Page:The Rambler in Mexico.djvu/217

Rh of road over the wide undulating surface of the sandy plains brought us towards evening at our halting place, Ojo de Agua; a posada built at a spot where a clear and abundant stream issues forth from the foot of a mass of volcanic matter, and forms a green oasis in the middle of the desert. Till the afternoon of this day, we had been unable to catch a glimpse of the great cone of Orizava, towards the northern extremity of whose chain we were gradually approaching. The weather had been dull and hazy ever since we reached Cholula, whence we should otherwise have been able to descry it. Now, as we trotted slowly over the plains, our eyes were busily engaged in searching among the shifting layers of light cloud which rose above the distant horizon, for some indication of his presence. One bright spot after another was the production of much speculation and ultimate disappointment; at length, about two hours before we reached our resting place, we became unanimous in believing that a certain indistinct whitish mass, high up in the smoky atmosphere, formless and vague as it was, could be no other than the object of which we were in search; and true enough, as the sun went down behind us, and the air cleared, we saw it become brighter and brighter; and, in fine, shaking aside its veil, the colossal cone stood before us in majesty, at the limit of the table land over which it soared to the perpendicular height of ten thousand feet.

As we proceeded over the almost interminable plains the following day to Perote, it stood revealed in all its sublimity, as well as the whole of the chain with which it is connected. This range is terminated to the north by the extinct volcano called the Cofre de Perote. A sudden change in the air about noon, which we were all sensible of, was immediately recognised as indicating a norte on the coast. At Perote we arrived towards evening, after halting for two hours in the vicinity of an isolated volcanic mass, called the Cerro de Pizarro.

Perote is a small decayed town, with a fort, or rather a depot, in the vicinity, situated at the height of 7691