House and Garden 
winter nights are now and then frosty where 
the tropical table-land is a mile and a half 
above sea-level. Then it is pleasant to leave 
the thin, crisp atmosphere for a while and 
luxuriate in the softer and warmer airs of 
lesser altitudes. 
The interests of Don [ose were exclusively 
mining. Hence he had no great estate in the 
warm lands to retire to. It was doubtless 
the convenience of location that induced him 
to choose Cuernavaca as the site for his villa 
—using the word in its Roman sense. Cuer- 
built a palace there, and the rich sugar-estate 
that he established close by the town is still 
owned by his heirs. When Maximilian was 
Emperor of Mexico he made Cuernavaca his 
warm-country home. Probably the happiest 
days of his distressful reign were those that 
he and Charlotte spent amid these tranquil 
scenes. 
A native town called Guanahuac occupied 
the site when Cortes came thither across the 
lofty Cordilleras from the Valley of Mexico. 
Cuernavaca, meaning “cow’s horn,” is a 
THE GREAT BASIN, WITH ISLANDS AND TERRACE STEPS, LOOKING SOUTH TOWARD BOAT HOUSE 
navaca lay directly on the route between 
the capital and Pasco, to the southward, the 
scene of his most extensive mining interests. 
It therefore formed a most delightful stop¬ 
ping place in a fatiguing journey. Cuerna¬ 
vaca lies nearer the capital than any other 
town in the warm lands. Hence, from the 
very earliest days of Spanish dominion it has 
been in favor as a warm-weather resort. 
The great Conqueror himself, Hernan Cortes, 
Spanish corruption of the original name. 
1 he place is now the capital of the small and 
wealthy State of Morelos. It stands in a 
superb location well down on the southern 
slope of the extinct volcano of Ajusco, across 
whose flank runs an important division of the 
Mexican Central system on its way to the 
Pacific. The town stands on a sort of prom¬ 
ontory between two barrancas , or deep 
ravines. It is a picturesque aggregation of 
59 
