153 SIX MONTHS IN MEXICO. 



rain, having passed, at the head of the 

 lake of that name, the large dam or cause- 

 way, about a league in length, built by the 

 government to prevent the flowing of the 

 waters of the lake of St. Christoval into that 

 of Tezcuco. During our ride near the lake 

 we saw several aquatic birds and waders 

 quite new to us, which would well repay the 

 trouble of any ornithologist, and afford a 

 day's good sport with the gun. We rested 

 here a few hours on the bare floor, and de- 

 parting before day, passed along the side of 

 the lake through Guadaloupe, where we were 

 detained a short time by the centinels, and 

 arrived at the gates of Mexico in sufficient 

 time to have to wait half an hour for their 

 being opened. 



The result of this little excursion of three 

 days has thoroughly convinced me of the 

 veracity of the Spanish writers, whose ac- 

 count of the cities, their immense population, 



