SIX MONTHS IN MEXICO. 



33 



The cottage of the Indian is only intended as 

 a shelter from the rain, for the extremes of heat 

 and cold are alike unknown to him ; and should 

 the passing storm invade his cage-like house, a 

 mat spread to the windward affords him suffi- 

 cient protection. Having reached the Table- 

 land, the traveller has now nothing to fear from 

 heat : indeed, at Perote, and other places simi- 

 larly situated, he may in the mornings and 

 evenings experience the reverse of that tem- 

 perature, for, at this height, a few miles only 

 make a great difference, according as you rise 

 or descend : in Mexico itself the climate 

 throughout the year equals the best part of 

 our month of May, the mean degree of heat 

 on the Table-land being between sixty-five 

 and seventy of Fahrenheit. 



High winds are so little known here, that 

 I never experienced any thing like a storm 

 during my residence. Earthquakes, however, 

 are not unusual, though they are seldom 



VOL. II. 



D 



