182 



CUERNAVACA. 



were all stowed together with bags and baggage, fever- 

 ish and unrefreshed. 



Just as we rode out of the gateway of our posada, the 

 first sunbeams were shining upon the white summit of 

 Popocatepetl, which now appeared exactly in the east. 



Cuernavacais most nobly situated, on a tongue of land, 

 girdled on three sides by tremendous barrancas ; in 

 which, matchless sterility, and the exuberant and broad- 

 leaved vegetation of the tropics, are blended together in 

 an extraordinary manner. It possesses a large church 

 and prison, and many other buildings, the architectural 

 details of which are uncommonly picturesque. I never 

 saw a country where there were richer subjects for the 

 artist, than that in which our rambles were placed for 

 some days to come. 



The mule path which we followed, led us for some 

 time along the edge of the great barranca to the west of 

 the town, in a direction nearly due south. But after 

 traversing it by a long descent, and longer ascent, and 

 gaining a village where we took a second guide — the 

 first, furnished by the cura, not being acquainted with 

 the road — we crossed a band of sugar and cotton planta- 

 tions ; and, entering upon the uncultivated stony plains, 

 bent our course a little more to the westward, towards the 

 cerroin advance. Our borrowed horses were wretched 

 animals ; and I well remember the hard trot of the ema- 

 ciated beast which I had the misfortune to bestride ; and 

 the galling position in which I was pinioned by a badly 

 constructed Mexican saddle. 



By some arrangement of the cura's, which we did not 

 then comprehend, our party had been increased as we 

 left Cuernavaca, by a fine, hardy, bold-looking, armed 

 horseman, who kept us company the whole day, whether 

 as guide or as companion we scarcely knew ; though on 

 our return we had a hint given us to pay him a few dol- 

 lars in quality of the first. He was not talkative ; at the 

 same time there was nothing uncourteous in his reserve, 

 or general bearing, which I can best liken to that of a 

 stalwart and stark moss trooper. We had our suspicions 



