Page:Mexico in 1827 Vol 2.djvu/222

208 the smaller towns, where, whatever was done, was done spontaneously by the inhabitants themselves, and not under the direction of the Government, as was the case at Jălāpă and Veracruz.

The population of Hŭămāntlă does not exceed three thousand souls. The town ranks as second in the district of Tlăscălă, to which it belongs; indeed, it is but little inferior in importance to the Capital itself, which has now "fallen from its high estate," and does not contain above four thousand inhabitants: a sad change from the days when it set at defiance the whole power of Montezuma, and baffled, for some time, the efforts of Cortes, to force a passage through its territory.

On leaving Hŭămāntlă, which we did not accomplish until a very late hour, it being three o'clock before dinner was concluded, we took the road to Acocotlan, a large Hacienda about five leagues from the town, at which we found that we were to sleep. Our ride was a beautiful one, as our guide conducted us through a rich country, at the foot of the Mălīnchĕ, a mountain which forms the connecting link between the Volcanos of Mexico and that of Ŏrĭzāvă, and at the same time disseminates fertility throughout the surrounding district by the numberless streams which descend from its summit. From whichever side the Mălīnchĕ is seen, its figure is always a perfect cone: its slope produces some of the finest wheat known in Lă Pūēblă; and lower down, wherever the mountain-torrents afford any