124 



A NATURALIST IN MEXICO. 



150° Fahr. , and the ground beneath our feet was so hot that 

 we could scarcely bear our feet on it for a moment. The 

 general form of the cone was that of a parallelogram; the 

 broken side on the east, however, had so destroyed its 

 outlines that it was difficult to determine just what had 

 been its original shape. JoruUo erupted in September, 

 1759, converting what was a fertile plain, covered with 



VOLCANO OF JORULLO. 



sugar-cane, into a black desert, ormalpays. Two small riv- 

 ers were totally absorbed, and disappeared. At the present 

 time (1895) Jorullo is showing signs cf great activity, and 

 it is not at all impossible for it to again erupt, as in 1759. 

 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 Playa and retraced our steps 

 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, and the moon 

 shone brightly, casting weird shadows here and there. The 

 forest stood out black against the horizon, and to add to 



