MONTE ALBAN AND MITLA 



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ducts the railroad restaurant, makes you wish that you could stop for 

 hours instead of only twenty minutes. On the way back, I had the 

 pleasure of stopping at Tomellin and eating at my leisure, while I 

 watched my less fortunate neighbors trying to eat three kinds of meat, 

 with side dishes, pie, cake and ice cream in the regulation time. 



Oaxaca, at an altitude of 5,000 feet, has a climate like a perpetual 

 Indian summer. Already a prosperous town in the time of Columbus, 

 it has grown until it has become an important commercial center, and 



Fig. 4. One can hardly realize that he is gazing upon Ruins. 



its numerous cathedrals with their paintings and gorgeous decorations 

 have made it interesting to the artist and architect. The hotels are 

 good and the obliging hosts are always ready to arrange trips to Monte 

 Alban and Mitla. 



Monte Alban is said to be about four miles from Oaxaca. It seems 

 farther if you go on foot. The average tourist, even though a bad 

 rider, had better get a horse. When the top is reached, more than a 

 thousand feet above the city, the view of the valley, with Oaxaca spread 

 out like a map, the little villages, rich plantations, and Tule in the 

 distance, is well worth even the climb on foot. The summit of the 

 mountain is covered by the ruin of an ancient city. Whether the in- 

 dividual buildings are temples, stores or palaces, the tourist can doubt- 

 less decide with far less hesitation than can the trained archeologist. 

 Some of the stones are large and well cut, some, like Fig. 1, bear 

 pictorial inscriptions, and some have outline images of the entire 



