Page:Mexico in 1827 Vol 2.djvu/505

Rh immediately upon leaving the Cañada, where there are a few Haciendas de beneficio, and two solitary trees; and continues without interruption until the very summit of the mountain is gained, about 1,600 feet above the level of the plain. The path is very narrow and rocky, without any sort of parapet on the side of the precipice; and as in many places there is hardly room for two persons to pass without touching, accidents frequently occur, particularly at the hours when the mules and asses are descending: from the mines with ores for the Haciendas in the Cañada below. With an excellent horse it took me exactly one hour and ten minutes to reach the Campo Santo, from whence you first obtain a view of the town; and the rest of the party were much longer, particularly the Mexican maids, whose fears prevented them from riding, and who toiled up the whole way on foot. On reaching the highest ridge, you see Catorce immediately below you, in a sort of hollow, beyond which again the mountain rises precipitately above a thousand feet, the course of the Veta Madre, or great Mother vein, being distinctly designated upon it by the buildings annexed to the mines. The situation of the town itself is very singular, as it is intersected by vast ravines, which occasion no little irregularity in the buildings, (many of the houses having one story on one side and two or three on the other,) and surrounded by masses of rock, amongst which the working classes seek a refuge from the inclemency of the