uster of the
glorious tulipan, quite by itself, looked like a tree on fire, so
glowing was its scarlet bloom.

The streets of the town are in tolerably good condition, paved with lava
once vomited from the neighboring mountain, now so quiet. The gutters
are in the middle of the thoroughfares, and the sidewalks are only a few
inches in width. Carts or wheeled vehicles of any sort are very little
used, freight being carried almost wholly on the backs of burros and
Indians. All vegetables, charcoal, wood, and country produce come into
town on the backs of sturdy, copper-colored natives, men and women, and
it is really astonishing to see what loads they will carry for long
distances over the mountain roads at the rate of five or six miles an
hour. Humboldt, in his description of these Indians, tells us that they
enjoy one great physical advantage which is undoubtedly owing to the
simplicity in which their ancestors lived for thousands of years. He
referred to the fact that they are subject to hardly any deformity. A
hunchbacked Indian is not to be seen, and it is very rare to meet a
maimed or a lame one. Their hair does not grow gray like that of white
men, nor do their faces grow wrinkled as they become old. The absence of
deformity is also supposed to be owing to their general mode of life,
simple food, living in the open air, and temperate habits. Their
ivory-white teeth contrast strongly with their black hair and bronzed
features. The country people rarely indulge in pulque, never unless when
they come to town, and they have too little money to throw it away in
the purchase of much of even that cheap liquor. It is said that its
injurious effects upon the system are very trifling compared to those of
American whiskey. It seems to be little more than a powerful narcotic to
those who drink of it freely. The strong distilled liquor made from the
roots of the maguey plant is quite another article, and is more like
Scotch whiskey in effect.

If you rise from your couch early enough in the morning, you will see
many Indian men and women coming in to market from the country, all
bending under the weight of provisions, pottery, or some other home
product. You will see the women (industrious creatures) knitting or
netting as they jog along. And near them long trains of burros laden
with grain, alfalfa, straw, or wood. You will see some dark-eyed,
coquettish girls with inviting bouquets for sale; also here and there a
pretty sen