Page:Mexico in 1827 Vol 2.djvu/711

Rh frost, and the water with a coating of ice,) and proceeded by Īstlăhūacă to Lerma, where we arrived without any other accident than the loss of two mules, which, having got loose while we were changing the "tiro" of the carriage, made their way to the river, and actually killed themselves by drinking to excess when hot.

We left Lerma on the 23d, about six in the morning, and arrived in Mexico at three, having been much delayed by the carriage, which, I thought, would never reach the summit of Lăs Crūcĕs.

The delight of returning to our beautiful home, after an absence of nearly three months, was great indeed; and the contrast between San Cosme and the villainous abodes to which we had been so long confined, made us regard it as little less than a palace. We were all exhausted too by constant locomotion, having averaged thirty miles a-day during the whole time that we were upon the road. Our horses, which had commenced their expedition fat and flourishing, were reduced to mere skin and bone; yet they all returned; not one knocked up so entirely as to oblige us to leave it behind; and many, after two months of rest, and green forage, recovered their good looks completely, and enabled me to sell them, on my departure, at a very trifling loss. Amongst the mules the damage was more considerable, many of my new purchases having turned out ill; but my original stock returned