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Rh and thus to drag him along between two other horses. Even in this state the utmost caution was requisite; for, in the steeper parts of the road, where the ropes were necessarily relaxed, he endeavoured to throw himself over the precipices, and in more than one instance very nearly succeeded. On reaching Itzmiquilpan, he was bled almost to exhaustion, and finally recovered, although weak and unserviceable for many weeks.

It was nearly nine in the evening when we entered Itzmiquilpan, in consequence of the delay which this accident occasioned; and we must have gone supperless to bed, as all the shops were closed, had we not been provided with a case of preserved meat, which furnished us with an excellent meal. There is no country in which the advantage of provisions in this shape is so frequently experienced as in Mexico. They keep for any length of time without being affected by the heat; and, as the cases are made of solid block-tin, they support the motion of the mule without injuring. When opened, a three-pound case, with an allowance of bread, a few potatoes, if they are to be procured, and charcoal enough to make the canteen kettle boil for a quarter of an hour, furnishes a supper for six or eight people; and the certainty of this is duly appreciated after a ride of fifty miles beneath a vertical sun.

It happened to be the fête of the Patron Saint of the town on the night of our arrival, and nothing