A PLUNGE INTO SUMMER. THE broad floor of the valley of Mexico is nearly a mile and a half above the sea-level. But the tierra caliente, or warm country, stretches far inland from the Pacific coast, and the lofty mountains which tower above this high-lying valley to the southward and southeastward, some of them mantled in perpetual snows, slope down on the farther side into the tropical luxuriance of everlasting summer. Thus they fulfill the conditions necessary to a healthy body laid down in a familiar injunction, keeping their heads cool and their feet warm. We winter dwellers in the Aztec capital were not so fortunate as our neighbors the mountains, for in our hearthless houses we found, at times, the greatest difficulty in keeping our feet warm when we were sitting still. It was not a little tantalizing thus to be dwelling beneath the southern sun and have summer only a few leagues away, within reach by a slow railway trip of six hours. Sometimes, under a gray cloud-tent spread over the valley by a norther blowing down in the Gulf, we would look wistfully off through the melancholy, November-like air to the mountain walls surrounding us, longing for the joyous landscapes which they shut out from our sight. Therefore, one chilly January morning, with frost whitening the ground in the shadows where the sun had not reached, and dripping, as it melted, from the roof of the streetcar which took us out to the San Lázaro railway station, we set out for the blessed lower lands beyond, seeking a four days' bath of warm air. One seldom has to make a search for the picturesque in Mexico. It presents itself on every hand. The street railway ran for a great part of the way to San Lázaro along the banks of a canal, with rapidly running but not particu larly clean water. The canal was bordered by old, thick-walled houses, with stone steps leading down to the water from their doors, their broad surfaces washed in varied hues, weather-worn into fascinating tones for color studies. The canal was animated with boats laden with country produce: large flatboats, poled slowly along, and light little dug-outs, deftly paddled, skimming swiftly by. The great markets which we passed were swarming like bee-hives, and masses of fruits and vegetables were piled around in bewildering combinations of brilliant color. The pulquerías, or pulque shops, on the corners, gay with tinsel and gaudily frescoed without and within, were full of peons, lightly clad in cotton that once was white, indulging in the cheap luxury of their favorite and mildly intoxicating drink, the sales of which in the capital alone amount annually to three million dollars. These pulquerias all bear fantastic names; we passed one called El Recreo del Antiguo Gato, The Recreation of the Old Cat! The Cuautla Valley, our destination, is reached by the Morelos division of the Acapulco, Morelos, Mexico, Irolo and Vera Cruz Interoceanic Railway, whose object of ultimately affording communication between the Pacific and the Gulf coasts by way of the capital is indicated with considerable explicitness in its extraordinary name. The line is a narrow-gauge, built by Mexican capital and equipped in the American style, but with a kind of native slouchiness and lack of modern appliances that contrasted unfavorably with the two American railways terminating on the opposite side of the city, the Mexican Central and the Mexican National. Our train was phenomenally slow. It was a "mixed" one, carrying both passengers 031 I. 34 re are and at the foot of each. vert wer the place to wonderful, spine-clad below, and then spaces of rocky, craggy baretween the lines of timber and On Iztaccihuatl, far above, see cascades trickling down eiting snow. Iztaccihuatl waiting for some ambiAlthough it is much lowpocatepetl, it is so rugged and with deep gorges that no one acceeded in scaling its heights. pine woods all around us the landscape has a thoroughern character. Amecameca sea Swiss town. Nearly all the ave Swiss-like roofs of light with wide eaves, and weighed stones. The railway station eautiful spot at the foot of an ill covered with a dense grove ficent cedars. This is the Sakete, or Sacred Mount, the seat mous shrine. Far up, on a shoulne hill, is the chapel, with white and graceful towers gleaming the sky above the dark tree distance beyond Amecameca, sixty-four kilomètres, or about niles, from Mexico, we pass the point on the line, 2453.5 mètres, 47.4 feet, above the sea. At Ozum the slope of Popocatepetl, we half hour for dinner; a substanwell-served meal, with unlimited The station, a light frame strucooked more Western than Mexi and might have been on the Densad Rio Grande in the Rocky tains. Strips of paper were pasted ver the wide cracks in the walls of the pg-room. Just beyond here a rapid descent beWe went curling around a mounand caught glimpses of the track below. At one point we could see irectly beneath us, crawling along ence of the ledge; and when we flag-holders on the pilot. I asked the engineer, a youthful-looking Aztec who seemed hardly nineteen, nearly all the railway employés appeared to be fullblooded Indians, what was the meaning of this decoration. It was a regular custom on this railway, he said; all the engines of the up-trains were so adorned, but it was not done on the trains going below. It was a pretty piece of sentiment, this daily greeting sent up from the warm lands to the cold with an offering of their fruits. The view from this station was like that from a terrace. Off to the southwestward there stood a line of extremely rough and jagged mountains, with summits below our level. On one of the peaks was the exact semblance of a monster feudal castle, with a square, sturdy tower. To the southward a blue mountain line grew lower as it melted away to the distance towards the coast. The tops of the furthest peaks were just peeping up over the valley's edge, though from the other side they must rise to goodly altitudes. Our train went curving down the slope in an interminable succession of sharp bends. The motion resembled the swooping flight of a swallow, as we incessantly faced all the points of the compass in quick alternations. Our heads were kept continually turning to catch the views, so that this long waltz down the mountain side almost made us dizzy. As we descended, the vegetation rapidly changed. Brilliant new flowers bloomed by the way with summerish profusion, and new trees appeared, although the pines seemed loath to part company with us. There were some remarkable tree groups standing in the fields; leafage thick and dark green, umbrella-like in shape, with breadth something like three times the height, apparently. The crown of foliage had a lower horizontal line, which, had it been cut, could hardly have been more exact. It may have been the work of and freight; loafing leisurely along, and making long waits at every station for taking on and leaving cargo. With a train of average speed our journey might have been reduced to something like one half the time occupied. Crossing the wide reach of marshes between the city and Lake Tezcoco, we saw the lagoon near the track literally black with ducks, and, as they started up, frightened by the train, they made dense clouds in the air. Never before had I seen so many water-fowl together. The two great mountains, Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl, loomed up before us without a cloud about them. Their snowy summits were pallid gray in the morning air, for the sun was on the other side, and cast their shadows towards us. The peaks were glittering coldly where the night had frozen the snow-crust. These mountains would be in sight all through our journey and throughout all our stay down in the underland, presenting themselves in varied aspects to our charmed eyes. We passed by and through various Indian villages. The train ran through the long main street of one, where clamorous venders of food and drink besieged the cars. Another village was perched attractively on a craggy hillside, the humble huts apparently scrambling upwards to a quaint chapel occupying the crest above. The whole place was walled around by a tall hedge of organ cactus. Lakes Chalco and Xochimilco, the great fresh-water bodies of the valley, with clear waters, fenny shores, and bold mountain backgrounds, were seen here and there from the train. These scenes were of unceasing interest, with the great volcanoes ever growing nearer and nearer. But not until Amecameca was reached did we fully realize the Alpine grandeur of the scene dominated by the loftiest mountains of North America. Amecameca lies between the two mountains, and at the foot of each. They overtower the place to wonderful, awful heights, pine-clad below, and then with wide spaces of rocky, craggy barrenness between the lines of timber and of snow. On Iztaccihuatl, far above, we could see cascades trickling down from the melting snow. Iztaccihuatl has laurels in waiting for some ambitious climber. Although it is much lower than Popocatepetl, it is so rugged and so seamed with deep gorges that no one has yet succeeded in scaling its heights. There are pine woods all around us here, and the landscape has a thoroughly northern character. Amecameca looks like a Swiss town. Nearly all the houses have Swiss-like roofs of light shingles, with wide eaves, and weighed down with stones. The railway station is in a beautiful spot at the foot of an isolated hill covered with a dense grove of magnificent cedars. This is the Sacro Monte, or Sacred Mount, the seat of a famous shrine. Far up, on a shoulder of the hill, is the chapel, with white walls and graceful towers gleaming against the sky above the dark tree masses. A short distance beyond Amecameca, which is sixty-four kilomètres, or about forty miles, from Mexico, we pass the highest point on the line, 2453.5 mètres, or 8047.4 feet, above the sea. At Ozumba, on the slope of Popocatepetl, we had a half hour for dinner; a substantial, well-served meal, with unlimited pulque. The station, a light frame structure, looked more Western than Mexican, and might have been on the Denver and Rio Grande in the Rocky Mountains. Strips of paper were pasted over the wide cracks in the walls of the dining-room. Just beyond here a rapid descent began. We went curling around a mountain, and caught glimpses of the track far below. At one point we could see it directly beneath us, crawling along the face of the ledge; and when we |