Identifier: naturalistinmexi00bak (find matches)
Title: A naturalist in Mexico : being a visit to Cuba, northern Yucatan and Mexico
Year: 1895 (1890s)
Authors: Baker, Frank Collins, 1867-1942
Subjects:
Publisher: Chicago : D. Oliphant
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Smithsonian Libraries

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ed the lit-tle town of Popotla, in which is the famous Arbol de laNoche Triste, the Tree of the Sorrowful Night, underwhich Cortez was said to have wept when driven from theCity of Mexico. This was an old cypress with blasted,jagged limbs, and black trunk. It was surrounded by arailing to keep curiosity hunters from carrying the treeaway. On the twenty-fifth of May we left the City of Mexico,for the last time, for Veracruz, by the way of Tehuacan, where we wished to visit theonyx quarries. As we spedalong the shore of lake Tex-coco, the two mountains, Popo-cateptl and Ixtaccihuatl, stoodout bold and clear as thoughbidding us farewell. Aboutnoon we arrived at Esperanza,where we change from steam to• mule traction for Tehuacan.These tram-cars were very pe-culiar, being divided into com--^z=: partments like an English rail-TEEE OF THE SAD .NIGHT. ^ way Carriage. The line ran be-tween two ranges of limestone hills, and was continuallydescending. As we got deeper among the hills palmetto
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* TOWN OF TEHUACAN. 131 and freycinetta trees appeared, and the Spanish bayonet,that plant with the terrible sharp-pointed leaves, was seenin clusters here and there. A portion of the way we bor-dered a deep and picturesque canon on the left, the trackhere running close to the base of the mountain on thatside^ At 5:30 p. m. we entered Tehuacan. The town seemed to be about as large as that ofOrizaba. The buildings, however, were more tastefullybuilt, and had considerably more ornamentation. In thecenter was the usual plaza. This was neat and trim, andflowers were more numerous than in any previous townvisited. It was now tenanted principally by a flock ofgrackles, who were making the air musical with their chat-tering. The churches here were of a superior quality asregarded architecture; one, in particular, had a domebuilt of tiles in the form of a mosaic. The bells v ere alsowonderfully sweet and silvery in tone, and it was a pleasureto hear the chimes peal forth their notes on the st

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