102 RUBBER PLANTING ON THE 



baskets on the backs of peons, the magnitude of the work is appalling. 

 The canal was never completed, as there was an error in the levels, 

 amounting to about forty feet, over which the water refused to run. 



Soon after this the eternal snows of Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl 

 sprang into sight, and although few of the passengers pronounced either 

 of the words correctly, all seemed to be sufficiently impressed. We 

 learned here that the former of the two mountains had been purchased 

 by the Standard Oil Co., who are to work the vast sulphur deposits in 

 the crater above the snows. The second volcano was exploited to us by 

 a polite Mexican who said that the Aztec name meant "the lady of the 

 snows," and he pointed out that the irregular peaks of this mountain, 

 with their snowy mantle, took on the figure of a woman lying on her 

 back with her arms folded. All the rest of the party said that the like- 

 ness was perfect, and to save trouble I agreed with them, but it really 

 looked more like a couple of huge circus tents fresh from the laundry. 



MOUNTAIN CLIMBING ENGINE 



Shortly after this, we reached the City of Mexico, took a carriage, 

 drove to a hotel built in a hollow square, with tiled floors, stuccoed walls, 

 and rooms without baths. Here we unpacked our traps, sent out and 

 bought soap, and spent two hours in making alkaline solution from the 

 various strata of dust that had settled upon our editorial person. 



It was midday, and hot uncomfortably so in the sun ; and just 

 here I want to speak of the climate of the city, and then dismiss the 

 matter forever. It may be all that is claimed for it by guidebooks and 

 railway folders, at certain seasons, but it struck me as far from perfect. 

 At night it was so cool that a heavy suit and a light overcoat were neces- 

 sary, while in the mkldle of the day one yearned for pajamas and sandals. 

 When one gets really chilly, there seem to be but two places to get warm ; 

 one is the United States and the other the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. 



