116 Ascent of the Volcano of Popocatepetl. [ February, 
coffee in their glazed earthen jars, which in the long run with- 
stand the heat of the fire better than a tin coffee-pot; they made 
tea for the party in other vessels of domestic manufacture; they 
refreshed themselves on cold tortillas and chili, the twin compo- 
nents of a Mexican meal, and then cut out their sandals for the 
morning’s climb, while we dismembered a cold broiled fowl of pro- 
nounced toughness and ate it with excellent native bread and tea. 
To the tourists and head-guides was assigned a sort of low raised 
divan or floor covered with hay, over which we spread the straw 
petates or pallets, and finally a blanket, with a second blanket and 
a coat over us. The gutas and muleteer lay on the mud floor, 
their feet to the fire; their swarthy faces and limbs not visible in 
the gloom, their white cotton garments concealed by their high- 
colored serapes or blankets. They slept soundly through the 
night, but not the tourists; the beds were uneven, an occasional 
flea danced a jig on our hands and faces, a rain and hail storm 
with a strong gale of wind rattled about the ranch; towards 
morning it grew very cold and chilly ; added to this two of our 
number, owing probably to the altitude, were unfortunately seized 
with vomiting aad diarrhcea, so that there was little or no sleep 
for the Americanos that night. 
At 3.40 A. M. of the 20th I awoke the party, the guias replen- 
ished the fire, prepared the coffee and tea, saddled the uneasy 
horses now shivering in the cold frosty morning air, and at 5.30 
we had mounted our steeds and were under way for the peak. It 
was a bright, crisp, clear, cold morning, the stars still shining 
brightly, while a piercing cold wind swept down the valley over 
the pass. Our guides had wrapped their legs in thick layers of 
cotton rags, wound their serages tightly about them, and we 
found that our overcoats and gloves were but a slight protection 
against the intense cold. For two hours we slowly crept up by 
a zigzag trail, urging on our unwilling nags over the slope of the 
mountain ; first passing through the pine woods, then descending 
a barranca or ravine, through which ran a stream fed by the 
snows of the peak. The trail then wound along the base of the 
cone over fields of loose, deep, coarse, black, volcanic sand, 
through which rose scattered jagged masses of black lava. Our 
faltering horses and- not over enthusiastic guides toiled up- 
ward and onward, until at 7.30 we reached La Cruz, a rock on 
_ which was a wooden cross, where we were to leave our horses 
rice fi erate 
