uildings--The _Plaza_--Social
relations of classes--The City of Mexico--Valley of Mexico--Latitude,
elevation, and temperature--Buildings--Bird's-eye view--The lakes--
Drainage works--Viga canal and floating gardens--General description--
The cathedral--Art treasures--Religious orders--Chapultepec--Pasco de
la Reforma--The President--Description of a bull-fight--Country homes
and suburbs--Colleges, clubs, literary institutions--Churches and
public buildings--Army and Navy--Cost of living--Police--Lighting and
tramways--Canadian enterprise--British commercial relations--The
American--United States influence--A general impression of Mexico.

CHAPTER XI
MEXICAN LIFE AND TRAVEL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

Travel and description--Mexican cities--Guadalajara--Lake Chapala--
Falls of Juanacatlan--The Pacific slope--Colima--Puebla--Cities of the
Great Plateau--Guanajuato--Chihuahua--The Apaches--The _peones_--
Comparison with Americans--_Peon_ labour system--Mode of living--Houses
of the _peon_ class--Diet--_Tortillas_ and _frijoles_--Chilli--
_Pulque_--Habits of the _peon_ class--Their religion--The wayside
crosses and their tragedies--Ruthless political executions--The fallen
cross--Similarity to Bible scenes--_Peon_ superstitions--The ignis
fatuus, or _relacion_--Caves and buried treasure--Prehistoric Mexican
religion--The Teocallis--Comparison with modern religious systems--
Philosophical considerations.

CHAPTER XII
MEXICAN LIFE AND TRAVEL (_continued_) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230

Anthropogeographical conditions--The Great Plateau--The tropical belt--
Primitive villages--Incidents of travel on the plateau--Lack of water--
Hydrographic conditions--Venomous vermin--Travel by roads and
_diligencias_--A journey with a priest--Courtesy of the _peon_ class--
The curse of alcohol--The dress of the working classes--The women of
the _peon_ class--Dexterity of the natives--The bull-fights--A narrow
escape--Mexican horse equipment--The _vaquero_ and the lasso--Native
sports--A challenge to a duel--Foreigners in Mexico--Unexplored
Guerrero--Sporting conditions--Camp life--A day's hunting.

CHAPTER XIII
MINERAL WEALTH. ROMANCE AND ACTUALITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

Forced labour in the mines--Silver and bloodshed--History of
discovery--Guanajuato--the _veta Madre_--Spanish methods--Durango--
Zacatecas--Pachuca--The _patio_ process--Quicksilver from Peru--Cornish
miners' graves--Aztec mining--S