In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Chapter 5 I had already spent several weeks in Mirador. My diverse pursuits, the different excursions, and the ordering of collected items consumed all my time—a great relief to me, as the first months of residence in the Americas are a time of the greatest trials for the traveler. He has to struggle partly with the climate , partly with the novelty of the customs and with the unusual difficulties and dangers, all at the same time. Moreover, there are still many hours when in his loneliness he is often moved to sadness through the fresh memories of his homeland, of his circle of friends, and of the convenience of European life.This sadness derives from the uncertainty over the outcome of his enterprise , the thought of whether he will ever see his homeland again. One of those days in which I reflected so vividly upon the past was Christmas Eve. I found myself alone in my hut, remembering countless friends and the many religious customs of my homeland, and I imagined the hurried steps wandering through snow-covered meadows to the church. The more I thought back on my former life, the more I felt lonesome. I stepped out of my house and looked upward at the dark blue sky, which arched in a splendor I had never appreciated before. Only the call of a few night birds broke the lofty silence; otherwise there was no sound all around, not a living creature to be heard. A gentle breeze wafted through the leaves of the annona tree1 that stood before my hut, and I became aware, as never before, of my loneliness, which in every expression was more immense, and moved more deeply, than ever before. It was a sublime sight, one that I will never forget, and which perhaps comes but seldom in a person’s life. This much is certain, that I had celebrated my first Christmas Eve in Mexico, meditating in a way that only a lonely wanderer, whom holy bonds still chain to the fatherland, can do. The next day I set out on horseback to undertake a small excursion to the town of Huatusco, five leagues away. The road carried me through the village of Totutla, described above, at which point it veered to the left and led to the spot after winding hither and thither through countless ravines and tiny villages. One has to pass fourteen valleys and for that reason just as many Chapter 5 / 53 mountains when going from Mirador to Huatusco.The first and most interesting point is a small barranca through which flows a splendid clear stream, and over which two small bridges extended.They call this barranca Dos Puentes .2 The difference in vegetation is evident above all through styrax trees, hawthornes, and bloodtwig dogwood.3 Greenery of the European variety reveals itself between the forests therein, until one comes to a final promontory from which one catches sight of the charming town of Huatusco in the valley below.There are stupendous mountain ranges all around, and in the background towers the gigantic Orizaba, the whole forming a profoundly enchanting picture. Huatusco, which lies approximately four thousand feet in elevation, has two churches and five thousand inhabitants. The well-to-do engage in commerce , while the poor occupy themselves with cultivating corn and excellent tobacco. The number of stone houses is trifling; the number of stores, however , is so extraordinary in proportion to the size of the town that one cannot comprehend how one could exist alongside the other. In the most recent times it has also become the site of a subprefecture, which gives the place more importance. On this excursion, which was intended more as a reconnaissance of the region than for scientific ends, three mountains of middling height in particular caught my eye. Lying at a slight distance one from another, they distinguish themselves through their strictly geometrical form. They resemble oblong, truncated pyramids, and their four sides are so sharply delineated that one cannot criticize the popular belief that they are the graves of great caciques. However, subsequent examination of the same has shown me that they are burned-out volcanoes, on which the craters can still be clearly recognized . The region so delighted me that I resolved to change my place of residence there in a few months, and I will provide a greater account of this area further on. On the following day I returned to Mirador and...

Share