Page:Mexico in 1827 Vol 2.djvu/212

198 and bad. It was once nearly completed, at the expence of the Veracruz Consulado, in the same magnificent style as the rest of the causeway; but not a vestige now remains of their labours. During the Civil War, the ground between Jălāpă and Pĕrōtĕ was obstinately disputed by the Insurgents, who, in their attempts to cut off the communication between the Capital and the Coast, destroyed every part of the road that was not actually in the possession of the Royalist forces, which were stationed in considerable numbers at Jălāpă. Hence the marks of devastation, which commence at an equal distance above and below the town. We were four hours in reaching Pĕrōtĕ on horseback, although the distance is not above four leagues; and as to the carriages, we left them, as usual, far behind. The road winds almost continually through a pine forest, with occasional clearings, the fences round which serve to show the little value that timber possesses in these districts, as they are constructed with whole trunks of trees piled lengthways, one upon another, in wasteful profusion. These symptoms of the presence of man increased as we approached Pĕrōtĕ. After passing the village of Crūz Blāncă, we passed two large Haciendas, or Farms, surrounded by extensive fields of wheat, barley, and Indian corn, which, when the crop is on the ground, may, I dare say, justify Humboldt's description of their beauty. When we saw them, they had assumed the monotonous colouring peculiar to the Table-land during