118 



SIX MONTHS IN MEXICO. 



have lost no time gentlemen, and shall now 

 have good luck for the day." We passed 

 over a great variety of country, partly cul- 

 tivated, and well watered. Near Rio Frio we 

 shot several beautiful birds, and saw a cay- 

 jot te, or wild dog, which in size nearly 

 resembled the wolf. He stood looking at us 

 at a short distance from the road, and it was 

 not till a gun was fired at him that he delibe- 

 rately moved off. 



Rio Frio consists of only a single house 

 and shop, with a few Indian huts, constructed 

 of boards; here we partook of refreshment, 

 and then proceeded through some fine woods 

 of fir and oak. In the afternoon, after a long 

 ascent, a sudden opening gave us a view of 

 the valley of Mexico, with its grand lakes and 

 bold outline of volcanic mountains, spread like 

 a map before us. It is indeed a glorious sight 

 for the traveller, who, like us, has quitted 

 Europe and crossed the Atlantic almost pur- 



