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the summit of this range there is a kind of table land which for 

 many miles forms an open prairie. The predominent grass 

 grows in very large and high bogs or hummocks in the rich black 

 soil. The roots of this grass are shipped by train loads to Ger- 

 many, it is said for the manufacture of some sort of a brush or 

 broom. Abruptly descending upon the southern side of this 

 range, we cross a broad cultivated valley or plain and there follow 



Fig. 4. The Great Oaxaca Canyon. 



a river through a deep canyon which traverses a range which 

 appears of even greater height than that previously crossed. 

 Upon the other side we continue down this river valley until it 

 empties into the Balsas, at the town of Balsas, which is the end 

 of the railroad line. I made no stop in this second range but it 

 was very evident that its flora is totally distinct from that of 

 the Cuernavaca Mountains. At Balsas we are distant about 

 fifty miles from the Pacific, though as the river runs, the distance 

 is much geater. We are in the midst of a multitude of gigantic 

 mountains, which continues without interruption almost to 

 the ocean's edge. Except in the immediate vicinity of the streams 

 this mountain region is very arid. The rainy season is of short 

 duration and the rains are usually not at all copious. The 

 ground therefore has but a slight permanent supply of moisture, 



