M.l 
Resume of the Trip to Vol. San Har tin» 
We left Tres Zapotes or April 14,at 8 A »M • The day was cloudy,with 
north Wind,f611owing the severe "norte" of the 12th. and 13th. 
We went by way of Tapacoyan Arriba,then swinging southward to Potreros, 
to escape the outlying foothills of Cerro fuxtla. 
On the east side of the Cerro Tuxtla the land is v 
of high hills,but with very little rock in evidence anywhere. 
We reached Santiago de' Tuxtla at l P. ; .,where a brief halt was made 
for lunch. I now found that the rain of the 12th. had been very heavy m 
the vicinity of Santiago de Tuxtla,so that the long climb from, there up 
to the divide at Buena Vista was slow and laborous,due to deep mud on . 
the trail. However,on the San Andres side of the dividte the precipitation 
had been very light,and the trail nearly dry,but even so,we did not reach 
San Andres until 4 P.M* _ 
That evening I contacted a man who claimed to be able to guid„e us to 
the summit of the Volcano,and arrangements were made to start early the 
following morning,and did actually leave at 7.30* 
At 9.30 we reached a solitary house on the slopes of San artm,ai- a 
-olace called El Tular,at 2,125 feet altitude. Arrangements were made to 
live at this house,and the pack was left there while we continued on 
up the slopes of the volcano. . 4x 
Unfortunately,like so many Latins,my so-called guide was of little use. 
He proceeded to get us completely lost and we wandered up and down over 
old logging trails for over three hours,until a man was accio.ently 
encountered who guided us to the trail which leads to the summit. ^ 
However > when we finally readied the end of the mule trail(5*o50 i ^ b ) 
it was 4 P. i:., and entirely too lat to think of proceeding further,so we 
returned to El Tular. . . . . 
Although we did not reach the summit that day,the oiroe was no u entirely 
lost,since in our wanderings I had. been able to learn niu.cn concerning 
the trails on the mountain,all of which was subsequently of great help, 
while I had seen enough of the wonderful forest which completely covers 
the volcano,to make me very optimistic about finding new sgpecies of birds 
jy V i 0 £■* 0 « 
We reached El Tular at 6 P.H.,pretty well fagged after ten hours in 
the saddle. I despatched the guide,after having with difficulty convinced 
him that be could be of no further assistance to me,and then we proceeded 
to make ourselves as comfortable as the limited space and conveniences 
of the house would permit. „ , . , 
El Tular lies in a pocket on the south slope of San artm,at a point 
slightlv above the line below which all forest has been cleared away ano. 
the land placed under intensive cultivation. A beaut ifulclear,cold steam 
of ?/ater emerges from some subterranean'channel in the upper end of «he 
little valley and flows off to the southwest. The soil of the whole 
mountain slope,almost down to San Andres,is a very black,rich,oecomposea 
volcanic ash,with practically no roc k of any sort.. 
The forest which extends from El T’uTar upwards^ to the summit oi oan 
Martin,and eastward between San Martin and La Vigia,is now practica_ly 
unbroken by clearings,and is one of the most magnificent mountain forests 
I have ever seen. There are many perfectly huge trees,very ta_l ana ^ ick, 
while the undergrowth is luxuriant and succulent almost everywhere,but 
not difficult to penetrate. The little thorn covered "Chocha palmy so 
abundant on the Cerro de Tuxtla is entirely absent,but there are many 
small,green,smooth palms. 
Birds are fairly abundant,as mountain forests go,but doubtless many 
remain in the upper oortions of the huge trees and are rarely seen below. 
