102 
RUBBER PLANTING ON THE 
baskets on the backs of peons, the magnitude of the work is appalling. 
The canal was never completed, as there was an error in the levels, 
amounting to about forty feet, over which the water refused to run. 
Soon after this the eternal snows of Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl 
sprang into sight, and although few of the passengers pronounced either 
of the words correctly, all seemed to be sufficiently impressed. We 
learned here that the former of the two mountains had been purchased 
by the Standard Oil Co., who are to work the vast sulphur deposits in 
the crater above the snows. The second volcano was exploited to us by 
a polite Mexican who said that the Aztec name meant "the lady of the 
snows,'’ and he pointed out that the irregular peaks of this mountain, 
with their snowy mantle, took on the figure of a woman lying on her 
back with her arms folded. All the rest of the party said that the like- 
ness was perfect, and to save trouble I agreed with them, but it really 
looked more like a couple of huge circus tents fresh from the laundrv. 
MOUNTAIN CLIMBING ENGINE 
Shortly after this, we reached the City of Mexico, took a carriage, 
drove to a hotel built in a bollow square, with tiled floors, stuccoed walls, 
and rooms w ithout baths. Here we unpacked our traps, sent out and 
bought soap, and spent two hours in making alkaline solution from the 
various strata of dust that had settled upon our editorial person. 
It was midday, and hot — uncomfortably so in the sun; and just 
here I want to speak of the climate of the city, and then dismiss the 
matter forever. It may be all that is claimed for it by guidebooks and 
railway folders, at certain seasons, but it struck me as far from perfect. 
At night it was so cool that a heavy suit and a light overcoat were neces- 
sary, while in the middle of the day one yearned for pajamas and sandals. 
When one gets really chilly, there seem to be but two places to get warm : 
one is the United States and the other the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. 
