Page:Mexico in 1827 Vol 2.djvu/319

Rh Haciendas from Cuernavaca varies from two to three leagues. The heat, which I found very oppressive after ten o'clock, prevented me from extending my excursions farther, although the beauty of the country, and the abundance of game, (particularly hares and quails,) would have induced me, at any other time, to prolong my stay.

The valley of Cuĕrnăvācă is separated from that of Cūāūtlă by a ridge of elevated ground, commencing a little beyond Ātlăcŏmūlcŏ, and extending about four leagues to the South-east, where it terminates in two singular hills, called Las Tĕtīllăs. From these you descend at once to a lower terrace, which begins at the foot of the ridge, with the village of Yaŭtĕpĕc, one of the most beautiful spots that I recollect having ever seen. The riches of the inhabitants consist in the groves of orange-trees, by which their houses are surrounded, and from which both the Capital, and the town of La Puebla, are supplied with this fruit. One of the numerous streams that descend from the Table-land, runs through the Pueblo, dispensing fertility on every side; a little garden is attached to each cottage; and the brilliant whiteness of these dwellings contrasts, in a very pleasing manner, with the dark green of the orange-trees behind, broken at intervals by the bright hue of the fruit. Yaŭtĕpĕc is about five leagues from Cuernavaca, and four from Cŏcŏyōc, a Hacienda belonging to Don Antonio Vĕlāscŏ, the father-in-law of General Tĕrān, who had the