1892 
Huitzilao 
(Morelos) 
Cuernavaca 
(Morelos) 
The vegetation of this hill is like an intrusive point thrust up 
through the pines. Below, at about 6,000 feet, the pines end abruptly 
and the road leads out over the green grassy slope to the small city 
of Cuernavaca, capital of Morelos. 
On the Valley of Mexico side of the range (Ajusoo), the country is 
very volcanic, but on the southern slope, although there are also var¬ 
ious small craters and sane lava beds, the main formation extending 
down from the mountains from 8,000 to about 4500 feet the barrancas 
are cut through a deep formation of coarse conglomerate of rounded 
r 
fragments of volcanic stone. 
The city of Cuernavaca contains about 12,000 or 15,000 people and 
is built on an arid open grassy plain sloping to the south with deep 
barrancas outting their my down from the mountains following the slope. 
The blood-sucking bats (Desraodus) are common close to the town in a 
damp cave, with a perilously loose crumbling roof, where I secured 
some. Many small, blue, -winged bats were also found in dry caves 
near here, and living behind the huge carved back to the altar in a 
church. Under the guidance of the sacristan we hunted out some of 
these latter with cane rods but, as X had many of them already, X took 
no more. 
Cuernavaca is a rather picturesque place as it is built on uneven 
ground between two deep gulches. The old castle of Cortez stands on 
the brow of one slope and is a large square building now occupied by 
the local authorities for various purposes. 
Aside from the fortress-like character of this building, it has few 
striking features* It lends itself in the forming of a beautiful pict¬ 
ure that I went to gaze out upon several bright evenings during rty 
stay in this town. 
From the comer of the old palace, across a loop-holed be stion and 
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