Passing through several pueblos, we reach Amecameca, the largest town on the line, and the place at which the ascent of the volcano commences, in about two hours. You may take a horse-car at the Plaza at seven in the morning, and the train at seven and a half, and at eight will find yourself rapidly whirling over the salt plains that once formed the bed of the great lake. This railroad, the Morelos, leaves the city at the gate of San Lazaro, near where the main sewer flows with sluggish current towards Lake Tezcoco from the odors of which sewer, and from the congregations of filthy beggars that assemble at the arrival and departure of trains, one will understand why this suburb is named after Lazarus, king of mendicants. At the present time this difficulty is obviated by the passing of a line of railroad near the actual base of the volcano, so that one can leave the city in the morning and reach the snowline before night, ascending the summit and returning the next day. Until within a few years, the ascent of Popocatapetl was rendered more tedious and discouraging than at present by the long horseback ride of sixty miles necessary to be taken from Mexico as a preliminary to the actual climb up the mountain. The formation of the volcano of Jorullo in Mexico, in 1759, is another example, when from a fertile and highly cultivated plain were thrown up six hills of fire, the central one rising to a height of sixteen hundred feet. ![]() Volcanoes take their rest like human beings, and we have only to turn to the history of Vesuvius to confirm this. Yet it may be only resting, for the old historians affirm that it was active in the first years of the conquest, and its very name, Popocatapetl, signifies "the smoking mountain." Though called an active volcano, it has emitted nothing but sulphur fumes, and perhaps a little smoke, within the memory of man. It is the first to greet the traveller's eye and enchain his attention as he enters the Mexican valley, the first he later seeks in the morning, the last he loves to look upon at evening time. Iztaccihuatl and the Volcan de Toluca next appear, each about sixteen thousand feet in height.įar above the wall of mountains that surrounds the valley of Mexico towers the mighty Popocatapetl, visible from the city of Mexico, and one of the most beautiful objects that grace that land of glorious scenery. This reaches an altitude of seventeen thousand three hundred feet, and is second only to the giant of all, Popocatapetl, whose hoary head is lifted up seventeen thousand eight hundred feet above the sea. ![]() There are but two higher on the continent of North America, for the lowest of the four reaches sixteen thousand feet.įirst, nearest the Gulf of Mexico, is Orizaba, visible at sea before the coast of Mexico is discovered. That from some other vale peered into this."įOUR snow-covered mountain peaks gleam in the sun in Mexico, making it famous among the countries of the world. To glance an upward look on two huge peaks,
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