by the Gulf of Mexico, low and flat sandy deserts or
noxious marshes being spread over it, and with a narrow belt of level
land at the base of the mountains on the Pacific shore. A series of
terraces broken by ravines form the sides of a vast table-land,--six
thousand feet above the plain,--which stretches from north to south
throughout the interior, separated here and there by rocky ridges into
smaller plateaux; while vast mountains in several parts rise from their
midst--that of Popocatepetl, the highest in Mexico, reaching to a height
of 17,884 feet, with Orizaba, almost of equal elevation, and several
mountains not much inferior to them, their snowy summits seen from afar,
through the clear atmosphere of that lofty region. Several are active
volcanoes; the most curious being that of Jorullo, surrounded by
miniature mountains emitting smoke and fire, and presenting the wildest
scene of utter desolation. They form pinnacles of the great range of
the Andes and the Rocky Mountains. From the midst of the great
table-land of Anahuac, flows towards the north the river of Santiago,
its course exceeding four hundred miles, passing in its way through the
large lake of Chapala. Some of these table-lands are even eight
thousand feet above the sea. The most lofty is so cold, that during the
greater part of the day the thermometer varies between 42 degrees and 46
degrees. The great table-land to the east of the Sierra Madre has an
elevation which varies from three thousand to six thousand feet. To the
west of that sierra, is the region of Sonora; while eastward, across the
Rocky Mountains, is the great valley of New Mexico, watered by the Rio
Grande del Norte, which has a course of nearly fourteen hundred miles.

We have thus, in Mexico, a region of elevated plateaux with numerous
lofty mountains, steep and broken hill-sides, with deep valleys, watered
by numerous streams, and a wide extent of low, level country under the
rays of a tropical sun. These several regions possess a great
difference in climate, and a corresponding variation in their
productions, and, in most instances, in the animals which inhabit them.
The domestic animals introduced by the Spaniards, have multiplied
greatly, so that vast herds of cattle and horses run wild on the
table-lands and lower tracts. Sheep also abound, especially on the
northern table-lands. The buffalo makes his way to the great plains
bordering the Red River and Arkansas; while