108 A NATURALIST IN MEXICO. 



in 1827. From this high elevation the view was of surpass- 

 ing grandeur, taking in the country for hundreds of miles. 

 The view, however, was blurred and indistinct, on account 

 of the many clouds floating by. Although the temperature 

 was only 45*^ Fahr. , we did not suffer fiom the cold nearly 

 as much as we did on the snow-field below. I suffered 

 from none of the symptoms which caused me to desist from 

 climbing on Orizaba, when within three hundred feet of the 

 summit. Late in the afternoon we descended to Tlamacas, 

 spent one more night there, and the next day rode back to 

 Amecameca. 



Of all the Mexican mountains, Popocatepetl has re- 

 ceived the most attention, and has been ascended in- 

 numerable times. The heights usually given to it I be- 

 lieve to be much too high, Our records showed that 

 Orizaba, and not Popocatepetl, should be given first place 

 among the mountains of Mexico. A short stop was made 

 at Amecameca, and then we returned to the City of Mexico. 



On the 29th of April we left Mexico for Toluca, situ- 

 ated fifty miles from the city. The trip to Toluca leads 

 through some of the grandest scenery in the country, as well 

 as taking the traveler over some of the most abrupt ascents 

 in Mexico. After leaving the city, the road passes through 

 a district devoted to the cultivation of the Maguey, the 

 great pulque-producing plant. There are two kinds of 

 this Maguey; the cultivated plant from which comes the 

 pulque, and one, which grows wild in the desert parts of the 

 country, and from which is distilled a coarse and. highly 

 intoxicating drink called mescal. But we are digressing; 

 let us speak of our journey to Toluca. After passing 

 Tacubaya, the road began to steadily ascend, the line curv- 

 ing and twisting in and out to find a foothold upon the 

 mountain. We passed Naucalpan and Rio Hondo, and 

 the ascent became very steep. The bridge at Dos Rios was 



