l the conveniences to make the trip a safe and agreeable one.
The party went cheerfully up the mule-road that leads to the mountain
rancho of Zacopalco, one of the highest inhabited points upon our
globe. The soil upon the mountain, composed of volcanic mud, yields
such rich grasses, that almost at the upper edge of the timber there is
a milk-house (_lecheria_), where a cattleherd, if caught out at night,
may find a shelter. The inner man being well cared, for at the rancho,
we journeyed on, following the path that led us through a tangled mass
of trees and plants, and among _barrancas_ whose sides were covered
with pines. The timber grew shorter and more stunted as we proceeded,
until, at the height of 12,544 feet, the pines entirely disappeared. A
little farther on, at an elevation of 12,692 feet, we were at the limit
of vegetation. After journeying a league or so over the yielding sand
mixed with sharp stones, twelve of our Indians and our horses gave out.
From this point for a little way farther, our party proceeded on foot,
with the four remaining servants.

"We had gone only a little way farther when two of our fair companions
also gave out, and we sent them back to the rancho with the returning
horses and the fatigued servants, for there was now no time for delay,
if we intended to reach the summit that day. The third lady went
bravely on, and would probably have enjoyed the honor of being the
first woman that had ever ascended Popocatapetl, had it not been for
the unfortunate arrangement she had made in her wardrobe. Instead of
putting on the pantaloons, or _bloomers_, she had added extra skirts by
way of precaution against the cold; so that when she had climbed about
3000 feet over volcanic sand and loose stones, she gave out from
fatigue and the bruises she had received in her numerous falls. It was
a painful effort even for those of us who had no _skirts_ to impede
us to get on; and it was imprudent for her to proceed farther, for the
icicles would be in her way as much as the sand and stones; for these
icicles were like spikes projecting upward from the rocks, and between
which we should have to place our feet and pick our way as best we
could without falling upon them. In this state of things there was no
alternative, and we were reluctantly obliged to dissuade her from
farther effort, and to consign her over to the kind attentions of three
more of our Indians, who had given out, to conduct her down the
mou