Page:Appleton's Guide to Mexico.djvu/250

222 meets many pack-trains of mules coming chiefly from Acapulco, which is 290 miles from Pátzcuaro. A train is usually composed of forty mules with five men who act as packers, or cargadores. A day's Journey is sixteen miles. Mules are worth from $35 to $40 in this part of Mexico, and an aparejo, or leathern pack-saddle, costs $5.

The men who accompany the pack-trains usually ride horses, and are armed with the largest size of revolvers. Most of the freight goes northward. It consists largely of the cotton that grows in the State of Guerrero, and which is put up in bales of about 150 pounds each. A good mule will carry two bales all day.

Kegs of brandy, boxes of wine, small wares, and, of course, provisions and cooking utensils for the packers, are also carried by the mule-trains. On the return trip toward the Pacific coast, many of the animals go without a load, so that the tourist can secure transportation for himself and baggage if desirous of going to Acapulco.

As the traveler approaches Ario, a beautiful view is presented from a point about two miles from the town. The "Coast Range," or the southern part of the Sierra Madre, is visible, together with the broad plain at the base, the surface of which is dotted with numerous hillocks or cerrillos. The undulating contour of the table-land, which has just been crossed, can be traced for miles. The most prominent object in the landscape, however, is the lofty mountain to the southward, known as "La Estancia de los Padres," or the fathers' mansion. This picturesque hill is formed of two dome-shaped masses of rock rising from a common base. The slopes are very steep, and the summit appears to be inaccessible from the northern side. Humboldt sketched this mountain while in Michoacan, and a picture of it may be found in his collection of views of Mexico. The observer can also see substantially the same landscape from the Alameda, just outside of Ario, and