountains, while There are numerous churches here, several of which beneath were deep caions, and the scenery was wild in the are quite imposing structures Gabriel Barranco, a extreme. We now passed through five tunnels and crossed native artist, has contributed many oil paintings of consider- , three bridges.At the Metlac bridge, crossing the ravine able merit to many of these churchs. Earthquakesare of the same name, we encountered the hest scenery. This frequent here, a fact attested by numerous cracks in the bridge was three hundred and fifty feet long, and ninety-two church towers. The steeple of thelargest church was

feet above thestream below. The gradehere was three ' thrown down several times by this agency. Several good . per %nt. It was agrand, and at the sametime a wild schools havebeen established here,and aredoing good work. sight, to look over the side of that-bridge, into the rushing . Theyare supported by the local government. The church . waters below. It was said that in the wet season, the water party, however, are doing their best to suppress them, hut rose within ten feet of the track. What agrand sight it do not seem to succeed. Four schools are for boys, and. must be then to make the upward journey. On the bank three for girls. beside the bridges werelittle houses, in which lived people A river runs through the town, and affords ample power who watched for accidents to either bridge or track, and for six or eight milk, which manufacture sugar, cottonmand who gave warning to trains if anything was wrong. This ' flour. The surrounding valley is very fertile, and is mostly was certainly. a wise precaution.Soon the valley of I devoted to the raising of coffee, sugar-cane, and tobacco. Orizaba came in view, and the depot of that town' was soon The climate is very fine all the year, the average tempera- reached. This is the capital of the Stateof Veracruz, which ture being ?6O Fahr. in summer, and. very seldom falls be- state contains over half a million of inhabitants. We were low 800 at any time. The valley affords an agreeable . here eighty miles from Veracruz, andone hundred and medium between the hot lands, and the cold and rarified eighty from the City of Mexico. We were unable to obtain atmosphere of the Mexico plateau. In this vicinìty one sees acçommodationa .at the hotel, so were obliged.. t0 seeh t . ....~..-.I . .. . ____ ..

NA TURA LIBT IN MEXICO. CITY MEXICO.68 IN A NATURALIBT OB ORIZABA. 07 the orange, lemon, banana, and almond growing at their Very few wheeled vehicles are used, the freight being best, while the coffee, sugar-cane, and tobacco plantations carried almost wholly on the backs of burros and natives. will compare favorably with any in Cuba. Sugar-caneland . All the produce of the neighboring country, such as vege- can be had herefor from forty to fifty dollars an acre, which tables, charcoal, wood,etc., comes in on the backs of will compare favorably with Louisiana land which sells at natives, men and women, and it is really astonishing to see one thousand dollars an acre. Cotton is very extensively what heavy loads they will carry for miles over the moun- grown in the State of Veracruz, and thrives up to an eleva- tains, at the rate of five or six miles an hour. These natives tion of five thousand feet above the .sea. According to enjoy wonderful physical health, owing probably to their Mexican statistics,the average product is about two simple life. They are subject to hardly any deformity, and thousand pounds to the acre; this is double the average a hunchbacked native is not to be seen, while it is very . quantity produced in theUnited States. The modes of rare to meet a maimed or a lame one. Their simple mode ' cultivation are very crude, but the wonderful fertility of the of life, living in the open air, and their temperate habits, soil insures' good and remunerative returns,even under . have earned for them immunity from deformity. What a these disadvantages. Water is almost the only fertilizer lesson for our more advanced civilization ! The simple used, and irrigating facilities are excellent. I native seldom indulges in pulque,'and when he does the On the west side of the town is an elevation known as effect is far less harmful than our American whisky. El Borrcgo, or The Goat, where five thousand Mexicans 'The small plaza is a delightful resort;a perfect wilder- . were completely routed by asingle company of French ness.of green with an ornamental fountain in the middle, Zouaves, duringthe French invasion. This was a night l about which are stone seats. The entiresurroundings of surprise, wherein the French appeared suddenly among the Orizaba are garden-like, and the vegetation, owing to the sleeping Mexicans, and cutthem down as fast as they awoke. humidity of the atmosphere rising from the Gulf, is always The importance and superiority of disciplined troops was 01 a vivid green. If we walked through the plaza early in never more clearly demonstratedthan on this occasion. the morning, we would be sure to see many native men and Military discipline is not a characteristic of tee Mexican women conling into market from the country, all bending army, as may be seen at any time when they are making a undcr thcir wcigllt of provisions, pottery, or some other parade. Orizaba, it will be remembered, was for a time lwmc product. The women knit as they walk along. the headquarters of General Bazaines'army, and it was here Long trains of burros loaded with grain, straw, wood, and that the French General, finally, in 1866, bade good-by to I alfalfa, are also scen coming in from some hacienda in the Maxirnilian, whose cause'he dastardly deserted. Stories are valley. The milkmen,too, are seen, with their milkcans, still told here of theoutrages committed by theFrench ' 1 two on each side, suspended from their horses saddles. soldiery. I It will be remembered that at the little town of Jala- The streets of the town are in very good condition, pilla, situated a couple of miles from town, Maximilian held paved with lava. The guttersare in the middle of the the famous council which decided his fate. Had he taken streets, and tbe sidewalks are but a few inches in width. heed to his owncommon sense, andthe advice of hie 68 A NATURALISTIN MEXICO. VILLAGE OP NOBALEH. 88

friends, be would yet be living, andCarlotta would not Myrtle Warbler, Audubon's Warbler, the common Sparrow have become the'insane wreck she was. Veracruz was but . Hawk (Talco sparvwiw, a very wide distribution), and .. a days' journey away, and a French Steamboat lay off San several swallows. Juan de la Ulua, ready to convey him across the sea. The The forest was very pleasant for rambling. In some pressure of the church party, his own pride and the con- directions broad pathways led down gentle slopes, through fidence of Carlotta, decided his fate. almost interminable shrubberies of green foliage, to moist We employed our few days in Orizaba to good advant- hollows, where the springs of water bubbled up, or shallow age in collecting specimensabout the town, and in the brooks ran over their beds of pebbles or muddy floors. The valley, of which there were an abundance. .The morning most beautiful road was one that ran through .a beautiful after our arrival, I took my gun and walked out to see what grove of lofty trees, crossed the RioBlanco on a high bridge, . sportthe valley afforded. The forest bordering theRio and terminated below thehigh walls of the neighboring Blanco, which flowed through the valley, was extremeiy rich . hills. Birds and insects were here veryplentiful, and many

and picturesque, although the soil was damp. In every , a rare and beautiful specimen was added to our collection. hollow flowed a sparkling brook with crystal waters. The One spot, a few miles from the town, I shall not soon forget; margins of the river were paradises of leafiness and verdure; it was on a hill which slopedabruptly towards a boggy the most striking featurebeing the variety of ferns, with im- , mcadow, sulrounded bywoods, through which a narrow mense leaves, some terrestrial, others climbing over trees. winding path continued the slope down to a cool and shady I saw here some very large' trees; there was one especially, glen, with a.brook of cold water flowing at thebottom At whose colossal trunk towered up for nearly a hundred feet, mid-day the vertical 'sun penetrated into the gloomy depths straight as an arrow. Birdsalong this picturesque river of this romantic spot, lighting up the leafy banks of the were very abundant. In several places near the river bank, stream, where numbers of ScarletTanagers and brightly

the natives had made theirlittle plantations, andbuilt lit- b colored buttedies sported aboutin the stray leaves. , . tle huts. The people were always cheerful and friendly, and seemed to be glad to assist us in any manner. King- One afternoon we took the

' fishers, hawks, humming-birds, warblers, and finches, were street cars for the little village seen here in considerable numbers. In the brooks empty- of Nogales, where a large mar- ing intothe Rio Blanco, we found largenumbers of ble quarry was situated. The mollusks, the first quantity of living animals of this class street car service here was some-

' which we had seen while in Mexico. thing remarkable. It impressed Physa and Limnaa were the most abundant. L. us the moment we saw it. The cubemis has a very wide distribution, being found from New cars themselves were quite sim- OABYCETVY W,W.BBBY England, where it is known as'L. umbilicata, west to Missouri, (EXWABQED.) ilar to those used in theStates; and south to Cuba and theState of Veracruz. .Inthe woods but the service was certamly unique. The cars were drawn bordering the stream we found the Texan Kingfiisher, the by a couple of burros, which were driven at a run. The

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1. 70 NATURALIST A IN HEXICO. CERROESCAMELA. DE n

drivers sounded a small horn on approachingthe inter- tellect to the Yucarecans, and did not have that quickness section of streets, and everything went with a grand rush. of perception noticed in the latter race. The mules did not suffer much from this rapid transit pace, I noted several young girls carrying babies, somewhat as might be supposed, for they were frequently changed, aftcr tllc North hnericari Indian fashion, in their shawls, and were generally in excellent condition. Our road strllng across their backs. They were often seen with the ran along the base of the Cerro de Borrego, crossed the dd(lrcu nstraddlc their backs. The articles displayed for S;I~wcrc fruits, sweetmeats, articles of clothing, cutlery, valley.of Orizaba, andthen again skirted the base of the ' hills. Nogales was a neat little village of a few hundred etc. Tllursday and Sllnday were the principal market inhabitants, and was worthy of description. We didnot days, when tllc pcoplc for miles around flocked in to buy have time, unfortunately, to form an adequate idea nf its and sell. Milkmen were also seen delivering their mornings character. The marble yards bordered a deepravine, through milk which flowed a picturesque stream.. In the vicinity of the About a mile fram the town we reached the quarry. This village we saw several washouts, showing the tremendous was not large, and had been worked but a short time. WC force withwhich the water must rushdown' the mountains . were fortunate cnaugh to obtain a number of fossils, v hich during the wet season. On nsarly every one of our ~avc:thc geological horizon of the Cretaceous for the excursions, we were greeted by a magnificent view of the rcgioll. \ZThilc scvcral of the party were investigating the glistening, snow-capped peak of Orizaba, rising high above quarry, I ascended to the tap of the hill, known as the the clouds. . One afternoon, aday or twobefore leaving Orizaba, we . visited a quarry to the east of the town. .On our way we passed th'rough the market place. The scene presented here wasvery picturesque and interesting. On the edges of the sidewalks, and in the streets, were placed little patches of straw matting, upon which were displayed the different articlesthe natives had for sale. Beside the matting sat native men and women, cross-legged, each one waiting patiently for some one to come and buy. The . PATULA lliTONEA, PILBDBY. natives were dressed in loose clothes. The men wQrewhite .. cotton pants and shirts, and had on their heads straw hats Cnro de Xscamclu, and had a splendid view of the valley, . or sombrtros. The womenwore woolen skirts of adark the best I had as yet enjoyed. This mountain rises 1417 color and cotton waists, over which was thrown a shawl bf feet above the valley, and has an absolute elevation of li800 aslate color. Everythingabout them, tended to induce . feet. freedom of movement. Theirskin was a tawny copper Crossing this mountain a few hundred feet, I camc to a little ravine, where a large number of small mollusks were color, theirhair jet black. Theyappeared inferior in in- ' I. 74 A NATURALIST IN MEXICO.

collectedunder the wetleaves. A small Pupa (P. con. . tracta) I found quite abundant. Among others foundwere . three species of Patula (P. intoma, Pildry), three. of Streptostyla, aqd several Helictna: I picked up a Carychium (C. mexicanurn) .in great quantities, and a Prom-pina (P. Ceres safleana) of two distinct varieties, one red and one buff.

In the rocks we found the following fossils, ali refsr- L able to the Cretaceousdeposits. Naricaa castillo, found imbedded in the marble and identified from a polished sec- tion. A Murex was found, but ïn such a state as to be un- . determinable, so far as specific characters were concerned. A Zjlostoma was also found of very large size, but in su&, a twisted condition & to be unrecog=izable.. Several other . specimenswere found, of which the generic identity could . onlybe determined. These were Ostrea, Caprinq, and Hippurites. . . On the &cond.of April we again boarded the Mexico and Veracruz train for another journey skyward, for we had yet . some faur thousand feet to climb before reaching the Mexi- canplateau. After leaving Orizaba, the line passed ' . through a fertile .valleyfor a fewmiles, and then again came to the steep mountainslope. From Orizaba to Maltrata, the railway ran parallel with the Rio Blanco, and crossed its tributaries in several places. A short time be- forereaching Maltrata, we passed the Barranca del In- . $edlo, or Ravine of the Little Hell." Thiswas a wild and desolateplace, dropping sixhundred feet .below the . ledgeon which the track was laid. Far below, in the I depths of this ravine, W- seen a tinystream, looking like a ! silver thread, winding its way down. 'In this deep gorge I the effects of crushingand folding of the 'rocks was well , . l . =en. The limestonewas here standing at everyconceiv- able angie, and was overlaid by a huge mass of, lava, to I

l TO WAV OF MALTRATA. l3

which the crushing was partly duc. Ucyond this point we rcachcd thc vallcy of Ln./qw, “The Jcwel,” in the midst of which lay the town of Maltrata. At Maltrata, ?.Il the tropi- calfruits, such as oranges, limes, citrons, pomegranates, avocat0 pears, pineapples, bananas, etc., were sold at the lowest pricesby girls,who assembled in greatnumbcrs when the train arrived. A short stop was made here, and then we procccdcd onward a::d upward. We now ascendedin long, sweeping cwves, along a . tcrrace cut in the side of themountain. In some places, three lines of track could be seen below us, running (ap- parcr.tly) parallel to each other. At L~IJP/cI,61Thc Boot,’’ the vicw was Krantl. Thc vallcylay strctcllcd out before us, wit!l the little town of Maltrata in the distancc, looking likc n child’s ioy. Cows and horses could be made out, and hereand there a littlcjake or strcam. The railroadwas seen winding its way through likc: a Mack thrcad. Beyond this the nlountains rose in the far distance like a 111ue mist. We soon crosscd Winner’s bridge, named in honor of the builder,ninety-six fect long and almost as high. It gavc one the shivcrs to look out of the car window, ;Incl contem- plate as to what would bcco1~1cof us sho111dthe tram jump the track herc, as it often does in thc Statcs in SI~Iplaccs. I am afraid our friends wo111tlnever bc: alde to recognizeus. Frtm hm: \VC pass(:d tl~rougll;I tunrlcl ancl canle to thcBora

th-/ .I/M/~., the 6~11011t11of tllc 11011nt;1¡11,”on tllc castern crlgc of tllc h1cxic;tn platcan. Iicrc the gr;mtl scenery ended, and tllc rcst of the ritle \V;IS tllrough clo~~dsof dust, over. a comparatively level co~~ntry.As we spcd along, clo~~tlsof dust were continually comingin through the craclts in thc windows, making the ride wry disagreeable. At three o clock we reached San Andrcs Chalchicomula. Thc clfipot wassituated some four miles off thcrailroad, and was connected with thc town by a tramway. This was ‘ 74 A NATURALISTNEXICO. IN 1 composed of. two cars, one for passengers, and one for bag- gage. We crossed asandy plain in which grew a few scrubby bushes; here and there rose huge volcanic cones, rising to a height of two or three hundred feet. As we en- CHAPTER VII; tered the town,we noted its similarity to Merida. Here We found both the fauna and flora of San Andres to were the same stone houses and barred windows. We were differgreatly from that of Orizaba, four thousand feet below. now ?QV3 feet above' the sea, and the air was .deliciously Here were pine and spruce scattered abaut, and other trees cool. We engaged a room at the Hotel de Novedad, and of the temperate climate. The birds were'quite perceptably secured very good accommodations. It hadan aspect different;here jays, resembling our'Florida Blue Jay, which was very pleasing, after our sojourn in thesub- Chewinks, Purple Finches, sparrows, tropics. Golden-winged Woodpeckers, Cross- The quaint townof San Addres Chalchicomula con- bills, and snow-birds, were seen. We tains some four thousand inhabitants, mostly natives. It is seemed to have stepped from the situated at the base of a small plateau, to the southwest of tropicsinto the temperate region. thePeak of Orizaba; thestreets are hilly and narrow, with . The Broad-tailed Humming-bird was wide roads and narrow sidewalks. The principal building tolerably common. Every day, in the of interest is the Church, situated about the center of the cm-L cooler hours of the morning or even- town. It is built upon a broad terrace, and is quite an im- ing, they were seen whirling aboutthe bushes. Their posing structure. Back ofthe town the hills rise gradually, ' habita are unlike those of all other birds. . They dart to finally culminating in the Peak of Orizaba, probably the and fro so qwiitly that the eye can scarcely follow them, and highest mountain in North America. when they stop before a floger it is only for a few moments. Here I may saythat Mexico hasthree well-defined They poise themselves in an unsteady manner, their wings climates; hot in the tierra caliente, or hot landsof the coast; moving rapidly; probe the flower, and thenshoot off for temperate in the tierru templudz, 'or region lying at an ele- anotherpart of the shrub. Sometimes two males close vation of between three and six thousand feet'above the with each other and fight, mounting upward in the struggle, level of the soa; cold in the tierru fria, or regions lying at and then hastily separating and darting back to their work. I an elevation of more than six thousand feet above the level Their brilliant colors cannot be seen while they are flutter- of the sea. The mean temperatures are as follows: ing about, and the different species are difficult to distin- T~CYYUcaliente (lo0. guish. This species was the only one seen, although I tcmpludu'70°. believe others are to be found in the region. (4 piu boa. 'I We were somewhat astonished at the utter absence of insect life,.which was quite a contrast from Orizaba, where we had seen them in great numbers. The country between San Andres and the Peak of Orizaba was cut up into deep 76 NAl'URALItJT A IN MEXICO. ASCENTTHE OF ORIZABA. II

' gullies or barrancas, in which we found several species of replaced the ice-cream. The municipal building was birds. The soil here was volcanic, consisting of ash, cin- lighted with candles, and presented a very pretty appear- ders, and lava, which had flowed from Orizaba. From the ance. The church was decorated very tastef.ully, and was bluff, back of the town, we enjoyed many a'fine view of the lighted by a multitude of candles; some were strung about surrounding country, showing us a flat plain, covered with the sides of the church, while others hung in long pendents largeand small volcanic cones. Every morning we were from the roof. The altars were all covered up, and had but greeted by a fine view of the white peak. few candles before them. The whole effect was. at once Near San Francisco, a small village some two miles pretty and impressive. from San Andres, the Maguey plant was cultivated toa People were passing to and fro from the church in a great extent. This is theplant fromwhich the famous continuous stream. Wishing to see more of the church, we . Mexican drink, pulque, is made. It is gathered in the fol- edged our way through the crowd and entered. Before the .. lowing manner: when the central shoot, which produces the covered altars were kneeling people in every station of life. flower, appears, they cut out thewhole heart, leaving noth- The proprietors of .haciendas and the poor natives were side ing but the thick walls, which makes a natural' basin, two by side; richly dressed ladies and native girls in rags were feet in depth and;one and one-half in diameter. Into this kneeling together,their dresses touching. In fact, the opening the sap flows, and is removed twice or three times solemnity of the occasion seemed to bring all classes to the daily. It is collected in alarge gourd, called an ucqate, same level. Throughout the whole church not a sound was having a horn at one end and a square hole at the other, heard. The people stepped softly, and spoke n?t a single through which the sap is drawn by .suction. This sap, be- word inside the church during the time we were in it. We fore fermentation, is called upamif or honey water. It is were afterwards told that it was the custom to perform their carried into the towns in sheep-skin barrels, with the 'hair devotions on this day in silknce. inside. The Mexicans derive an immense revenue from this On the 6th of Aprh, we set out for the ascent of Orizaba . plant, many plantations yielding ten or twelve thousand (called by the Aztecs, Citfaltepctl, or Mountain of the Star) dollars annually. with eleven guides and carriers, and' several burros. Be- This being Holy Week, we were not able to make ar- sides our guns, ammunition, and other collecting utensils, . rangements for the ascent of Orizaba until'the close of the we had provisions for three days, consisting of eggs, bread, festivities. On Holy Thursday, in the evening, we walked oranges, dried beef, anda cask of water. Our road led about the town, having a good opportunity to observe the over a sandy plain, slightly ascending. After following this customs of the people on festival days. The streets were for four or,five miles, we reached the forests of pine and crowded with people walking up and down. On the corners spruce. At this point the ascent became very steep,and of the streets, and especially in the plaza, were men with the burros labored very heavily under their burdens. Here tables before them, upon which were placed for sale ice- the song of the robin was heard, and blue-jays were seen in 'cream, sweet-cakes, and various kinds of confectionary. In abundance. We might easily have imagined ourselves in S some places small trinkets and other articlesof merchandise New England pine forest. The trees here were noble ex-

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78 A NATUltALIST IN XEXICO.

amples of arboreal growth, many of them being over a hundred feet high, andrunning up as straight as an arrow. l The ground was covered with pine knecdles, making a floor as soft as velvet, and the odor was delicious. At a height of 10,750 feet, we halted for lunch, and to give the hurros a rest. Thc thermometer here registered 1134 Fahr., and the air was quite chilly. We must have pre- sented a rather wild appearance, dressed as we were in all manner of costumes, with the natives in their white pants and jackets and wide.brimmed sombreros, with revolvers stiching from their belts ! After a half hours rest we again I procecdcd up the mountain. Now and then WC caught gli~npscsof the world below, with its valleys, towns, and clouds. The up-grade soon became terrific, and the burros coulú hardly carry us along. Evidences of volcanic action now appeared on cvery hand, in the shapc of huge blocks I of lava, and cinders. Herethc vegetation began to thin out, the pines disappearing, but the spruces still keeping on, thougli thc trces were smaller ml1 lcss nuluerom than lower down. The Sierra Nagra was seen on our right, and through a cleft in thc monutains we caught occasiollal glimpses of the peak. Anotllcr 1c:vcl plainwas crosstxl, ;t stony path ascended, and tllcn a full and magnificent vicw of the peak burst upon our sight. WCmade our camp, for the night, on a ledge jtltting

' from the side of the mountain. Here we prepared our sup- per, and endeavored to spend a comfortable night. As the sun set the cold became intense, andour thick blankets were scarcely adequate to keep us from suffering severely from the low temperature. Nothing occurred to disturb our rest, save the howling of coyotes and the uneasiness of the burros in their cramped quarters. Our camp was at an altitude of over 13,000 feet, andas yet none of us ex- perienced any difficulty from the rarified atmosphere. THE ASCENT OF ORIZABA. 73

Next morning (April :th), ,at four o'clock, we turned out, ate a light meal, and started for the peakon foot. We were well protected from the cold by extra jackets, which we had brought with us. To prevent us from slipping on . the icc, we wore stockings over our shoes. Leavingthe lcrlgc of rock wherc we had spent the night, we first passed ovcr a comparativcly level plain, covered with tufts of dried, half-dead grass. The soil here was sandy, and progression difficult. A gentle incline was soon reached, which carried us to the foot of the peak proper. Here the last vestige of vegetation disappeared, and we were surrounded by black . and barren blocks of lava. Soon the rise was at an angle of thirty-five degrees, and the climbing became very fa- tiguing. One of our party soon showed signs of giving out, and complained of pains in his hea'd and stomach; he also had a desire to lic down and go to sleep. At a height of . 14,000 feet, hc was obliged to succumb andreturn to-the camp. Now theascent was over huge boulders and crumbling stones, and in many places a few steps forward . werefollowed by one backwards. Fromour present ele- vation we were enabled to view the country for many miles. . Way off in the distance were seen the snow-capped peaks of Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl, sisterpeaks to Orizaba. Down in the valley below was seen the town of San Andres,

appearing like ' a child's toy, and scattered over the plain were towns and villages in every direction. Frequent rests were now taken, for the rarified air was beginning to tellon the rest of us. At one of our resting- places, I had the good fortune to observe the clouds rising slowly from 'the valley.As they rose higher and higher, ! peak after peak was covered, until a level sea of clouds lay before me, with here and there a point appearing above it like an island in the midst of a sea. It was the most beau, tiful sight I had ever seen. Again we arose and stumbled W) A NATURALISTMEXICO. IN on. The guides were now some distance ahead, and we followedon as quickly as possible. Soon the snow-field was reached, and here the truly dlfficult pnrt of the ascent began. The fieldwas cut up intolittle hillocks, which rendered progression over it much easier than it would have been, had it been a smooth fidd of' frozen snow. Whcn within three hundred feet of the summit, I was seized with thc most violent symptoms. My head swam, my eyes be- came bloodshot, and my stomach felt very qualmish. A ringing noise entered my ears, and I was obliged to desist from ascending further. Another ofmy companions was affected in the same manner, and bnt one was able to reach the actual summit, and ht: Ilad to be hauled up with ropes by thnatives. Our descent was somewhat novel. A na- tive had carried with 11im a yicce of straw matting, and upon . this WC sat and were pullcd down a sandy inclinc of thirty- flve degrees, in much the same manner that coasting is done in Canada. We arrived at the camp foot-sgre and weary, and were glad enough to lie down and rest. Our i~cterminationsl~owcd that thc height formerly givtn for the mountain is too lo\v. Alter nlaking allow- ances for slight variations, thu Iwiglrt of the lnrmntain is 113,200 feet. The barometcr, atthc sunlnlit, read 15.56 inches, and the tempcraturc was 35" Fallr. During the as- cent of the second day, the barometer indicated a dropof .l inch. In lî!)& Ferrer, by meaus of angle measurcrncnts takcn from the Encero. tletcr~uined thehcight to bc 17,879 fcct. II~~IIOICI~,a few years later, mcasured tIlc mountain fro111a plain, near the town of Jalapa, and obtained 17,:1;5 feet. Hc observed, howcver, that his angles of elevation werevery small, and the base-line difficult to level. In IHÌ~,a KIexican scientific commission, composed of MM. Plowes, Rodriguez, .and Vigil, madc theascent of the volcano from the side of San Andres, and determined the . .. .

height to be 11,884 feet.Dr. Kaska, not long since, de- termined, by a mercurial thermometer, the height to be I 18,045 ! feet. Should our deductions prove correct, then .! Orizaba, and not Popocatepetl, must take the first place anrong the mountains of North America. The second night was passed like tlrc first, in hugging the fire. Early on the following morning we returned to San Andres, reaching there late in thc afternoon. The only life observed on the peak was a SparrowHawk, a raven ,and a few small lizards. Before leaving San Andres, a word concerning its avi- fauna may not be out of place. As before said, the differ- ence between the birds of San Andres and those of Orizaba, 4,000 feet below, was marked. Only three species were common to both localities. Nearly all species belonged to northern genera. In the town, the only birds observed were the Housc Finch, Blue Grosbeak, and Barn Swallow. In the sandy stretch of country, between San Andres and the pine woods, on the slopes of Orizaba, the most charac- teristic species were sparrows, thrushes,the Black-eared Bush Tit, Brown and Mexican Towhee. In the pine forest. the American Robin, Bluebird, Mexican Chickadee, Sumi- L chrast's Jay,and Audubon's Warbler, were abundant. A peculiar fact observed was that none of the characteristic birds oi the open country were found on the wooded part of the mountain. Snowbirdsand Sumichrast's Jay, how- ever, were found on the plain some distance from the edge of the forest. Of theother branches-mollusks, insects, ek:,;--we saw nothing, save a few lizards. The following . day we left San Andres for the City of. Mexico, arriving at the.latter place at midnight. We putup at tbe Hotel Humboldt,situated on the Calle de Jesus, where we eecured very excellent accoqunodations: ...._ .._- . .. . . ____ . . .. 'lT' %ITY OF MEXICO. W

bricks. The roofs are nearly all flat and without chimneys; there is no provision made for artificial heat, nor indeed is thc!rc need of any in a climate where the temperature sel- CHAPTERVIII, ,l cloel falls I)clow (;ou Fahr. It is always warm in the middle WHATParis is to France, the City of Mexico is to the .. of IIICday, ;ultl cool in the morning and evening. The Mexican Republic. The city derived its name fromthe cIin1;rte is tempcrate, and th atmosphere very dry. Fires, Aztec war-god Mexitli. It is a large metropolis, containing OII ;recount of tllc indcstrnctibility of thc houses, are a rare something over three hundred thousand inhabitants, em- OccIIrrcncc. bracing a large diversity of nationalities. When Cortez first The main thoroughfares enter and depart from the saw the city, in 1510, it was said to measure nine miles in /%ma Afqiw. Some arc broad and some narrow, but all circumference, and to contain half a mi!lion inhabitants. ;tre p;~vcd,straight, and clean. The streetcar service is This statement is probably greatly exaggerated. The an- exccllent. All the cars depart from the main plaza in front cient Aztec Capital, bearing the name of Tenochtitlan, .of thc cathedral. They are always in a hurry; the mules was completely destroyed by Cortez, who established on its arc clrivcn very rapidly through the crowded thoroughfares, sitethe present city. The streets of the city are broad yt:t no ;Icciclcmtr llsppcn. Funerals are conducted by turn- and straight, lined with two-story houses, and.there arealso iug one of tllcec cars into a hearse, or catafalque, another several spacious avenues and boulevards. The houses are car Loing rcscrvcd for thmourners and pall-bearers. A built mostly of stone, covered with stucco; the windows long string of these cars may sometimes be seen gliding opening upon little balconies, shaded by awnings of differ- into the suburbs, where the grave-yards'are located. The - ent colors. They are built after the usual Spanish style, drivers of the cars blow cow-horns at theintersection of the with a central courtyard. The open areas about which the streets, to warn people off the track. The fact that all the houses are built often present most pleasing displays o! a cars leave and enter the Plaza Major, makes it compar- fountains, flowers, and statuary. On the main street, lead- atively easy for a stranger to find his way around the sity i ' ing from the plaza to the alameda, are several private resi- and surrounding suburbs The central plaza of every Mex- dences, having very handsome courts, orpntios, as they are I ican city and town, is always the central park. called, filled with,the most bcautiful flowers, and rendered ' The streets of Mexico intersect each other at right musical by the singing of caged birds. angles, and are so nearly alike that it is a little puzzling for - Upon these areas, which are open tothe sky, theinner thestranger to find his way about them. Another draw- doors and windows open, the second story being furnished back is the awkward manner of naming the streets, each with a walk andbalustrade running round the patio. block of a single street having a different name. This sub- Heavy doors, studded with nails, shut off this patio from division is, however, to be entirely discarded, and in a few the street at night. years theatreets will be named like those 6f our northern The houses of the capital are substantially built, the cities. The Paseo de laReforma is the principal boulevard, walls being of great thickness, and composed of stuccoed andconnects the city with Chapultepec. It is over two .. 84 A NATURALISTIN MEXICO.

miles in length and over one hundred feet ïn width; it has The horses seen on the paseo, as well .as all 'of the double avenues of Eucalyptus shade trees on either side, horses in Mexico, are of Arabian descent and are splendid with stone sidewalks and .seats, placed at short intervals, animals. Thry are medium-sized, high-spirited, with small made of the same material. At certain places thepaseo ears, and a broad chest expanded by the rarified air of the widens into a gZoricto, or circle, four hundred feet in di- high altitude. The saddlesand trappings are gorgeous ameter, in which are placed handsome statues. The first with silver ornaments, without any regard for tastefulness . contains the statue of Columbus, by Cordier, a very hand- whatsver; eighteen or twenty inches of leather, fancifully some and artistic piece of work. Another circle contains worked, are often attached to each stirrup. The Mexican the equestrian statue.of Charles IV, of colossal size, thirty rider wears a short leather jacket, set off by a dozen or tons of metal beingused in the casting. It is said to be more silver buttons, tight leather pantaloons, heavy with thelargest casting ever made. Another &ritta contains silver buttons, partially'opened at the side and flaring.at the statue of 'the native martyr Guatemozin, the last of the the bottom. Instead of a vest, he wears a frilled linen Aztec emperors. There are in all six of these circles, all. shirt. This is set, off by ascarlet scarf, tiedabout of which are destined to contain a'fine monument. Maxi- thc waist, His spursare of silverand frequently weigh milian named 'this drive the Boulevarde Emperiale; but on lldf a pound each, while the rowels . arean inch long. the restoration of the Rebuplic the name was changed t6 Thew spursare morefor show than use,however. On the one bywhich it is now called. In the afternoon the his head he wears a huge sombrero of brown felt, the brim paseo is thronged with a motley crowd of people driving, beiqg ten or twelve inches broad, and the crown measur- . riding on horseback, or promenading; dashingequestrians ing the same in height. In addition. there is a silver or

in gay attire; tally-ho coaches conveying merry parties. of gold ,' c,ord placed about the crown, and frequently the tourists; and here and there a mounted policeman in. fancy wearer's monogram is worked in silver on the side. uniform.Among thepedestrians are well-dressed.gentle- The soldiers quartered in the government building were men in broadcloth suits, mingled with whom are .fie com- . frequently seen parading in the plaza. The Mexican mon class of people in their picturesque costumes. The soldier has neithershoes nor stockings, shoes being re-

women lend color tothe scene, by their red and blue placed by sandals. ' The discipline is of the crudest sort;. rebosas, drawn tightly over the shoulders, or tied across whea marching they do nor keep step, but move at will; the chest, securing an infant tothe back. Nothing more .it isa curious sight tosee a company marching, with a band picturesque can be imagined than this ever changing crowd. at their head, all keeping out of step, even the band. One Carriages go out towards Chapultepec on one side of' the would suppose the band, at least, would keepstep, but paseo and return on the other, leaving the central portion such is not the case, although they are fine musicians. The of the roadway exclusively for equestrians. Another bo.ule- vard, known as the Paseo dela Viga, runs along the banks troops wear linen or cotton uniforms, with silver buttons. of the Xochimilco canal, but since the completion of the On dress parades they wear a plain uniform of dark blue. new paseo, this has ceased tobe the favorite resort for One of the most interesting objects in Mexico is the driving. famous Cathedral, fronting upon the Plaza Major. Ninety 88 A NATURALISTIN UEXICb. years of labor, and several millions of dollars, were spent in its construction. The edifice stands on thc spot which was once occupied by the great Aztec Teocalli, or temple, dedicated tothe war-god of the nation. ThcSpaniards r destroyed the ancient temple, as soon as they bccamc masters of the cour.try, and built a church upon its site; this was soon after pulled. down, and the present edifice erected in its place. The ancient tcmple was said to have been pyramidal in form, the summit one hundrcd and fifty feet above the ground, reached by broad mtone steps. Hu- man sacrifices were said to have been made here daily; wars were made with neighboring tribes to supply victims for the altar. The accounts of the Spanish chroniclersareprobably greatlyexaggerated, if notpure fabrications. The faGade of the present edifice, at each side of which rises a massive tower, crowned by a bell-shaped dome, is divided by but- tresses into threeparts. The towers’are each over two hundred fcet in height, of Doric and Ionic architecture. In the western tower is the great bell, named aftcr the patron saint of Mexico, Santa Mariri de Guadalupe, which nleasures nineteen fect in height, bcing the largcst, in size and weight, in the world. The basso-relievos, statues,and friezes of the fapade are of white marble. Thestructure measures over four hundred fcet in length, andtwo hundred in width, and is in shape like a cross. Its roof is supported by pillars, each thirty-five feet in circumferencc, and is one hundred and seventy-five feet from the floor. The high altar was once thc richest in the world, but during the var- ious revolutions, this--and thc other six-hasbeen de- spoiled, and niillions of dollars have bcen put in circulation from it. The candlesticks were of solid gold, andthe statue of the Assumption was of the samc metal, and studded with rubies and diamonds. But with all its losses, the church is decorated as no other on the American Continent. The railing of the choir gallery was manufactured in China, and was said to have cost one and a half millions of dollars. Anoffer to replace it in solid silver was refusccl. On the sides of the churchthere are over a dozen chapels, inclosed in bronze gatcs, in one of which the body of Iturbide, the first Mexican Emperor, is bnricd. Two valu- able.paintings hang upon the walls, one a Murillo, and the other an original Michel Angelo. The dim light which pervades the interior of the Cathedral, tcmpered by the light of the tall candles, lends a weirdness to the scene, but the effect, generally, is not so good as that rcndcrcd by ourstained windows. Herc, in IHB4, Maxinlilian and Carlotta were crowned Emperor and Empress of Mexico. The view fromthe topof the Cathedral is grand, andshonld be seen by every tourist. It was from aheight like this that Cortez first beheld the bcauticsof the valley of Anahuac. At our fcct lics the plaza, with its tree-dottcd Zocalo, while thc cntirc city is spread out before us. Not far away looms against the skythe tall castle of Chapnltepec, while tllc towers of Guadalupe come still n'carcr tllc vision. The dis- . tant fields of Maguey, the smooth waters of the lakes, and the tall, sky-reaching elevations of Popocatepetl and Ixtac- cihuatl, makc a sccnc which it is no wondcr I.1umLoldt dc- clared to be the most beautiful eyc evcr rcsted on. We can almost see the elevated path between thc two mountains . over which Cortez, in 1520, andScott, in 184î, led their conquering hosts. The front of the Catllcdral is always be- seiged by beggars andlottery venders. Somctirnes thc lottery vender is a man who importunes you to purchase; sometimes a young girl, and at othcrs, cvcn a child of ten or twelve years. The Mexican Govcrnmcnt realizes fully a million dollars per annum from licenses granted to protcct this business; rich and poor alike invcst, the difference be- ing only in the amount; strangers smothcr their scruplcs I A NATURALISTIN NEXICO. ACADEMY O8 SAN CARLO& 89.

and purchase tickets, thus adding theirmite to the iniquitous Fine Arts-known as the Academy of San Carlos,-which business. contains many fine paintings by Vinci, Valasquez, Titian, The City of Mexico is famous for its large number of Rubens, Perugino, and others. .The paintings are situated scientific, literary,and charitable institutions, its many on the second floor, while on the first floor there.is a large . primary and advanced schools, and its well-appointed hos- hall of sculpture, containing casts of many classic statues. pitals. The national palace covers the whole easternside . . The art gallery is full of interest; it contains several price- of the Plaza Major, and has a frontage of nearly or quite less paintings by the old masters, aswell as a large number seven hundredfeet; it occupies the site of the ancient of admirable pictures by native talent, which are remarka- palace of Montezuma. The present building was erected ble for their execution. Two large canvases by Jose Maria in 1693. The palace is two stories in height, andhas a Velasco, representing the Valley of Mexico, form fine and tower over the central doorway. It contains thesuite of striking landscapes, which are surpassed by but few modern rooms belonging to the President, and those belonging’ to painters. The gem of the Academy,however, is, without the various departments of state. The Hall of Ambassadors doubt, the large painting by Felix Parra, a dative artist, is interesting on .account of. thecollection of life-size por- I entitled “Las Casas protecting the Aztecs from .slaughter traits of Mexican rulers, most of whom were either exiled or by the Spaniards.” Thisartist has given us an original executed as traitors. Herealso is a good portrait of conception most perfectly carried out. He is but thirty years of age, and has already made himself famous. Washington, and a battle-piece, by a native artist, repre- I sentingthe battle of Puebla, where theFrench were so The painting received first prize at the Academy of Rome. completely defeated. An apartment known as Maximilian’s The Academy also contains an art school free to the youth room is shown to the visitor, situated in the corner of the of the city, and is assisted by the government to theamount palace, having two windows, one overlooking the plaza, and of $35,000 annually. Prizesare given for meritorious the other the public market. The Hallof Iturbide, hung in. work; .one annual prize is especially sought for, namely, an rich crimson damask, displaying the eagle and serpent, the allowance of $800 a year for six years, to enable the recipi-’ arms of Mexico, is also shown. In therear of the palace are the l ent to study art abroad. The school is free to all, and the General Post-office andthe National Museum. In thepatio . son of the peon has as good a right as hewith the wealthiest bf the palace a small botanical garden is maintained, which parents. The institution is in a flourishing condition, but contains many domestic and exotic trees and plants, several lacks the stimulus of an appreciative community to encour- of which are very rare and curious. The rare and extra- I age its growth, and much emulation among its pupils. ’ ordinary plant, Cheirostemon platan#oZium, is shown in the ,I . The native has always been a lover of the artistic and garden. This remarkable curiosity is called the hand-tree, beautiful. The Aztec pictures were but early examples of. and is covered with bright scarlet flowers, almost exactly in this love struggling to assert.itself: There are numerous the shape of the human hand. But three specimens of this paintings presemed in the National Museum,which are plant are known to exist in Mexico. beautiful specimens of art. Some of theseare on deer- In the rear of the national palace is the Academy of skin, and same on papyrus made from the leaves of the

S .

so A hlA2'URALIST IN MEXICO. hTdTIONAL LIBRARr. Si '

Maguey plant. The art of metal casting andthe manu- of extreme rarity. Here are to be found volumes of price-' facture of cotton cloth was known to the ancient Toltecs less value, among which is alarge volume of painted and Aztecs. There are numerous examples still preserved, pictures, said to be original dispatches from Montezuma which show that the Aztecwas an admirable worker in to his allies, and captured by Cortez. The library contains silver and gold. Cortez, in his hurry to send gold back to . book3in all languages, dating from the present century,

his sovereign, clused everything made of this prec,ious back fourhundred years or more. It has no systematic ar- ' metal to bc consigned to the melting pot, and thus many rangement or catalogue. The library building is an old fine specimens of the work were destroyed. Werespeci- convert which was confisicated for the purpose The iron mens of these golden and silver ornaments now existing, fence, which encloses the edifice, is ornamented by marble they would be worth many times their weight ingold. The . busts of famous scientists, authors,and orators, andthe art, however, has been handed down from one generation plat of ground in front is graced by a beautiful bed of . to another, and the modern nativecan produce silver flowers. filigreework superior to anything made elsewhere. The The Plaza Major, as before said, is .the center of the native women also make the most exquisite pictures from t city in every sense of the word. It is fully one thousand colored pieces of straw, representing scenery and buildings . feet square and is beautifully laid out. 1.n the center is the with wonderful accuracy. They also make wax figures Zocalo, screened with groups of orange-trees, shrubbery, representing scenes andtypes of Mexicanlife. On San and flowers. Here, in a circular music stand, the military Franciscostreet, these statuettes may be seen reproducing . band gives concerts four times weekly, ín the afternoon and the different types of Mexican life with wonderful fidelity. evening. At the western side of the Zocalo is the flower Another branch of art, which the ancient, as well as the market, whose perfume fills the atmosphere and whose modern Aztec excells in, is the production of feather work. beauty delightsthe eye. The market is presided over by The gorgeous plumage of parrots, humming-birds, trogans, pretty native girls, who importune. you to buy the choice and orioles, are especially adapted for this .work. In. nosegays, and seldom is theirentreaty in vain. The ancient times the featherswere glued upon cotton-web, and ancient Aztec was an intehse lover of flowers; he used them made into dresses to be worn on festal occasions. There is in all bis ceremonies, even tothose of the sacrifice; the preserved, in. the museum, a beautiful robe of this character modern native has lost none of his affection for these said to have been worn by Montezuma II. This industry beautiful emblems, and uses them on every occasion. The has been inherited by the modern Aztecs, and pictures and most abundant flowers seen here are red and white roses, small landscapes may be purchased anywhere in the city for pinks of various colors, heliotrope, violets, poppies, both a moderate sum. white and scarlet, and forget-me-nots. These flowers are Not far from the Academy of Fine Arts is the National artistically arranged in large bouquets, with a backing of Conservatory of Music, founded in 1653. Near at hand, maiden-hair ferns, and are sold for fifteen cents each. The also, is the National Library, where there is a collection of price, however, is not fixed, and one may easily purchase a nearly two hundred thousand volumes, many of them .being bouquet for half the sum first named. 84 NATURALMT A IN MEXICO. HOTELSTHEATRES. ANB m

The principal market-place is situated near the plaza, 1"givebelow a list of some of the most important, which

I at its southwest end, a block away. Suilday morning is .the were situated near our hotel:

great market day of the week, the same as in all Mexican ' . La Caudad deMexico. The City of Mexico. cities. Each line of trade has its special location, and the Abarroks )or Mayor y Menor. Bargains for better orworse. confusion of tongues, while hartering is going on, would RI Progreso. To Progress. silence the NewYork Stock Exchange.. Occasionally, in Z& Fabricas de Francia. .The Manufactures of France. the market, one will witness the Mexican style of saluting EZ Tipe. The 'Tiger. each other. This they do by embracing, and patting each Providencia. Providence. other on the back in a most demonstrative manner. This Los DosRmicos. The TwoFriends. seems rather a queer salwtation for individuals of the same La Diadema. The Diadem.

sex. .. EI Nacional.. ' The 'National. A tourist soon becomes acquainted with the topdkra- Botica de Porla Galli. Drug store of the Gateof Heaven. phy of the city. The chief business street leads from the . This last is very appropriate, for the contents of a drug

railroad dspot to the Plaza Major.. The most fashionable store. ' street for shopping is that.known as the Streetof the Silver- The hotels of Mexico will not compare favorably with . smiths. This is nearly a mile in length, and of good width. those of the States. The Iturbide is the largest and most The streets are mostly named from churches or convents fashionable inthe 'city, andis patronized by nearly all

standing on or near them. Onestreet is named the tourists. ' It is a spacious building; situated near the Plaza Street of theHoly Ghost, after the church of thesame Major, andonce served 'as the '$:raceof Augustin de name, situatednear by. The Galle deSan Francisco is .Itutbide,the first'Emherdr' of Mexico.All the chamber- another of the business thoroughfares devoted to busi- maids in the lioteis here .afe men, ard very good servants nesses of all kinds. The streetsnear the Plaza Major, they make. In the selectiod öf a sleeping apartment the ' and Alameda, are lighted by .eleqtricity, other portions of tourist shoiild select one fadrig the east ot.*'$outh,thus se- curingan abundance of sunshine. : : : .. . the city proper by gas, and the outlying districts by oil- I. fed lanterns. One object, always observable in the city at Regarding places of .amusemexit,..4thecity contains several theatres, and.'a 'Circus. . 'Thebest and most fashion- ' night, is the lantern of the policeman placed in the middle able theatre is the'Teatro'Nacioaa1, built in'.1844, having a of the junction of the streets, with the policeman himself skating capacity of three thousand persons.. Hereare standing beside it. The police system of the' city is held the commencement exercises of Ih&hilitaiy'school of excellent, and very few street brawls happened during our Chapultepec; A good opera company.is kngaged.for a short six weeks' sojourn. annual seasan, but French, Spanish, and.Italian Opera can The shopsof Mexico, instead of having -the name of the tie seen'here the year round. Threë'.bthertheatres, thè proprietor over the entrance, as in the United States, are Arbeu, the Hidalgo, and the Coliseo Viejo, are very good; all named; some of these names are worthy of record, and there are also several others, open Sundaye, but those are 91; A NATURALIST IN MEXICO. RARE SPECIMENB. 96 I rather to be avoided than sought after. There is a spacious mmwe entered the Department of Palæontology. Here bull-ring at thenorthern end of the paseo, where exhibitions were displayed a number of very well preserved fossils, but, are given to crowded houses on Sundays and festal days. curiously enough, there were none from Mexico, all of them The sport, however, is cruel and barbaric, and, although being from Europeanand North Americanbeds. At the we patronized it on one occasion, yet the tourist had better farther end of the room were a number of plaster casts of forego thisbrutal entertainment. At the bull-fight which extinct animals, mostly Plesiosauri and other sauriansof the we attended, several horses were butchered, four or . Jurassic and Liassic periods. To the right of the entrance five bulls killed, and several men nearly lost their lives. was the Mineralogical Department. Here, for thefirst time One of the most admirable establishments in the city we saw specimens fromMexico. The marbles, agates, precious metals, calcites, etc., werewell represented. is the Monte de Piedad (signifying “The Mountain of , Mercy”). It was founded by Count Regla, the owner of The arrangement was according to Dana, and the labels, the Real del Monte silver mi&, more than a century ago, all handsomely printed with the scientific and common who gave the sum of $900,000 for thc purpose, in order names, locality, and formula, nnmbered according to his that the poor might obtain advances on personal property system. Laiger labels were attached to the backs of the at a low and reasonable rate of interest. Auy article de- cases, and designated towhat group the specimens te- posited for this purpose is valued by two disinterested per- longed. In the center of the hall was a gigantic stalactite, sons, and three-fourthsof its value is advanced. If the owner four feet in length, from the “Grata de Cocahuami&a.” ceases to pay the interest on the loan the article is kept In the next hall berond, we came to the Department six months longer, when it is exposed for sale at a marked of Mammalogy. . The collection was fairly well represented price. After six months more have passed, if the article is by a number of carefully mounted specimens. Here we not disposed of, it is sold at public auction, and ali that saw a very good specimen of the rare Hyrax ‘rajeris, en- is realized above thesum which was advanced, together closed. in a handsome glass case. This animal, from with the interest,is placed tothe credit of the original Australia, is exceedingly rare, but few museums possessing owner. This sum, if not called for in a given time, reverts specimens of it, and the Museo Nacional is to be congrat- tothe bank. The establishmenthas also asafety vault, ulated in possessing so fine and rare a specimen. . where all sorts of valuables are stored for safe keeping. To’ the right was a case of Anthropoid apes; beyond One dollar is the smallest amount loaned, and ten thousand this a case containing representatives of the Family Felidæ. is the lar,est. Here were several fine specimens of Fefis pardalis, Felis The Museo Nacional, situated in the rearof the national omz, and Felis concofor, all fromMexico. We next came . palace, is of surpassing ifiterest to the naturalist and anti- to a case containing afinecollection of the Skunks. Among .these a good series of the Mephites mephitica and Mephites quarian, and we visited it soon afterour arrival. As we I entered, after ascending two flights of stairs, the first thing macrura. Other specimens of note in this case were Lutro we saw was a gigantic cast of the Megatherium Cuzlieri. In fdmo and Galictzs vittata. Inthe next case were repre- . this room were alsoa few minerals. To the left of this sentatives of the domestic cat, Fefis doc’omesticn, and in the , - ~ ...... _- . .. . . ____ . . A I ..

W A NATURALIST IN MEXICO.

center of the hall a good sized horizontal case in which a I number of foreign and native animals were displayed. At the end of the hall was a finely mounted specimen of the Asiatic Elephant, Blcpbas indicus. In the flat cases over the central ones were arranged a number of insects, quite well preserved, but poorly named. The next hall was devoted to the Department of Orni- thology, and here we found the richest collection of the museum. Arranged in wall cases about the hall were several hundred birds, nativeand exotic. Among the native birds were Andubon's Warbler, Sumichrast's Jay, Mexican Tohee, and a number of the birds obtained by us at Orizaba and San Andres. Among the exotic birds were the rare New Zealand Parrot, Shgops babroptìlus, and the beautiful Bird of Paradise, Puradisia reggiano. Also the Golden Turkey, Meleagris ocellata. Nearly all the larger orders were represented, forming, upon the whole, a very good generic eollection. A few eggs and nests were taste- fully arranged in the 1ower.compartments af . several cases. Most of the birds were correctly named. In this hall were

also several mammds and a.few cases of insects. ' The next' hall was devoted to Anthropology. . Here was a case of skulls (casts), showing the form of the head of different races; a case containing pieces of tanned human skis,and several ,alcoholic specimens of human fœta; two cases of human skulls with a few photos, show- ing types of Mexican natives; a skull in a case showing

different parts, a very good skeleton, and two mummies. ' In the next hall, beyond, was exhibited a fairly good collection of reptiles, fishes, etc. This collection was represented by a number of alcoholic and stuffed specimens. 'Here I saw better stuffed fishes than are to be seen in many of Dur museums in the United States. The alcoholic, collection was very neatly and tastefully

98 A NATURALISTMEXICO. IN

war; Quetzalcoatl, the coiled serpent, and Chaacmol, the tigerking, discovered byDr. Le Plongeon, in Yucatan, some years. ago. At the organization of the national gov- ernment, in 1807, a sum of five hundred dollars per month CHAPTER IX, was voted for the expenses of this institution. It publishes . a bulletin called the Anales del Museo Nacional de Mexico, One of the pleasantest excurgions in the environs of the the first number of which appeared in 1877, containing capital is to the Castle of Chapultepec, or. taHill of the articles by Señores Mendoza, Sanchez, Orozco y Berra, and Grasshopper.” It is situated at the end of the Paseo de la BArcena. They have appearedwith regularity, and con- Reforma. About Chapultepecare gathered more of the stitute.a most valuable addition tothe literature of grand memories of this interesting country than any other Anahuac. spot.in America. Herethe Aztec kings deposited their treasures and made their homes. Here, also, the ill-fated . Maximillian establishedthe most grand andsumptuous court of the nineteenth century. The castle occupies a . commanding position, standing uion a rocky hill some two hundred feet in height, rising abruptly above the marshy plain. It is encircled by a beautiful park composed of old cypress trees, draped in graySpanish moss. We .ascend . the hill tothe castle by a well-shaded road, formed of wood. On the side of thisroad, about half-way between base and summit, the tourist is shown a curious cave in . which the Aztec kings were supposed to have deposited their. treasures. In the grove of cypress at the base of the

. hill, one is shown a huge old tree, fifty feet in circurnfer- ’ ence, under which Montezuma I was wont to enjoy its cooling shade, There is plenty of evidence to show that when the Spaniard first came to the country, the plain. of . Anahuac was covered with a noble forest of these trees, together with oaks and cedars. . Inthe cypress grove, at ’ \ A the foot of the hill, I found, in i;B the base of a rotton tree, a large colony of Helix aspersa, a land snail which was not HELIS AEPEBU, MULL. . supposed, upto this time, to inhabit Mexico. .. Many of 100 A NATURALIPJT IN MEXICO. ' PEOPLE OE MEXICO. IO1

them were found in trees twenty feet above the ground. city, its widespread environs, the church of Guadalupe, the A little stream just outside of the grounds was tenanted village-dotted plain, stretching away in every direction, the by innumerable specimens of Physa osculans and. Planorbis distant lakes burnished by the sun's rays, and the back- tenuis. ground toward the east of the two snow-clad mountains. . According to history, here stood thepalace of the On the left of Chapultepec lies the suburban village of ancient Aztec kings; and here has also been the abiding Tatubaya, where the wealthy citizens of the capital have place of the Mexican rulers, from the time of the first their summer residences, many of which are very elegant. Spanish viceroys to that of President Diaz. At the base of These are thrown open to strangers on certain days, to ex- the hill, at the eastern foot, bursts forth the spring from hibit their collections of rare and beautiful objects of art. which the city.is in part supplied with water; through the As the tourist leaves Chapultepec, by a narrow road wind- .. San Cosme aqueduct, a heavy, archedstructure, covered ing through a grove of noble trees, attention is called to the with moss. The castle is now used as the '!West Point" ancient inscriptions upon tbrocks at the eastern base of of Mexico, being thegreat military school wherein the the hill near the roadside. They aie in half relief, and are officers of the army are educated under the best foreign in- graven on the natural rock. As yet, no one has been able structors. Over three hundred students are quarteredhere, to decipher their meaning. representingthe best fandies of Mexico. The discipline, Of the twelve million people comprising the popula- however, is anything but good, and the drill exhibitions, in tion.of Mexico, about one-third are pure natives, one-sixth the afternoon, would thoroughly disgust a West Pointer. of the remainder Europeans, and the balance Mestizos, or .This spot is noted for a number of decisive historical half-breeds. The natives areof a brown or olive color,and are I events. Here, in 1847, the steep hill, though bravely de- beardless, or nearly so; they are of medium height, stout fended, was stormed .by a mere handful of Americans in the or corpulent, have muscular thighs, a broad chest,and rather American-Mexicanwar. In the rear. of Chapultepec, and slender arms; they are not very strong, Lut are very endur- less than two miles away, are the battle fields of Molino ing. The native retains his national dress, which consists del Rey and Churubusco, both victories for the Americans. of short, wide drawers of cotton cloth, or deer-skin, reach- Both these battles, however, have been declared needless, ing to the knee, and a sort of frock'of coarse woolen cloth, as the two positions could have been turned. Near Molino fastened around the hips by a belt; a straw hat and sandals del Rey, the Mexicans haveerected a monument tothe complete his dress. The women wrap themselves twice memory of their comrades. The view from the lofty ram- around with a piece of woolen stuff, which is girded around parts is the finest in the valley of Mexico. From here the the waist by a broad band, and reaches to her bare feet. valley of Anahuac is seen to be an elevated plain about Inaddition'she wears a wide garment, called a hu$ile, thirty-five .by forty five miles in extent, its altitude being a closed on all sides, which reaches to her knees. Her hair triflle less thaneight thousand feet above the sea. This is wound around her head in a roll and ticd with a brightly view embraces the City of Mexico, with its countless spires, domes, and public buildings, the grand paseo leading to the colored ribbon, or hangs down in two plaits. Many wear . ..l ..._...... l , . ., .I. :...... :. .. :...... _._b.,. L....' . .: .-I__ ...

I

PLaTF II. MONTEZUMA'S TREE, CHAPULTEPEC. PIF0 PL E O F M RX ICO. 103

. and covering the bare arms. The mestizos constitute the majority of farmers (rancheros), and mule-drivers (arrieros.) Theyare very pleasant and are destined, some day,to rule Mexico. Another type of the Mexicans are the Leporos. These are the worst type of 'Mexicans, combining, as they do, the worst vices known to man. They are black, have long and unkempt hair, and are alive with vermin; they are said to, abhor water, seldom change their clothes, and are, upon the whole, disgusting and dangerous citizens of the Repub- lic. At one time they were the terror of Mexico, but good government is now reducing their number greatly. They will steal, murder, pick your pocket, or commit any other . of the acts known to creatures of the .criminal class. Another common Mexican sight is the honest aquador, or water-carrier, who, with his leathern armor and earthern jars,. is seen on almost every Mexican street. All the water of the city is brought in aqueducts, and is to be ob- tained only at fountains. The aquador is then an absolute necessity, and is made welcome by all. He sells his jar of water'for five cents, and seems to do a thriving business. . Animal lifeabout the valley of Anahuac was very meagre. Of the Mollusca, Helixaspersa, Succinea cam- pestris (Lake Texcoco), Limnœa attenuata (Lake Chalco), Planorbis tenwis Physa orculans (all lakes), Valzmta Atmet-- dis (all lakes); of the reptiles and batrachians, ,Scelojorus n~icrolepidotus;S. scalaris,Eutœnia insipaiarnm, and Am- blystoma Mexicanurn were common. Thislast, cammonly called the axolotl (pronounced ah-ho-lqtl) is eaten by the poorer classes; its Aesh is white and resembles that of an eel; it isquite savory and wholesome. Of birds, we saw . few wild, save the ducks. - MOUNTAIN BCENERY. 106 -

rising up in all.their grandeur were the sister peaks.. To the left was Ixtaccihuatl, its outline clearly defined against the sky, showing well the peculiar outlines which have CHAPTER X, caused itto be termed La Mujer Blanco, orthe White ON the llth of April we left Mexico, by train, for Ame- Woman. . On theright rose Popocatepetl,a great white ' cameca, from there to make the ascent of the volcano of Popo- dome. The effect of the sun's declining rays resting on the catepetl. After leaving the city, the road skirted :he LaVega snow, the massiveness of the mountains, the swift gather- canal, and soon struck across the plain bordering lakes Tex- ing twilight and the tolling of the bells in the little chapel coco and Chalco. We soon passed the former on the left, on the Sacro Monte, made an impression upon us which and'the latter on the right, and then encountered an up- will never be effaced. I can conceive of no grander sight ward grade at the base of the mountains. Several stops ' on earththan that affordedby this mountain scenery, as were made' at pretty villages. At one of these villages we seen from this quaint towm. were beseiged by a multitude of beggars, the pest of Mexi- Next morning, at seven o'clock, we started for the co. At five o'clock in the afternoon we reached Ameca- volcanowith five guides and carriers. The first part of nleca. This is a town of ten thousand inhabitants, situated our wayTmund among softly undulatingslopes, yellow about 7,000 feet above the sea. In the center of the town with barley, out of which projected here and there an was the plaza, where a low, circular wall of stone enclosed ancient pyramid; planted with a crop also.By the road- a small space, planted with flowers, a basinfilled with side grew charming white thistles, and tall blue columbines. water flowing from a fountain in the center, and .a few white We crosse3 numerous small brooks and gorges. The as- stonepillars supported a capital; which formed the en- pect soon changed to that of an Alpine pasture. Here trance. Above these, andshading the garden, drooped a were grassy pastures, floweringmosses, andcattle feeding number of green willows. The square surrounding this bit Several small crosses were passed, indicating where some of verdure was large, bounded on the west side, next the poor wretch had met a violent death, either from robbers or railroad, by the Casa Municipal, and on the east by the from some natural cause. Every few hundred feet we Cathedral, a large and well-preserved building. The streets took the altitude with our aneroid barometer, for we had of the town .diverged from this center, lined with,low houses startedout totake the altitude of this giafitpeak. Half of stone and adobe, of which thelatter predominated, way to the summit we obtained a magnificent view of the roofed with rough shi.ngles, spiked on with long wooden Mexican valley, looking down a wooded ravine. We soon pegs. Water from the mountains ran in littlestreams entered the deep, solemn pine-woods, crossed a long ridge through the streets, and was divertcd by small gutters to of land, and reached the Tlamacas ranch, 12,595 feet above the houses for private use. the sea, where &e were to spend the night. The view of the two mountains from this townwas The ronch consisted of three sheds, situate'd in a little grand, late in the afternoon. To the right and left, as far ' opening in the forest, at the base of the peak. In one of the as the eye could reach, extended the mountain chain, and sheds a cheerful fire was burning, and preparations being I 108 A NATURALI8T IN NEXICO. - YOUNTAIN SCENERY. 1n7 made for supper. Just before darhness settled down, I took into, as in the Alix; it is only monotonous and fatiquing. my gun and searched for birds. But few were found, and The guides cncouraged us withthe adjuration, Paru. those were the robin, bluebird, and several small warblers. h potu" (little by little).Finally, with sore and aching The same birds were observed on Orizaba atthe same limbs, we reached the crater, about eleven o'clock. relative height. A narrow platform covered with straw It seemed easy to topple over the crater walls into the served us for a bed-and a saddle for a pillow, and with our terrific chasm below. There was no wari conIf. rt coming feet tothe fire we fell asleep, to dream of snow-slides, from tlie steam below.All was frigidly cold. A slope of avalanches, and eruptions. black sand descended some fifty feet to an inner edge, ' We left the rancho at fivein the morning, on horse- broken by iocks of porphyry, whcre asheer precipice dropped back, and rode three hours toilsomely over rocks of basalt a thousand feet tothe bottom of the crater. Jets of and black sand. The poor animals suffered painfully, but steam spouted from a dozen sulfataras, or sources from- we could not.spare them, for we needed all our strength for whichtlie sulphuris extracted. The menwho minc the the final struggle. At a point called Las Cruces, where a sulphur (for PopocatepetI is a vast sulphur mine), live in cross tops a ledge of black, jagged volcanic rock, we left caves atthe bottom for a month at a time. They are them and proceeded on foot. The view from this point in lowered down by a windlass, or Malacnfc, and the sulphui the ascent was fine. Across was the form of Ixtaccihuad, is hoisted in bags by the same agcnt. The bags of sulphur theWhite Woman, keeping us company in our ascent. are slid down a long groove in the snow to the neighbor- The valley of Mexico could be seen in one direction, the hood of the ranchero. A company, headed by General. valley of Puebla, and even the peak of Orizaba, 150 miles Sanchez Ochoa, the' owner, has been formed to work the . distant, in the other. Against this vast territory, our men deposit more eIlectually, an? to utilize the steam-powcr and horses on the ledge of volanic rock atLas Cruces lying latentin the bottom of the cratcr. At thepresent seemed like pigmies. We soon felt the effect of the thin- moment the windlass was out of order, and we were not ness of the air, and were obliged to make frequent stops. able to descend. The crater is nine hundred feet deep, and The cool snow line was soon reached, and here we sat down nearly one thousand feet wide at its greatcst diameter. Its and ate our lunch. Clouds presently filled up the valley inner face is marked off in successive layers, represcr?ting ' with a symmefrically arranged pavement. the successive eruptions of the volcano. At the snow-line more difficulties met us. We were After a great deal of dangerous and faiiquing climbing, always slipping and falling in the snow, and blood-marks we at length reached the actual summit of the mountain, ly- were left frequently by our ungloved hands. Every step.is ing to the southwest, and overlooking the State of Morelos, now a calculation and an achievement. One calculates seven hundred feet higher than our resting place on the that he will allow himself a rest after ten, twenty, thirty or edge of the crater. We were now 17,528 feet above the niore steps, and how glad he is, when that calculation has sea. From what we could learn we were the first persons been achieved, and he can rest for a few moments! The to actually reach this highest point, although the Glennie snow here is not dangerous; there are no crevasses to fall brothers were said to have attained nearly the same height,

. 108 A NATURALIST IN MEXICO. MOUNTAIN SCENERY. , 108

in 1887. From this high elevation the view was of surpass- soon passed, a structure two hundred feet long and ninety ing grandeur, taking in the' country for hundreds of miles. feet high. The line was now constantly ascending, circling The view, however, wa8 blurred and indistinct, on account about the momtains and passing over several small bridges. of the many clouds floating by. Although the temperature Soon the passengers flocked to the rear platform to' obtain was only 45" Fahr. we did not suffer flom the cold nearly , a sight of the grand view afforded from this point. The as much as we did on the snow-fieldbelow. suffered I glittering domes of the City of Mexico were seen in the from none of the symptoms which caused me to desist from distance; farther'away, to the left, were seen the two large climbing on Orizaba, when within three hundred feet of the expanses of water,.lakes Chab and Texcoco, looking like summit. Late in the afternoon we descelided to'Tlamacas, burnished silver in the morning sunlight; far beyond, rising spent one more night there, and the next day rode back to spectre-like, were the lonely peaks of Ixtaccihuatl and Amecameca Popocatepetl. About them . floated beautiful clouds, Of all the Mexican mountains, Popocatepetl has re- tinted in many colors by the sun's rays. Soon this was ceived themost attention, andhas been ascended in- shut out by a tunnel, and for a time we saw nothing but numerable times. The heights usually given to it 1 be- cultivated fields and bare rocks. Herethe nativeshad . lieve to be much too high, . Our iecords showed that taken advantage of every spot, where there was a particle Orizaba, and not Popocatepetl, should be given first place of earth, for agricultural purposes. among the mountains of Mexico. .Ashort stop, was made At Lu Cima, the summit, we reached the highest point, at Amecameca, and then we returned to theCity of Mexico. 10,000 feet above the sea. A little farther on we reached On the Bothof April we left Mexico for Toluza, situ-. Salazar, built on. a plain, where a halt was made for ten ated fifty miles from the city. The tripto Toluca leads minutes. Herethe air was quitecrisp, and onefelt the through some of the grandest sceneryin the country, as well need of thick wraps. Here, also, the beggars again assailed as Laking the travelet over aome of the most abrupt ascents us, and during the entire ten minutes we were not for a in Mexico. After leaving the city, the road passes through . moment out of sight of one of these mendicants. One, in a district devoted tothe cultivation of the Maguey, the particular, had an old, battered violin. He was blind, and ' great pulque-producing plant. Thereare two kinds of was'led about by a boy, probably his son. Oae does not this Maguey; the cultivated plant from which comes the like giving to these beggars, since so many of them are . pulque, and one,-which grows wild in the desert partS.of the frauds, and prey upon the travellers in this way as a regular country, and from which is distilled a coarse and' highly means of livelihood. The descent into the Toluca Valley intoxicating drink called mescal. But we are digressing; . now began. On ourright a clear, babbling brookwas let us speak of 'our 'journey to Toluca. After passing seen, the headwaters of the river Lerma;this stream Tacubaya, the road began to steadily ascend, the line curv- went leaping and dancing down the mountain, the track ing and twisting in andout to find a foothold upon the crossing it in several places. mountain. We passed Naucalpan andRio Hondo, and A shortdistance farther on, the beautiful valley of the ascent became very steep. The bridge at Dos Rios was Toluca burst on our view. At the foot of the mountain the L 110 A NATURALISTIN MEXICO. VOLCANO.EXTINCT 111

river Lerma was seen winding in and out; beyond was the having been settled in 1633. Here activity and growth are green and fertile valley, dottedhere and there with a manifest on every side. It has two largetheatres, a hacienda; in the far distance was seen the great, black peak spacious bull-ring, and a beautiful alameda, which is kept of the Nevado de Toluca, and at the foot of the mountain, in good condition. Here is situated the “Yale College ” of the white walls of Toluca. Below us, and at our very feet, Mexico, the Instituto Literario, in which most of the lead- lay the little village of Ocoyoacac,.a thousand feet below. ing men of Mexico were educated. The institution has a Herethe grade was terrific, andthe line ran along in large library and museum of natural history, together with . several horse-shoe shaped curves. Finally, thelast cume a well-appointed gymnasium. Here may be seen the.best was made, and.the train steamed across the broad and fer- and largest market in Mexico. It is all under cover, and tile valley of Toluca. Very soon we passed a little village each article has its appropriate place of sale; vegetables, called La Gran Ciudad. de ,Lerma, “TheGreat City of fruits, meats, fish,flowers, pottery, baskets, shoes, and Lerma,” which received its name in this way. During the sandals, form the chief articles ‘of trade. On general .16th century, a band of robbers made their headquarters market day the spot is thronged with people from the sur- here and for a time were the terror of travellers and mer- rounding country, dressed in their picturesque native cos- chants, but one Marten. Roelin de Varejon finally broke tumes. them up, in 1613, and in return for this good work the king Near Toluca is the extinct volcano of the same name, granted him any favor that he should ask; and he asked the crater of which forms a large lake, which is said to be that the town might be called “La Gran Ciudad de Lerma.” fathomless. On the second day after OUL arrival we essayed Soon the Lerma was crossed on a long bridge, the river its ascent. We left Toluca at 5:BO A. M., in a tram-car for here widening into a lake, and the line passed through San Juan de ‘las Hurtos. Here a guide and horses were large fields of corn and barley, and finally drew up in the procured. The flrst stage of theascent wasvery interest-, . depot at Toluca. From the depot a tram-car was taken, ing. The day was very hot, and as we passed through the . and we were soon landed in front of the best hotel in the woods everything was motionless, excepting the buttedies. City of Toluca, El Leon de Oro, the “Lion of Gold,” so which lazily fluttered about. The scene when crossing the named from a gilt Lion on the corner of the hotel. Here hills, behind San Juan, was most beautiful; the colors were we engaged rooms, a good wash was taken, supper eaten, intense, the prevailing tint a dark green, the sky of a and we were ready to inspect the city. deep blue.After passing through some cultivated fields, Toluca, the capital of the State of Mexico, is a well- we entered a forest, which in thegrandeur of itsparts built and thriving city, containing: about twenty-five could not be exceeded. Early in the afternoon we arrived thousand inhabitants, and situated at an elevation of 8,600’ atthe base of the cone., Here we left the horses and feet above the sea. The municipal buildings and state climbed up the steepahd rocky crater-walls to the summit, capital are said to be the finest in the Republic. They face which commanded a grand view of the surrounding country. upon a delightful little plaza, which is adorned with several The height-of this mountain is not over 16,000 feet. fine trees. The towp is one of the oldest in the counpy, We spent the night at an Alpine-looking cottage sit- 119 . A NATURdLIIIT IN MEXICO. uated in the midst of a pine forest, overlooking a deep ra- vine. Here we witnessed what very few tourists have the good fortune to see-the native in his prirnative home, sur- rounded by his family. As we entered the hut, we beheld an interesting scene. In the center 'of the hut a fire was burning, and supported uponfour 'stones was a large earthern dish, upon which one of the native ?womenwas frying tortillas. Anotherwoman near by was busilyen- gaged in grinding corn. Opposite her sat a woman nursing a smail child. In a corner 'was a goat, dog, and several chickene. Several men .and boyswere standing near, all busily engaged in watchingthe woman frying the. tortillas. One room serves the native for every purpose, and as witnessed here, is often shared by pigs and poultry. The natives do not eat meat half a dozen times a year. A few wild fruits are added to their humble fa& of tortillas, and that suffices. A mat serves for a bed and a blanket for an overcoat,and the native Seemsvery content. They supply the towns withpoultry, charcoal, nuts, baskets, pottery, and a few vegetables; often walking twenty-five or thilty miles over hills .and plains with a load of over a hundred pounds on their backs, in order to reach a market where a dollar, or at most two, is received for their two or . three days'journey. Most of the moneymade by the natives is paid to the Catholic priests for pseudo-indulgen- ces. On the followingday we returned to the City of Mexico. The avifauna of Tolucawas identical with that of Popocatepetl. Warblers, robins,bluebirds, hawks, creep ers, and wrens predominated. Insecta were also numerous,. but mollusks scarce. On the 96th of April we again left the City of Mexico for Amecameca, this time to ascend, and to take barometric i i !'

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' .%I .. 114 A NATUBALIST IN MEXICO. E UGE GLACIER. 116

height. On the sides of the gorge, fórests of pineand At an early hour on the day following, we mounted our spruce were growing. Allin all, this was about as wild horses to complete the ascent. The first part of the way and grand a scene as one could well imagine. At one point was through a pine forest, but soon this was left -behind, the path skirted the edge of the precipitous sides of the and we came to a rocky path where the progress was very gorge, and was very narrow, the gorge on the left and a di5cult. Signs of a glacier in the vicinity were soon seen, for high wall of rock on the right. on either side of us were large moraines. Just before we We soon came in full sight .of the cold, snow-capped reached the snow line the horses were left, and we con- peak, and dreary and desolate it did indeed look, but very tinued on foot. Our path now ran along the crest of a ridge grand and sublime in the light of the late afternoon. We of lava jutting out from the mountain. On either side of now continued at right angles to the peak, and soon struck , us was a ravine, with a stream running down from the snow another patch of pini woods; crossed a litde stream, des- above.Very soon we came fo the snow line,which was ' . cended the mountain a hundred feet or more, and prepared found to be a huge glacier, its surface quite smooth, and our camp in a sheltering cave, formed by the lava as it both difficult anddangerous to walk over. In various flowed from the crater. We were now at a height of 13,220 places there were glacial tables formed by the ice melting feet above the sea.. . . beneath a large'stone, and leaving the latter suspended in While supper was under way a thunder-stormcame up, mid air on a small pyramid of ice. These tables were con- and we witnessed a royal battle of the elements. The tinually falling over and being formed again. On every thunder rolled among the crags of the mountain, and the side deep fissures were seen cutting across the mountain in .. lightning was almost blinding. The storm was so fierce almost every direction. that we ceased eating until the worst of it was over. In .The whole mountain was seen, to be covered with a the midst of the storm a blinding flash descended, a deaf- vast field of ice some 60 to 100 feet in depth, completely ning peal, of thunder followed, and we beheld a large tree shroudingthe summit; Across this we now directedour cut in twain by the lightning bolt. We could plainly see steps in .a zig-zag course, to avoid the deep barrancas (cre- the electric bolt leave the clouds above and strike the tree, a vasses). In many places the guides (but two of them made from which a little column of blue smoke arose, and the. ' the ascent over, the snow-fields with us) were obliged to stricken half of the tree fell to the ground with a crash. cut steps for our feet. we had experienced no difficulty After the storm was over, descended to the stricken tree As I on any of the other mountains from slipping, we ha¿ not and found its stump black and burnt, and the tree cut in brought foot swaths with us, and wenow found that two as clean as if done with an axe.. thywould have lessened the danger to a great extent; A snowstorm followed this war of the elements,. and we Aswe ascended higher the danger became more and were treated to one of those rare sights; of seeing, far away, more apparent, and in many places we climbed up with our on the opposite mountain, the ground gradually become faces almost touching rhe ice. Several bad slips were made, white; but not being able to discern a single flake in the but we reached a point some seventy-five yards from the air. . summit in safety. Here we found.. ourselves blocked by 116 A NATURALI8T IN MEXICO.

a large and impassable fissure, cutting directly across the mountain. The guides assured us that it would be impos- sible to reach the highestpoint, and we .were therefore obliged to becontent with our present elevation. . CHAPTER XI, The aneroid indicated a height of 16,700 feet, which, APRIL30th we again left the capital to explore the lit- added to th76 yards (225 feet), made a total height of . tle known regions in the neighborhood of Patzcuaro, and 16,925 feet. The thermometer registered Se0, and the air the volcano of Jorullo. Our journey was by the same road was exceedingly cold. Fromthe summit we could see which we took for Toluca. After leaving the latter place Popocatepetl off to the south, rising up like a great, white the road crossed the Toluca Valley, and passed through the . dome; way down the valley was the town of Amecameca, Ixtlahuaca Tunnel. At Flor de Maria we secured a good . and over all floated a mass of white, fleecy clouds. dinner, costing seventy-five cents.. From.Flor de Maria The descent to the cave was undertaken with but one we passed over a flat country, passed the gold workings of mishap, and &hiswas when one of our number slipped and El Oro, at Tultenango, the silver district of Tlalpujahua, nearly fell into a deep 'crevass. The cave was reached, and entered Zopilote cañon, along the precipitous sides of however, without serious accident, and late in the evening which a space had been blasted just large enough for the we arrived in Amecameca. Ixtaccihuatl is the only one of track. Above us hunggreat masses of granite, rising up . the three giant volcanoes of Mexico, which partakes of the hundreds of feet; below dashed a beautiful stream, which full dangers of Alpine climbing. In the Alps, travellers are in one spot.formcd a waterfall of'great beauty. The down tied to the guides by ropes, which prevents any one from grade was very steep, and we entered the valley of Solis at being lost by falling into acrevass. Ladders and additional good speed. This valley was covered with brilliantly ropes are also carried. With us, however, nothing of the colored flowers, presenting a very attractive scene. Mar- kind was taken, and so erroneous had been the reports con- avatio, a town of five thousand. inhabitants, was soon cerning this mountain that foot-swaths and other needful reached, after which we passed over a rather flat region, articles were not taken, as they were not needed on the , following the windings of theLerma River. ,Toward other mountains. The mountain bears evidence of having Acambaro the scenery was very beautiful, the river being bean,.at one time, the giant of Mexican volcanoes, and was lined with graceful cypress trees, festooned with Spanish much higher than at present. The glacier has been named moss. From Acambaro we skirted the south shore of lake the Porfirio Diaz Glacier " in honor of the President of Cuitzeo for twenty miles. The scene here was very the Mexican Republic. On our return to Mexico, I found picturesque; the wall of rugged mountains in the distance, that my eyes had been very badly affected by the dazzling the broad .sheet of water, dottedhere and there with sunlight on the ice and by the excessive mental strain, and for islands, green with a semi-tropical verdure, and the quaint . several days I was confined to the hotelon account of them. costumes of the people, made a very pleasing picture. The fauna and flora of Ixtaccihuatl was precisely that Darknesssettled over usas we reached Morelia, of Popocateptl. . No mollusks were found, however, and but few birds seen. capital of the State of Michoacan, called by its Spanish 11s NAPURALIBT A IN MEXICO. LAKE PATBCUARO. l19 founders Valladolid, but renamed by the Mexicans, after distant day, this townwill be one of the most favored the revolution of 1810, Morelia, in honor of the patriot tourist resorts in Mexico. Morelos. This city is well known as being one of the most The lake of Patzcuaro is noted for beautiful of the Republic. its beauty, even thoughsituated in a , . At 10:16 we reached the little depot at Patzcuaro, P. Y. district where nature has excelled her- situated about two miles from the town, which was reached self in the production of magnificent by a rambling dillgerice. The road from the dCpot to the - scenery. At this high altitude, among town was paved with small boulders, which nearly shook the mountains of the ancient Tarascan our coach to pieces. sort of torture could be greater No empire, is found this lovely sheet of than this, in'the shaky old stage coach. We arrived at the water, some twenty miles long by ten . Fonda Concordia about. an hour and a half later, and se- THE wide, interspersedand with islands, cured a good room, and also a cup'of coffee, an omelet, and most of which are inhabited by a hardy race of fishermen. some fruit. The water of the lake isvery clear, and of unknown depth. Patzcuarois situated two hundred and seventy-four The sportsman can find here many.species of water fowl miles from Mexico,-at ah elevation of 7,800 feet above the common to the North, besides many other varieties. sea,-and lies in a hollow, two miles from the lake of the ' From the top of a hill, three-quarters of a mile from same name, which is only visible from certain elevations in the town, a magnificent view of the lake'was obtained. the town. If it lay in full view of the lake, it would have The hills surrounding thelake were under cultivation, one'of the most beautiful situations possible. The town is dotted here and there by a little village, of which as many primitive and solid, and as yet very little affected by inter- as sixteen could be counted. The lake can be compared course with the outside world. It has a largeplaza, with butoae locality with which am acquainted,-that shaded by mountain ash trees, and surrounded by arcades I of Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island. and coionnades, in which are the shops of the merchants. Late in the forenoon I took my gun, and in company The roofs of the town are' tiled, and most of the houses, with Prof. visited the lake to see what it contained in being of one story, have projecting cornices of wood, with H. the faunal line. We procured a boat and a pilot, and supporting beams. The town is irregular and hilly, but all started to survey the shores. After poling through a small paved very roughly. On the highest elevation is a plaza,- patch of clear water, we struck into a clump of reeds which thethird in the town,-planted with noble' trees, and .. lined the shore for some distance. In these reeds I shot fronted by the grim walls of anold monastery. Every- several specimens of the Bi colored Blackbird. Aswe where are signs of a former haughty ecclesiastical denomi- emerged from the thickest of the reeds, I noticed a flock of nation, now scattered and in contempt. In the lower plaza ducks resting quietly upon.the water. Motioning to the is situated the market, where, as is common with Mexican native to go ahead slowly, I cocked both barrels of my gun markets, -everything manufactured in the immediate neigh- and just before the boat emerged from the reeds, let drive borhood can be purchased. It has been prophesied that at no ' both barrels at them. MOL UUh-:8. lai A NATURALTST IN NEXICO . L

Just as I was about to order the boatman to paddle As we pushed our boat in among the reeds bordering the spot where the dead ducks lay, I saw a single the island, a great commotion was created in the water, and t.ck,for suchthrse ducks were, winging his way a number of these snakes were seen to swimaway. The .I ma:. Unsuspicious of dangcr, he drew near, and boat was securely fastened to the shore, and we started to . . ,S I raised, my gun to my shoulder, he merely swerved explore this small island. This was of but small extent, ,. LI& to one side. As I fired, he fell with a resounding containing less than half an acre; it was once used as a splash into the water. place of worship, and the remains of a church.could still be Our boatman now turned toward the west, and paddled seen. It was covered with low bushes and cacti; among the toward an island some distance away. On thelake roots of the cacti I found several dead shells of Glandina, we saw numbers'of canoes plying too and fro between the and from the rocks bordering thelake I picked several northand south shores. What was very peculiar about. shells, but not a living thing was to be found on the island these canoes, was thc fact that they were built on almost except the snakes, shells, and a single lizard, which was identically the plan of those used by the natives of the seen running up the trunk of a tree. SouthSea Islands, and I could almost imagine myself Among the shells found in the lake were many speci- among those famous islands, as Canoe after canoe was mens of Physa oscrrLnr (this proved rapidly paddled across the lake. The boatmen rest on their to be a new variety and was named knees in the bottom of the canoes, and use the paddle var. Pafscuarensis byMr. H. A. Pilsbry), a handsome little Valvuta alternately with the right and left hand. One of these PLAIFOBBIE large canoes, I noticed, was manned entirely bywomen, ot&y'NE.(K /rur,rerafis) anda number of TENUIB. who'seemed tobe able to propel the canoe along quite specimens of Platrorfiis tenais, Phil., var. Roucardi, C. & F. as rapidly as their stronger brothers and husbands. . On ourreturn I shota handsome specimen of theWhite- I soon caught sight of a stake ahead, upon which were faced Glossy Ibis (PZegudes guarauna),and anAmerican Coot. resting a number of birds. We slowly approached, and But a single day was spent in Patzcuaro, where we se- just as they started to fly 'I hastily singled out one and cured horses and a mozo, or, servant, and started on our fired, bringing him to a stand in a hurry. It proved to be journey to the volcano of Jorullo. We left Patzcuaro early the Least Bittern .(BotaurrcJ milis), and was a valuable ad- in the morning, by a steep path which led intoa dusty dition to our bag. A flock of ducks, probably Ring-necks, road. For several miles the road wasover a rolling came over at this moment, and I let drive two barrels at country, well under cultivation. About fifteen miles from them, but missed. A few hundred yardsfurther on we Patzcuaro I shot a couple of birds, whose habits resembled came to the island. Aswe approached, a commotion was those of the robin. They were the Charnacospisa torqvata, observed in the water, anda snake was seen to glide a somewhat rare and very interesting bird. It very much swiftly and noiselessly away. I quickly shot it; on picking resembles a tanager, and was at one time described as such it up we found it to bea large species of 'water-snake by no lessan authority than Mr. Lawrence (Am. Lyc., (Eufanta irrsipinrum). . N. Y., viii, 186). ._-..- ...... , ,~_II__... , ...... VOLCANO OE JORULLO. las

many of whom could not speak Spanish. Here we were compelled to eat our meals with . our fingers, with what little aid we could get. from a woodenspoon. Ourfare consisted of fried eggs,

' beans, tortillas, and coffee, minus

milk. Inthe thick woods about , the valley were numbers of beautiful birds. Here I saw,for the first time, the handsome blue macaws, . and a single toucan of large size. They flew very high, however, and I was notable to shoot one. I . was able to shoot a Cassin's King-

' TPBANNUE VOCIFEBUE EW. bird, Crested Cassic, aWestern Lark Sparrow, and a strange woodpecker; these, together with a small ground squirrel, were the only specimens obtained. . On the following morning we started on horseback for the volcano of Jorullo. Our road lay over an old lava . stream,and wascovered with largeand small blocks of lavi. The base of the cone was reached in about an hour, and here the horses were left and the rest of the ascent ac- complished on foot. The surface of the cone was covered with scoris and the ascent was difficult, dangerous, and fatiguing. The rim of thecrater was reached at last,

andthe viewafforded fully ' recompensed us for the exertion. Insidethe crater steam was seen issuing from

, .severalvent holes, and lightdetonations could be heard occasionally: On the north, south and west sides, the walls of the crater were intact, but on the eastern side the wall had been broken away, and the lava had flowed out in a great stream, which reached far down the valley. The temperature of one of the,vent holes in the crater registered . las iu A NATURALIST IN MEXICO. CINCO DE MA YO.

16O0 Fahr., and the ground beneath ourfeet was so hot that the effect, not a leaf was stirring, nor a sound to be heard. we could scarcely bear our feet on ït for a moment. The We had arrived in Patzcuaro on the Mexican Fourth of ' general form of the cone was that of a parallelogram; the July, the holiday known to them as theCinco de Mayo,-the broken side on theeast, however, had so destroyed its Fifth.of May,-to commemorate their victory over the outlines thatit W~Sdifficult to determine just what had French at Puebla during the French Intervention. Horns been its original shape.Jorullo erupted in September, were blowing, cannons firing, and every demonstration of 1769, converting what was a fertile plain, covered with pleasure exhibited. Everybody wasin holiday attire, the market place was filled with people, and the town generally had an air of great rejoicing. At lS:30 A. M. we rode on horseback to the ddpot, and at 3 o'clock took the train for Mexico.

VOUIAIPO OP JOBUD. sugar-cane, into a black desert, or malpays. Two small riv- ers were totally absorbed, and disappeared. At the present time (1896) Jorullois showing signa of great activity, and . it is not.at all impossible for it to again erupt, as in 1769. Should this happen, the village of La Playa and the numer- ous haciendas scattered about over the valley would be de- stroyed. About noon we left La Playaand retraced oursteps . to Patzcuaro, arriving there the second day after leaving La Playa. The night of the second day of our journey I shall not soon forget. Our way led over a rough mountain

path, cut up by innumerable barrancas. The scene by , moonlight was grand; the sky was clear, andthe moon shone brightly, casting weird shadows here and there. The forest stood out black against the horizon, and to add to .. .. I TOWN OB' YAUTEPEC. 1'27

crooked, and ,the houses are built of stone, with tiled roofs, ,as in many of the other towns we had visited. The streets are paved with cobble-stones in a very uneven manier, and .CHAPTER XII. resemble some of the streets in Philadelphia in this respect. MAY 9th we again set out, this time to visit Yautepec, In the center of the town, near the river, is a good sized where there was said to begood fields for study in Geology. plaza, with a fountain in the center. Thereare stone The road,-theMorelos Railroad by the way,-was the benches about the square, and a band stand near the foun- same one over which we travelled to Amecameca. At the tainFlower-beds add tothe beauty and picturesqueness latter place the road passesalong the base of the famous of the square. The buildings facing the plaza are mostly Sacro Monte. This hill rises abruptly from the plain; :a used for government purposes, and are not very imposing. shrineis placed here on its summit, around which all A river runs through the town, and is crossed by a stone mariner of legends are' entwined. There is an image of the bridge of good construction. Nearthe bridge a number dead Christ preserved, whichwas placed there by Fray ' of women and men were bathing, the men on one side and Martio, in 2587. For several centuries, annual pilgrimages the women on the other, both destitute of .bathing clothes. have been made to this sacred spot, and there is reason to It seemed rather strange to us, but was the custom, and, of believe that all these rites andcustoms antedate Christianity, course, aroused no curiosity among the inhabitantsr A from the fact that they are participated in almost wholly by little wayfrom the river is a large hill, called Cerro de natives. Calveria, which is used as a place of pilgrimage by the . From Amecameca to Ozumba the road was on a inhabitants. There is a cross on its summit, and a stony slightly descending grade, through a fertile valley, with the path leads to it, over which the devout natives crawl on peaks of the snow-capped mountains on the left. In the their hands and knees. fields were seen several names using the ancient plough of The banks of the river were lined with thick vegetation, ' wood, drawn byoxen. At Ozumba. thesteep descent in which I distinguished the trees of the anona, date palm, began; in many places the track could be seen three times banana, and orange. The ash, tepiguaje, and parotilla in thesame place, where it doubled and twisted to were very commonly seen. Fromthe summit of the obtain a foothold on thesteep side of the mountain. At Cerro de Calveria a magnificent view was obtained; at our Nepantla we passed theup train, and here were seen feet lay the town of Yautepec, with its curious winding several cages of beautiful birds in the d6pot.At Cuautla streets and queer houses; on the outskirts were seen beau- we encountered, after passing through a most desolate tiful, green gardens of orange and banana trees laid out in region, a spot which seemed liLe an oasis in the midst of a squares, .and mixed in here and there were mangos, anonas, desert, it was so green and fertile. At 3:45 we arrived in Yau- and many other fruit treesof the tropics; in the background tepec and secured accommodations in the Zaragoza hotel. rose the black and rugged peaks of the broken-down vol- Yautepec is a picturesque little town, situated in the canoes, and behind these rose the loftly mountain range of midst of a barren volcanic region. The streets arenarrow and , the Mexicm Plateau, surmounted by the glistening white 198 A NATURALISTIN MEXICO. DRAINAGE OF YEXICO. 129 dome of Popocatepetl, piercing the clouds; through the extraordinary noises. There were three kinds, which could center of the town flowed the little, nameless river, flowing frequentlyall be heard at once. One of these made a , through a beautiful gorge bordered by luxuriant vegetation. noise something like what. one would expect a frog to All about us were old volcanic cones, the only green and make, namely, a dismal croak, but the Bounds uttered by fertile spotto be seen being the town of Yautepec We the others were like no sound I ever heard an animal make could see that the lava streams which flowed from Popo- before. A distant railway-train approaching, and a black- catepetl on the southeast were very large, and must have smith hammering on an anvil, were the only noises with reached nearly, or quite, to the .Gulf. The small cones which I could compare them. about the base of the plateau looked broken and jagged, as Two 'days were spent in this interesting town, when we though a tremendous explosion had taken place. returned to ,Mexico and ' from thence to Zumpango, to visit Molluscan life was here quite abundant, and I was for- the Nochistongo cut. Herethe English engineering firm tunate enough to discover a new species of Pofanropyrgus, of Reed. & Campbell .were engaged in digging a huge tun- . which Mr. H. A Pilsbxy nel to drain the valley of Mexico, and especially lake ' . has called P. Bakeri in Zumpango, whose waters had long threatened the destruc- honor of its discoverer. tion of the City of Mexico. This tunnel was to be nine It was found in the little and one-half miles in length, and at' an average depth of river which runs through two hundredand fiftyfeet. The tunnel was to connect the town. Such forms with the Tajo de Nodi.rtongo (the cut before referred to), as Puja semilis, P Con- andthe waters carried from thenceinto the Montezuma tracfa, Stemjus ckgans, River, which empties into the. Gulf of Mexico. This great Pianorbis parvus, and canal was commenced in 1601 for the proper drainage of the valley of Mexico. It varied in 'width fromtwo hun- Physa oscvkns W ere quite numerous. Birds dredand eighty to sixhundred and thirty feet, with a were not numerous. depth of from one hundred and fifty to one hundred. and ninety-six feet. The Mexican government endeavored to POTAXOPYllGU0 SAXE% PILEBBY. utilize it for drainage purposes a few years ago, but 'the The townwas built upon Cr$taceous limestone, and attempt was a failure, and the present company were using several mountain ridges could be seen to the southwest. it asa terminus for the tunnel. The whole plateau, and the numerous small cones in the The City of Mexico is much below the level of several of neighborhond, seemed to have been thrust up through this the lakes, the waters of lakes Chalco and Yochimilco being deposit. At the bridge crossing the river a curious fact ten, and those of lake' Zumpango twenty-five feet above was observed; the rock on the left bank was composed OF the city. In order to save the city, which hzs been twelve limestone,' while that on the opposite side was composed times wholly andpartially inundated, it was decided to of lava, the river flowing between the two deposits. divert the waters of Zumpango into the ' river Montezuma, At night we had a concert of frogs, whit& made most m .. . . - . . .

130 A NATURALIST 1N MEXICO. TOWN OF TEHUACAN. . 131

as described above. For three hundred years the sewers and freycinetta trees appeared, and the Spanish bayonet, of the city have attempted to discharge into lake Texcoco, that plant with the terrible sharp-pointed leaves, was seen . butthe refuse matter ’is continually floating back again,. in clusters here and there. A portion of the waywe bor- and so the filth of nearly five hundred years is accumu- dered a deep and.picturesque cañon. on the left, the track Iated beneath thestreets of the city. It is to. assist this hererunning close to the base of the mountain on that drainage, also, that these works are being carried on. side.At 630 P. M. we entered Tehuacan: ’ Two days were spent ,at Zumpango, and a good deal The town seemed tobe about as large as that of of information gained concerning the geological formation Orizaba. The buildings, however,were more tastefully . of the valley. On our return to Mexico we passed the lit- built, and had considerably more ornamentation. In .the tle’town of Popotla, inwhich is the famous Arbol de la center was the usual plaza. This was neat and trim, and Noche Triste, the “Tree of the Sorrowful Night,” under flowerswere more numerous than in any previous town which Cortez was said to have’wept when driven from the visited. It.was now tenanted principally by a flock of City of Mexico. This was an old cypress with blasted, grackles, who were making the air musical with their chat- jagged limbs, and black trunk. It was surrounded by a tering: The churches here were’ of a superior quality as railing to keep curiosity hunters from carrying thetree regardedarchitecture; one, in particular, hada dome away. . built of tiles in the form of a mosaic. The bells W ere also On the twenty-fifth of May we left ‘the City of Mexico, wonderfully sweet and silvery in tone, and it.was a pleasure for the last.time, for Veracruz,. by the way of Tehuacan, to hear the chimes peal forth their notes on the still evening where wewished to visit the air. Altogether, Tehuacan had an air of freshness about it onyx quarries. Aswe sped which was very pleasing. . along theshore of lake Tex- On the morning after our arrival we procured horses coco, the two mountains, Popo- and a mozo, and .started to visit the onyx quarries, situated cateptland Ixtaccihuatl, stood near the village of San Antonio. My’ horse, unfortu- out bold and clear as though nately, was not as good as my companions’ who soon dis- . bidding us farewell. About tanced me, and I was compelled to visit the quarries . noon we arrived at Esperanza, alone. The road was over an undulating country, sandy, where we change from steam to and in, many places thickly covered with bushes, with here mule traction for Tehuacan. andthere a large tree. Cacti were everywhere abundant, . These etram-cars’ were veq pe- growing in immense masses, having great woody stems as culiar, being divided into com- thick as a man’s body, and were quite a novel feature in partments like an English. rail- the landscape. Many of them were of the branched cande way carriage. The line ran be- labrum form, and twenty to thirty feet in height. Other twem two ranges. of limestone hills, and was continually kinds were also abundant, some of them growing very low dewanding.,.. As we -got deeper among the hills palmetto andshaped like a barrel. By the roadside several varie- A NATURLLXHT IN MEXICO. ties of minerals cropped out, and quite a collection was obtained. About noon I reached :he little village of San .Anto- CHAPTER X1II.m . nio, situated in a ravine, and on 'the opposite side of the MAY 98th we left Veracruz for Jalapa. .From Vers- ravine the marble quarry was seen. The village consisted cruz to San Juan,.sixteen miles, we passed through a most of but a half dozen huts, and the inhabitants scampered delightful tropical country, the roadrunning through an '. out of sight as soon as they saw me. The onyx quarries almost impenetrable jungle. Birdshere were numerous, were just outside of, and several hundred' feet above, the but I was not able to identify them. village. Here were lying about huge pieces of onyx sev- We' reached San Juan by train,' where we changed to eralfeet square. One block was fully twelve feet long, mule traction. The road was very tortuous, winding up and a foot and a,half in thickness. The whole mountain long hills and down steep gulches. Our route was through seemed to be a mass of this mineral, andthe road was the old national road byway of Cerro Gordo. It was at ' paved with polished marble made bright by the constant this hamlet, consisting of a few mud huts,that General travel over it. This onyx was a crust, interbedded with the Scott, in 1847, outflanked and defeated the Mexican army distinctive limestone. Hippuritc fossils were found above under Santa Ana.' Jalapa,-pronounced Halapa,-is sit- 8 and below, which determined its position. The beds were uated about sixty miles northwest of Veracruz, and is used severa! feet in thickness. by the people of. the latter city as a sanitarium to escape WIIP .The absence of animal life about tllcw! lnollnlaiur from the ravages of yellowfever. Its situation .is very ' remarkable. Scarcely a Ilird was to IBC! swn, end 1h.y wc~rc', salubrious, as it is located some four thousand feet above ~uriouslyenough, nlostly IBircls of prey. A Icsw grlmltl 1.111 the sea coast. ored lizards and a cotton-tailr;lI~bit wvn! 1111- rmly IIIIIW Jalapa has a population (permanent) of some fourteen animals seen.. On the following clay WC 1c:It '~'U~IIIII~NIhlr thousand. It contains a largecathedral and numerous Veracruz. churches, once handsome structures, but now fallen into decay. The town is situated on the hill of Macuiltepec, and many of the streets are therefore very steep, and the scenery really beautiful. The low stone houses are perched . on the hillsides, and the streets are irregular. Among the many attractions of Jalapa, those of its beautiful women and lovely flowers are probably the widest known. In its gardens may .be gathered the fruits of almost every zone. Here grows the aromatic vanilla plant, which is indiginous and growswild in abundance in the forest; it is a great source of income tothe inhabitants. The plant requires l34 NATURALIST A m MEXICO. TOWN OF JALAPA. 135 only shade and moisture, and the climate does therest. The both men and women exposing a large portion of the fiowers of this plant are of a greenish-yellow, touched here bare body tothe atmosphere; at night, however, it was andthere with white. The pods grow in pairs and are observed that both sexes protected their necks and shoul- about as large around as one's little finger, and six inches ders with wraps; the men winding their waolen serapes long. The podsare green at first and gradually grow over their necks andthe lower parts of their faces, and yellow, andthen to brown, as they become fully ripe. the women covering theirs with their reboses. The change They are carcfuUy dried in the sun, being touched during of temperature soon after sunset and in the early mornings, the process with palm oil which gives them a soft, glossy as compared with the rest of the day, is very decided effect when they reach the consumer's hands. The throughout Mexico. Foreigners whofollow the nativc quantity shipped from Jalapa is very large, and, proves an customs avoid taking cold, while those who do not, suffer important source of revenue. 'It is said' that the Totonacs, for their heedlessness. who dwelt in the region, cultivated this plant, the Aztec A peculiarity was observed at Jalapa. While most of nobles being very fond of the fragrant vegetable. Another the womenin Mexico are dark-hued, yet a large number notable plant which grows here, and from which the town . of those one meets in Jalapa are decidedly blondes, hav- derives its name, is the jalap, an importantdrug in our ing light hair with blue eyes, and possessing as blooming medical practice. NearJalapa are seen the ruins of an complexions as any of our country girls in the States. ancient town, the builders of which must have attained to Like all Spanish cities, the windows of the dwellings a high degree of civilization. They resemble the ruins of are secured by a screen of iron bars, and many fronts, Yucatan, axid aresupposed .to have been built at about where the house is of two stories the same time. .in height, have also lijtle bal- The atmosphere of Jalapa is always humid, and the conies. These balconies are town is often overshadowed by clouds which come up much in use by lovers. A Mexi- from the Gulf of Mexico, heavy with moisture to be pre- can never goes about a courtship cipitated in the form of rain. A sort of drizzle" prevails in an open, straightforward man- ner, but on the contrary he here most of the time. ' In the center of the town is situated-the old convent forms cunning schemes for of San Francisco, supposed to have been erected by Cor- meeting his fair inamorata, and tez. It W& also the birthplace of General Santa Ana, the employs ingenious subterfuges 'n~ostnoted of Mexicanso1diers"of fortune. His neglected to gain a stolen interview. He hacienda' is pointed out to all tourists. No man'living had tells hispassion not in words, but á more checkered career, now falling from position only with profound sighs and signifi- to 'reach a greater elevation, from which to be ignomini- cant glances ashe passes her ously hurled. balcony,while she, although perfectly understandinghis The natives go about during the day only half clad, pantomine, assumes the most profound innocence. Finally, -.

1Y6 NATURALIBT A IN MEXICO. VILLAGE OF BAN JUAN. 191

after Q good deal of pretentious pantomime, the fairsefiorita On our return to Veracruz, we stoppii a couple of appears to realize the purport of all his worry, and seems days atthe little village of San Juan. The village con- gradually to yield to his silent importunities. This is sisted of ten or fifteen huts, and its population was not called “Playing the Bear.” There is also the languaae of over seventy-flve or one hundred.. It was situated, how- the fan, of the flowers, of the fingers, all of which are ever, in the midst of a dense tropical jungle, and on this pressed into the service of the young couple. A small book . account was of greatinterest to us. On leaving, the vil- is sold in the stores of Mexico which contains’ a.printed .lage we walked along a straight country road, constructed code of the significance of certain flowers, a “dumb alpha- above the level of thesurrounding land. It had low bet” for the fingers, and the meaning of the motions of the swampy ground on one side, andthe other was high ever ready fan. The gradual opening of a fan signifies enough to be quite dry. Leavingthe road and turning reluctant forgiveness, a rapid flirt scorn, an abrupt closing into another, we arrived at a part where the lofty forest. signifies vexation, and the striking of it with the palm of towered up like a wall, five or six yards from the path, to the hand expresses anger. In short, the fan can be more theheight of a hundred feet, The trunks of thetrees . eloquent than words if in thehands of a Mexican señorita. were only seen partially here and there, nearly the whole This, however, is only preliminary. All parentsare pre- frontage from groundto summit being covered with a

sumed to be absolutely opposed to all lovers’ wishes, and draperyof creeping plants, all of the mostvivid green; ’ great diplomacy is consequently required. This game often scarcely a flower was to be seen, except in some places a continues for a twelvemonth before anything is consum- solitary scarlet blossom, set in the green mantle. The low mated. The charm ‘in this kind of courting seems to be in groundon thé borders, between the forest wall andthe its secrecy and difficulties, both real and assumed. road, was encumbered with a tangled mass of shrubby veg- Between. the lofty peak of Orizaba and the Cofre de etation. About this spot numerous butterflies were sport- Perote there exists many traces of a very numerous popu- ing in the warm sunlight. .. . - I , lation, which must have occupied the country long previous A mile further on the character of the woods changed, tothe time of Cortez. This locality’ is abundantly sup- . and we found. ourselves in the primeval forest. Herethe . plied with water, is fertile toan extraordinary degree, and land’ was rather more elevated ; the many swamp plants possesses ah exceptionally healthy climate. The remams of with their long and broad leaves were wanting, and there stone dwellings are to be found hew, which must have laid was less underwood, although the trees were wide apart. In here ruined for many centuries. Huge oak trees, four feet almost every hollow was a little brook,whose cold, dark, . in diameter, are found growing among the mius, proving leaf stained waters were bridged over by tres trunks.. The their age. A number of stone pyramids have been found ground was carpeted byLycopodiums-those beautiful here also, some ten, others fifty feet in height; several of fern-like mosses-and was also encumbered with masses . these have been opened andfound to contain skeletons of vegetable debrisand a thick coating of dead leaves. and highly decorated rooms. . Why thislocality. is not Fruits of. many kinds were scattered about, among which

used for agricultural purpcses is a pude. ’ were many kinds of beans, some of the pods being six .-

1S8 A NATURALIST'IN MEXICO.

inches long, flat and leathery in texture ; others were hard as stone. Whatattracted our attention chieflywere the colossal trees. The general run of trees had not remarka- CHAPTER XIV, bly thick stems ; the great height to which they grew with- THECity of Veracruz is said to be one of the most out throwing outa branch was a much more noticeable unhealthy spots on this continent, andthe vomito holds feature than their thickness; but at intervals of a rod or high carnival six months of the year, claiming alarge ' two a veritable giant towered up to'a height of a hundred number of victims annually. The yellow fever makes its and fifty feet. appeprance in May, and is generally at its worst in Aug- ' Birdshere werevery numerous. Beautiful cassiques ust and September, when it creeps upwards towards Jal- were continually flying about from treeto tree, uttering apa and Orizaba, although ithas never beenknown to their peculiar note, which sounded like the creaking of a exist, to any grertextent, in either of these glaces. In rusty hinge.. On almost every tall tree we saw a hawk or summer thestreets of . Veracruz. are 'almostdesertrd buzzard. Prettyparoquets were very plentiful, and it except by the buzzards andstray dogs, and at such times . was amusing to watch the activity with which they climbetl the city is called, very appropriately, Uin riudnri de lus about over the trees, and how suddenly and simultaneously . nrwcrtos (a city of the dead). they .flewaway when alarmed. . Theirplumage was so A large share of the business of the city is carried on nearly the color of the foliage that it was sometimes im- by French and German residents, who have become accli- possible to see them, thoughone might have seen them . mated. Many of the merchants of thecity keep up a . enter a tree, and hear them twittering overhead, and, after permanent. rekidence atJalapa. to escape thisdreaded gazing until one's patiehce was exhausted, see them fly off enemy. It is said that when a person has once con- with a scream of triumph. The Molluscan genera Physu * tracted the disease, and recovered from it, he is presumed and Phorbis were very common. to be exempt from a second attack;' this is a rule, how- Late in the afternoon of the second day we returned to ever, not without an exception. Itis singular that the Veracruz, and. secured accommodations in the Hotel Uni- climate of the Gulf side of the peninsula should be so fatal versal, fronting the Plaza Major. to human life, while the Pacific side, situated in the same . latitude, is so very healthy. TheFrench army had reason to remember Veracruz, for the fever decimated their ranks to the number of four thousand men. The city is said to be more or less oriental in aspect. Everything is seen througha lurid atmosphere. Groups of mottled church.towers surmounted by glittering crosses; sqoare, flat-roofed houses; along reach' of hotsandy plain oneither side relieved by a fewpalm trees;and 140 A NATURALIBT IN AiEXICO. ' CZT Y OF VERACRUZ. 14

rough fortifications-these make up the picture of the flat neglected city of the dead with .beautiful andfragrant shore. Thereare no suburbs, the dreary, sandydesert flowers. creeping up close tothe city. In the background, how- The city houses are built of coral limestone, stuccoed. ever, the monotonous scene is relieved by the Sierra Madre The corals arc identical with species now found living in range of mountains, culminating in the peak of Orizaba. the harbor. The interior arrangements are like those else- The long, straight, narrow streetsare laid out with where described. The narrow streets are kept scrupulously' great uniformity, and cross éach ,other at right angles, the clean, .. are paved with cobble-stones, and have a gutter I monotony being broken by green blinds opening on the lit- running down the middle. The garbage wagons make tle balconies, which areshaded byawnings. The area of . their rounds twice daily, gathering up all the refuse'mat- the city is not over sixty acres, the town being built in a ter. There is anotherkeen-eyed scavenger, however, which very compact manner. Thestreets are crowded in busi- is much more effectual and thorough than these garbage ness hours; mule. carts, porters, half-naked water-carriers, gatherers; these are the dark-plumed buzzards, or 'zopilo- natives, negroes, and active'civilians, besides a few military . tes (Catharisk anda), who are always on the alert to pick officers, are seen jostling each' other. In the plaza pretty up and devour refuse matter of any sort found in the flower:girls mingle with fruit venders, lottery-ticket sellers, streets or about the houses. They even fight among andhere 'and there a half-tipsy seamen on shore-leave themselves for coveted pieces of garbage on top of the from the shipping.in the roadstead. wagons, and frequently the wagon will be half. emptied The Plaza de la Constitucion is small in extent, about before it reaches the dumping place. two hundred feet square, but it is very attractive!:.having a Theyare 'wisely protected bylaw, bronze fountain in its center, the gift of Carlot'ta,' the un- and a fine imposed for killing them. fortunate wife of Maximilian. Inthe evening the'plaza.is Clouds of thesebirds may be seen lighted by electricity. The plaza is ornamented with roosting upon the eaves of the houses, many lovely tropical flowers, cocoanut palms, and fragrant .the church belfries, andall exposed . roses. On a pleasant evening it is amusing to watch the balconies. As the,sun sets, the . young people in shady corners making !ove, .not, however, vultures flock to the domes of the the legitimate Romeo and Juliet sort observed in Jalapa. churches, until the latter are literally ! There'are but .few places of 'interest in Veracruz, after ZOPkOTE. black with them. There is 'one visiting the governor's palace, the plaza, the 'alameda, mystery, in regard to thesebirds which naturalists are with its fine array of cocoa-palms, the custom-house, the trying to solve, namely, their breeding place. No one public library, andthe large church fronting the plaza. knows where they go to build their nests and rear their This latter, while an imposing structure, will not compare young. . well with the cathedrals in the othercities visited. One Although Veracruz has. suffered more than almost street, called theStreet of Christ,leads tothe Campo any 'other capital from bombardments, ravages of bucca- Santo, or.burial ground, where naturehas adorned' the neers, hurricanes, fevers, and changes of rulers, yet it is

1

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14a A NATURALIST.MEXICO.IN stilla prosperous city. A brief glance atits past his- tory shows us that in 1568 it was in the hauds of pirates, that in 1088 it was sacked by buccaneers, and was de- j vastatcd by a conflagration in ltiltl. In 18i!2--23 it was bombarded by the Spaniards, who still held the castle of ,. San Juan de la Ulua. In 1898 it was attacked by a l~rench fleet, and in 1H47 was bombarded by thc American forces. In 18%; it was nearly destroyed by a hurricane, and in 185!) civil war decimated the town and fortress. From 1tlUl to l8Gi it was in the hands of the French and Irnpcrialists. From that time, however, it has enjoyed a period of quiet and a large share of comnlercial prosperity. Veracruz, thoughat present the principal seaport of N the Repubric, is without aharbor worthy the name, 3 of a being sitnatcd on an open roadstead and offering no safe anchoragc among its shoals, coral recfs, and surfs. It is not safe for vessels to anchor within half a mile of the shore. A cluster of dangerous reefs, includingthc Island of San Juan, form a slight protection from the open Gulf, although this is solnetimcs nlorc danfierons than an open roadstead. A sca-wall shclters tllc strcet facing uponthe watcr. A good breakwater would nlakc Veracruz one of the safest harbors along the Gulf, but such an improvement necessitatcs a large outlay, and is not likely to be under- taken yet a while in the land cf (‘mañana.” The greater portion of our time was spent in the har- bor studyingthe reefs. As we passcd over the clear water a perfect treasure-house of nature’s wonders could be seen beneath the surface. Corals were growing in rich profusion, and animal life of all kinds was very abundant. IIerc, ovcr asandy spot, was crawling alarge Triton, a trumpet shell; there, just beneath the surface, were several beautifully colored fishes swimming lazily along; the corals looked very beautiful growing; the Madreporas, with their CORAL REEFS. 1.M

broad, palmate fronds, 'andthe Meandrinas, with tllcir rounded, pavement-like outlines, stretching far away untlcr the water. With the corals that were brought up by our diver came mollusks, echinoderms, worms, crabs, and a host of marine animals, all of which were transferred to our collecting cans, With what curiosity and expectation we watched the diver beneath the ocean ashe patiently . pulled and tugged away at a specimen, and how quickly we leaned forward. and took the treasure from his hands lest he should damage it! The reefs in theharbor of Veracruz consist of a number of detached islands from less than half a mile to a mile and a half in length, which extend eastward from the coast line for a distance of nearly six miles. They are known as the Gallega (on which is built the castle cf SanJuan), Galleguilla, Blanquilla, Anegada de Adentro, Isla Verde, Islote de Pajaros, and Sacrificos. Of these, the Gallega is the largest, measuring in a north-and-south di.rection considerably over a mile. In view of the peculiar conditions which surround these reefs; it is difficult to under- stand how it has come to be the general belief among scien- . . tists that coral reefs are not found in the western waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Neither Darwin nor Dana mention their existence. Few recollections of my Mexican rambles are more vivid and agreeable than those of my many walks over the white sea of sand bordering the shore. Far out at sea the white w&veswere seen breaking over the coral reefs, and in some places dashing high in the air in a sheet of foam as it struck some large barrier. At our feet the waves were rolling in with that soft, ripply murmur so character- istic of a sandy ocean beach. A little way outthe sea . birds were flying about, and 'stranded on a reef, a mile or more from shore was a large vessel, which had been blown -...... -.. .._ .. - ... . , ... . . -

l44 A NATTJBALIST IN MEXICO. JO URNEP HOME. 145

there but a few months ago by a norther. Far, far out at May 31st we packed our specimens, .bade good-bye to sea were seen several vessels, one a large steamer with a our friends in the city, and embarked on thestean~ship column of black smoke pouring from hersmoke-stack. Yumuri for NewYork, via Progresoand Havana. Our The beach was strewn with all manner of debris thrown up journey homeward was without anynotable event, save by the storms. Lively little crabs were always very abun- one, and that asad one.Among our passengers were a dant, and at every step one would start up and run for his number of musicians who had been travelling with Orin's hole in the sand, and if I did not venture to pursue would circus. Oue of these men was suffering with delirium remain nearit and stare at me, his curious stalked eyes tremens, and had been placed under surveillance; but one moving up and down in a very comical manner. afternoon, when we were at dinner, he eluded his guard Marine animals were quite abundant about Veracruz. and jumped overboard. Although every effortwas made Among the corals the Mudreporas, Porites, Orbicellas, Di- to find him it was of no avail, and the steamer was obliged plorias, and SÌderastraus were common. The absence of Gor- to proceed on her journey without him. The event cast a goniaswas very noticeable, and only one gloomover the rest of the passengers for several days. species was seen (Plexaura Gorgonia) Ten days later we arrived in Philadelphia, where we were flexuoso), andthis not in great abundance. warmly welcomed, and congratulated upon our safe return The large fields of Gorgonias, which so from a long but deIightfu1 journey through the most inter. beautify the waters of the reefs of many of the esting portion of the Mexican Republic. West India islands, were wanting here and with it, of course, the host of brilliantly ~~~~~&colored forms associated with them. Among the Echinoderms Diadema setosum, Xchiuometra subangularis, and MelZifapentapor6 ,were exceedingly abun. dant. The mollusks were the most common, andseveral hundred species were obtained. Such species as Purpura hamastoma Ploridana, Ritinuka noddosa, CoralCiophila ab- breviata, Cmns mus, Columbellanitida were the most numerous in individuals. In theswamp near thecity, Ampullaria and . .. Phnurbis was abundant. Land mollusks werevery rare. Helix grmoln, Lipus'princeps, and asingle Succinta were the only forrns.found. Seven species of crustacea were found, all Decapods, among whichwas one new form, Pemzus Brusiliensis, var'Astecus.- The vertebrates were scarce, the vultures being about all of this group which we saw, be- .. sides a few sea birds. .