Chapter VIII: The Federal District

Mexico has reached the pinnacle of her glory as a metropolis, with her palatial buildings, her public offices and her illustrious men in whose hands rests the administration of a great nation. It is an established fact that there are many circumstances which powerfully contribute both toward the development of a country’s material resources and its advancement on the high road to civilization, but at the same time it must not be denied that there are necessary men whose character and ability determine a marked progress on a city’s history and whose brilliant career and worthy deeds impress their seal on the historical period that witnesses their success.

In 1893, the Superior Council of the Government of the Federal District was formed. The important offices were appointed by the President and are held by three distinguished statesmen to whom the Capital City owes much of its progress and advancement: Honorable Guillermo De Landa y Escandon, the President of this Council, which gives him the title of Governor; Señor Guillermo Beltran y Puga, Director General of Public Works; and Señor Doctor Eduardo Liceago, Director General of the Board of Health.

This Superior Council is the principal factor in bringing about the actual improvement of the city. Public parks and gardens, noble buildings, modern lighting equipment, sewerage, streets and avenues, and order and discipline have made Mexico the best regulated city in the world. It is Paris with its beauty and light, London with its busy thoroughfares, Madrid with its color and picturesqueness, and Mexico City alone with its unique characteristics that stand out like a glowing banner of triumph. The population of this city has greatly increased within the past decade. The French, German, Italian, English and American colonies are steadily growing. The modern residential section is very beautiful, homes being erected in a new and pretty style, with gardens of flowers, while the streets are paved and double rows of trees make the avenues on which they are built very attractive. Little parks intersperse and fountains surrounded by tropical plants dot the city, giving it a picturesque appearance.

While Mexico is a modern city, it is not without its charms as a former Aztec capital. With all its marked advancement from centuries of paganism it still holds some of the marks of those times. The aqueduct built in the time of Montezuma, while no longer needed in the vast city, is still retained in part as a _recuerdo_ of former days.

There is a romantic side of the nature of all Mexicans, who never forget the influences of ancient times, and have kept many relics of the oldest civilization of the continent, that enshroud this modern city with a poetic drapery of antiquity, giving it a charm that is irresistible. It has been said that nowhere in the world can a more splendid scene be presented than the first view of Mexico City. Against a magnificent sky that defies all attempts of the painter’s art are outlined domes and spires. Belfrys and towers mark the numerous churches and palaces and the background of tall sierras and lakes all make a picture never to be forgotten. Switzerland furnishes no more grandeur, England and France show no more beautiful villages, all typical of this great wonder-country. The wide, handsome streets are clean, electric lights and street cars are in every part of the city, the busy thoroughfares are alive to public interests, the fashionable districts with their flow of stately carriages, the people in their Parisian as well as native dress, the Indian with his pack or his wares to sell, the call of the vendor as he passes the doorway--all go toward adding interest and charm.

The Castle of Chapultepec, one part of which is a National Military Academy, and the other part the summer home of the President, towers two hundred feet above a grove of ancient cypress trees. It was built in the time of the Viceroy Galvan in the fifteenth century, and stands on a mass of rock on which remain signs of Aztec carvings. From this point the great valley of Anáhuac unfolds itself to view, the noble, snow-capped volcanoes rise majestically above the clouds in the distance; lakes, outspreading villages, fields of green and domes of multi-colored temples lie beneath the vision. The great cypress trees of the Bosque de Chapultepec stand stately and solemn, hoary with the flowing moss, and adorn the deep solitude.

It was here that the great Aztec chieftains met, held their councils and determined on their plan of defence. Here, beautiful Indian princesses kept their tryst with sturdy braves and in the springs that bubble in every nook and corner they sported in all their glory, unaware of the changes soon to come to their primitive lives.

Beautiful avenues lead to the Castle, winding around the ascent, and from salient walls and parapets the bugle call echoes throughout the forest. It is on these avenues that automobiles and magnificent liveries are seen in the afternoon social parade.

Tenochtitlan, which was afterward changed to Mexico, after the God of War, Mexitla, was described by Cortés as being a very large and well populated city. There were imperial palaces, temples of high priests, important public buildings, and many handsome dwellings.

From a razed city of the reign of Montezuma, Cortés and the nobles of Spain had great ambition to make it a beautiful metropolis and some of the buildings now form a most interesting feature of the Capital. On the site of the Aztec monarch’s palace, with its hundred rooms, was laid the foundation of the Cathedral, which stands to-day a magnificent structure of pinkish-gray stone, with marble altars, priceless paintings and rich tapestries. It is five hundred and twenty feet long, and four hundred and twenty feet wide, and the plan is a Latin cross. It was estimated by a Spanish historian that over sixty thousand men had perished in human sacrifices upon its site. When these massive foundation stones were laid, Elizabeth was Queen of England; Philip II. reigned over Spain, Charles IX. in France, Cervantes was writing _Don Quixote_, Titian and Paul Veronese were painting their masterpieces; the Turks were over-running the Plains of Hungary with the intention of wiping Christendom out of existence.

Poland was a mighty empire extending from the Baltic to the Black Sea. Sir Francis Drake was just beginning his career as a navigator. The first pipe-full of tobacco had not been smoked in Europe; there were no telescopes; Shakespeare and Spenser, Beaumont and Fletcher, Ben Johnson and Bacon, were in their prime; and Russia was a savage and insignificant power.

Passing through the Cathedral, on either side there are different apartments filled from floor to ceiling with paintings, statues, vases, huge candle-sticks, waiters and a host of other articles of gold and silver. This too, is only the everyday display of articles of least value; the more costly ones are stored away in chests and closets.

The National Palace is a relic of the days of Cortés and was improved in the course of time by the Count De Revillagigédo and others who reigned after him did much toward beautifying it. It is now the official home of the President and other Government Officials; the Secretary of Finance, the War Department, Federal Treasury, and Public Archives. The Central Meteorological Observatory is on the _Azotea_, and the National Museum and Academy of San Carlos form another part of this great edifice. In this palace the President of the Republic receives his Ministers and the people and on the days of his public receptions the poorest persons meet with a courteous and patient audience.

The Municipal Palace is a splendid remodeled structure where the Governor of the Federal District has his executive office. Its halls and salons contain priceless paintings of the viceroys and Mexican patriots. It is here that all the affairs pertaining to the City Government are conducted, and the Honorable Governor holds his public receptions, and where petitions are heard. Governor De Landa has proved himself an able governor and conducts the City Government with extreme rigor. He has caused many reforms and controls with an iron will everything that comes under his régime. He takes the interests of the people to heart, he makes his city a noted metropolis, condemns and wipes out vices, corrects irregularities. The sanitary conditions of the shops and the excellent police force, said to be the best regulated in the world, owe their reputation to the indefatigable work of Governor De Landa y Escandon. He has a system of controlling traffic to such an extent that the busy hour finds the streets clear of congestion, an example set by this official in the government of a city that could well be imitated by others. In his splendid reception hall the Governor receives all classes of people. Here great ladies and military men rub elbows with the laborer, and his reception of them all is characterized by exceeding good fellowship and courtesy.

He receives the poorer classes who fall at his feet with petitions of mercy, perhaps on the imprisonment of a son or father, and he reassures and consoles, many times giving aid from his own purse, and makes personal investigation of cases brought before him, when others of his exalted position might casually pass them by unheeded. He has established houses of correction, one for boys at Tlalpam, and one for girls at Coyoacan, and the results of this benevolent work have been most encouraging to Governor De Landa. In years gone by, drunkenness and vice were rampant in the city through the excessive use of _pulque_, which was sold extensively, and many crimes resulted from this, but since his election as Governor all of this has been stamped out, and the drink that stimulates the mind of the laborer is now sold in moderation; and the Anti-Gambling Act, passed and put into execution in the early days of his administration, has proved a great blessing to the middle class. An intimate knowledge of this Governor’s character proves that all this interest in the welfare of his people and his city is inspired not by love of notoriety, for he is very modest in his work of reform. The poor and lowly worship him, the mighty respect him, and it is to this man that Mexico owes much of its greatness.

The Museo Nacional is in point of antiquarian value the place of chief interest in the capital. Here are preserved the principal discovered records of prehistoric Mexico; the story of the original inhabitants in stone and on paper of the Maguey plant; here too are very many relics of the periods of the conquerors and the viceroys.

The museum collection originated in a department of the university, which was closed in 1865. The interest taken by the government in the archæology of Mexico has led to many important discoveries during the last twenty years, and by virtue of the law of national ownership in all antiquities found within the republic the museum is gathering all discovered records of the ancient people and country.

Among the Aztec relics of chief interest are the sacrificial and calendar stones. There are here also many monoliths of large size, types of deities worshipped by the ancient Mexican. Of these the idol known as the Goddess of Water is colossal being eleven feet high and weighing nearly twenty tons. It came from Teotihuacan, near the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon. Another hideous idol is that of Huizilopochtli the War God which is ten feet high and three in diameter. The sculptures on these idols are very elaborate. Chacmol, the God of Fire, claimed also as the Toltec Deity Tlaloc, is a symmetrical figure in stone, recumbent, lying on its back and holding in both hands that meet on the stomach a circular disk emblematic of the sun. There is a colossal head in serpentine said by some authorities to be the Goddess Centeotl, by others to be related to the Aztec calendar as evidenced by the shell sculptures, of which there are thirteen in front of the cap and twenty at the back respectively indicating, perhaps, the thirteen sacred days and the twenty civil days of the month.

The great temple of Tenochtitlan was surrounded by a stone wall in which was the wall of serpents, or _cohuatepantli_. Two of the heads of these serpents, colossal in size, are among the relics of the ancient Aztec; so is the “feathered serpent,” or Quetzalcoatl, a sculpture clearly indicating a coiled reptile. Of this latter many smaller examples have been found in various parts of Mexico. The tradition of Quetzalcoatl, the good teacher, who was fair of complexion and wore a long beard, and who prophesied the coming of the white men is elsewhere mentioned. Aztec arms, and missiles and armor and domestic articles and implements offer object lessons of prehistoric life of great service to the student and of fascinating interest to all. Here is a shield worn by Montezuma made of carefully quilted cotton; there the strange drum _huehuetl_, whose sinister sounds carried fear to the Spaniards; here the vicious looking sword with four long blades set in the wooden staff on each of its faces, blades of obsidian, so keen that as Bernal Diaz wrote, they cut off a horse’s head clean.

Then there are the _pinturas_ or picture writings, of which many are preserved. One of the most curious is an ancient Mexican painting of the Deluge, and the dove is there with the olive branch; their tradition of this event largely agreeing with the Scriptural narration.

Of the Spanish period, there is the armor of Cortés--a very precious treasure, priceless indeed, for it was worn by him in all his wonderful battles--the banner of the Conquistadores, arms of soldiers, a helmet and cuirass of the _Tonatiuh_--Pedro de Alvarado--and portraits of viceroys. But the exhibit most venerated among such memorials is the Banner of our Lady of Guadalupe, which Hidalgo took from the Santuario of Atotonilco on that morning of September 16th, when he started out on his war of independence with his ragged patriot army and raised as his standard this banner. His musket and some other personal possessions are here; also, contrasting with these are the state chariot of the Maximilian period and the magnificent and costly dinner service of the same period, which latter was permitted to be used at Juarez on the occasion of the meeting of President Taft and General Diaz in October, 1909.

The mystery of the ancient peoples, traces of whose culture invest them with uncommon interest; the romance of the conquest of powerful and well organized nations by a mere handful of invaders who were absolutely cut off from all communications and means of home support, yet who overthrew vast armies defending their own territories; the wonders of the land opened to the knowledge of the old world; the tale of its treasures transcending the exaggeration of fable; and finally, perhaps of greater interest than all else, the greatness of the republic established by patriot martyrs maintained by the prowess of heroes and at length cemented by a patriotism and wisdom that are the wonder, admiration and illumination of the world; these are among the thoughts aroused in the minds of the musing visitor to this wonderful museum.

The calendar stone was originally set in the great temple of Tenochtitlan, but on the destruction of the latter it remained buried beneath the ruins. On its discovery it was placed in one of the towers of the Cathedral and later, in 1860, was removed to the museum. It is a circular stone of porphyritic character about ten feet in diameter. Tradition asserts that this stone was one of a second pair prepared, the first having broken down the bridge of Xoloc and lost in the lake. The stone was engraved by order of Axayacatl, and at its dedication seven hundred and twenty-eight victims were sacrificed. The hieroglyphs that cover its surface are still only a matter of surmise, though the numeral system of the earlier races has been determined and great steps and considerable advance has been made in determining the order in which the glyphs are to be read. The year was divided for civil purposes into three hundred and sixty-five days, eighteen months of twenty days and a supplemental month of five days after the eighteenth. Puzzling as seems the method of enumeration, the Maya priest could correctly calculate, as Thomas shows in his _Study of the Manuscript Troano_, a period of twelve million three hundred and eighty-one thousand seven hundred and twenty-eight days, and determine the exact year, month and day that will be reached in such calculation.

The general plan of this stone is as follows: A relief sculpture of a human head with the tongue protruded is in the centre, about this are five concentric circles of hieroglyphs, the symbols marking the various divisions of time in the ancient Mexican calendar.

The sacrificial stone is not difficult to associate. Its shape and sculptures around and upon it indicate its ghastly use. In shape it is similar to the calendar stone, circular, eight feet in diameter and four in height; but the sinister basin hollowed out in the top and the canal leading therefrom to the groove at the edge also lead to the conclusion that on this stone the victims of the Aztecs were laid and killed by the priests in sacrifice. The sculptured figures represent the victims of conquering chiefs being dragged by the hair to the place of sacrifice. This monumental stone was found in 1791, near the cathedral and was doomed for the pile of paving stones when its archæological value was discovered and the vandal’s hand was stayed. It is the best sculptured of the antiquities of Mexico.

Among the places of prominent interest is the Monte de Piedad, an institution almost singular to Mexico, having regard to its methods and the extent of its operations. This great national pawn shop was founded in 1774, by the Conde de Regla. He endowed the institution with a gift of over three hundred thousand dollars and the crown approving the institution, business began in 1776, in the old College San Pedro y Pablo. The plan was an eleemosynary one, complementary to the many other charities of the Count. No interest was charged on loans; an arrangement intended to protect the poor from the exactions of the usurers; instead it was expected that the borrower on repaying his loan would make some gift in aid of charity.

For three-quarters of a century the profits were appropriated to the payment of masses for the repose of the soul of the founder, but for the last half a century they have been used in establishing branch institutions in leading cities.

It is a fine building and occupies the site of one of Cortés’s palaces. The staircases are hewn out of huge blocks of lava from Popocatepetl and ornamenting the windows and doors are the hideous heads placed by Cortés in his earlier palace edifice.

The Artillery Museum is under the Department of War, and is a depository of all historic relics of Mexico’s great events. It was founded fifteen years ago and is full of interesting data. The patio is roofed with steel and glass and is converted into an exhibition hall. The high walls are ornamented with alto-reliefs of the Aztec kings. These bronzes are the work of the artist, Jesus F. Contreras, and are said to be the finest in Mexico.

There is a large picture of Hidalgo with the flag used in battle, and a large faded flag used by Cortés. Here you can see the gold pen with which General Escobedo wrote the death sentence of Maximilian, the sword of the Emperor and the brilliant uniform of General Escobedo, complete with helmet and sword. There is also a splendid library which contains many volumes devoted to military science.

The School of Mines, _La Minera_, occupies a palatial structure erected at a cost of two hundred thousand dollars in 1813. The school was founded in 1777, through the munificence, chiefly, of Señor Velasquez de Leon and Lucas de Lasaga. The splendid edifice is the work of Manuel Tolsa whose master hand is seen in the great columned galleries, the noble pillars, stairways and patios. The chapel is an exquisite work, here is a magnificent bronze altar and the lofty ceilings are richly ornamented with frescoes by Rafael Jimeno. The collection of minerals is very valuable and extensive and varied, and forces on the most thoughtless visitor a sense of the immense mineral resources of Mexico. An exhibit of much interest is the meteoric stones, some of which weigh tons that rest under the front portal. These uncanny visitants reached earth in various parts of the republic.

The Plaza de la Constitucion, or Zocalo, as it is called, is the centre of the great city. On this spot stood one of the great Aztec temples, erected to the deity Huitzilopochtli, where human sacrifices were daily offered. One of the fiercest battles ever fought between the forces of Cortés and the Aztecs took place on this spot. It is surrounded by most pretentious buildings. Fifty years ago this was the social centre of the city and a principal place of gathering in the evening for families who, as they do now, in the smaller cities, donned their most becoming toilettes, promenaded and met their friends, and enjoyed the sweet and soulful music for which the Mexicans are so noted. Now the poorer class enjoys this privilege with the military band discoursing the same beautiful strains as if the gayer and higher world was the audience. Starting from this point one can drive straight to the Castle of Chapultepec, a distance of three miles, passing through the principal thoroughfare of San Francisco, with its array of wonderful old churches and time-stained palaces now turned into business houses.

Here stands in its solemn dignity the old Palace of Iturbide, richly carved and retaining much of the beauty of the days when it was built by the Emperor Augustin I. This is now one of the principal hotels of the city, a rendezvous for tourists and students of the country. The Alameda, with its grand old trees, its beautiful walks and its fountains dancing in the sunlight and shade, was once a fashionable park. On Sundays and days of _fiesta_ it was the custom of Mexican society to meet there after church, and enjoy music and social intercourse. Many a charming love affair has grown out of these meetings and Mexico is full of beautiful romances.

Amusement is varied and Mexicans freely embrace the opportunity for diversion. The theatres are numerous and of considerable importance, as well in the life of the people as architecturally. The chief are the Teatro Principal and the Virginia Fabregas; the latter enjoyed the distinction of being the most fashionable theatre until the New Opera House was constructed. It was the home of Italian and French opera and on its stage have been presented the best of Spanish and Mexican dramatic productions.

The Folies Bergères is a new theatre lately opened, and is one of the best in Mexico.

The Arbeu is one of the popular playhouses. The New National Theatre is the work of the noted Italian architect Adamo Boari, and in beauty and design will equal any playhouse in the world. It is of a modern steel construction and the first national theatre absolutely fireproof. The site is one of great historical value as it was on this spot that Cortés retreated on the Noche Triste. It covers a square on Avenida Juarez and is built next to the Alameda and made to harmonize with it. The front is magnificent with statues, flowers and fountains. On each side terraces lead up to the entrances. The theatre is surrounded by lawns and gardens to be kept always green and beautiful. On each side of the theatre is a carriage entrance. The balconies are supported by great marble pillars and columns representing the lyric muse. The interior decorations are exquisite and harmonious in effect. Italian marble and Mexican onyx are seen everywhere.

The _Frontons_ located in many parts of the city are devoted to the favorite Mexican ball game. This sport is ancient in Mexico, it was a favorite pastime of the Aztecs; it was almost a religious custom as the places devoted to the games were consecrated by the priests and the victors were held in very high regard.

Racing is a favorite diversion in Mexico. There are two fine tracks at Indianilla and Penon. Stakes and purses are furnished by the Jockey Club and prizes are provided by the _Ayuntamiento_ and the Department of Fomento of the federal government.

The characteristic, popular national sport is the bull-fight, which in spite of spasmodic efforts to displace it still continues to chain the interest and arouse the enthusiasm of the people.

The Paseo de la Reforma, once a country road, was improved by the Emperor Maximilian. On this avenue a glittering wealth of equipages, spirited horses and automobiles, are seen morning and evening. The glowing sunshine, the contrasting nature-colors in the parks and along the sidewalks add a permanent charm and nothing is more pleasing than seeing Mexican society on días de fiesta, passing back and forth, vivacious, beautiful and elegant. Leading into this avenue are beautiful streets of fashionable homes and in no city of the world are seen more beautiful residences than are found here. Elegance and simplicity, no gaudy display, the Mexican’s home is his palace, and while the exterior is sometimes very simple, the interior, with its courtyard of beautiful flowers and palms, its _salas_ with magnificent appointments and paintings from great masters is not to be excelled anywhere. The exquisite taste of the Mexicans is always in evidence. The women are gowned in the latest Parisian toilettes, their jewels are as precious as those of crowned heads and their entertainments are a glittering and beautiful display of wealth and elegance.

The General Lunatic Asylum is situated in La Castaneda, very near the little suburb of Mixcoac. It is one of the most picturesque spots in the Federal District. Its construction was directed by Lieutenant-Colonel Porfirio Diaz, Jr., son of the President. It has all the advantages of a luxurious home and has many large pavilions. These are modern structures of white stone and cement. The grounds are beautifully laid out with parks, making it one of the attractive features of the little village.

In Mixcoac the Working Man’s Colony is also a monument to the enterprise of Colonel Diaz. He has built modern, sanitary homes at nominal rentals, gives each man a certain amount of land to till, offers prizes of free occupancy to the most successful and in this way the improvident peon is taught a way to earn a living for himself and family. These houses are built on a most attractive plan; bathrooms, bedrooms, parlors and kitchens, unlike the squalid huts that most of the poverty-stricken Indians occupy. It is a plan that has met with great success and the products of some of the gardens have demonstrated the fact that the Mexican Indian is a farmer by nature, and it is thought that this movement will grow and be a valuable aid to that class.

San Angel, Coyoacan and San Augustin, are extremely pretty villages in the vicinity of the lake.

Coyoacan is almost a continuation of San Angel. Both villages serve as a popular summer resort for the rich dwellers in the City of Mexico. It was at this place that Cortés took up his residence for several months after the total destruction of the ancient Tenochtitlan. Here he founded a convent, too; and in his last will and testament he expressed a desire to be buried here, in whatever part of the world he should end his days. This request was not complied with.

Coyoacan was always Cortés’s favorite village, and it is even now one of the prettiest in Mexico, having one of the handsomest village churches in that country.

The Penon baths are one of the great attractions of Mexico.

These boiling springs are said to contain sulphate of lime, carbonic acid, and muriate of soda, and the Indians make salt in their neighborhood much as they did in the time of Montezuma, with the difference, as Humboldt informs us, that they use copper caldrons, while their ancestors used vessels of clay. The solitary-looking baths are ornamented with odd-looking heads of cats and monkeys, which grin upon you with a mixture of the sinister and facetious that is rather appalling.

On one of the sites where these mineral springs are to be found still stands a little church or chapel which dates back to the beginning of the colonial period, and suggests that, like the Pocito de Guadalupe, the Penon waters may have been used, with prayer and supplication, for effecting miraculous cures.

La Viga and the floating gardens or markets form another diverting and intensely interesting phase of life in this unique and poetic land. The canal makes a circle of over eight miles, and presents a scene of unequalled activity and unusual features. One need not look for gardens, as the name suggests, but rather for an aquatic market-place. The gardens are made up of countless boats in motion, filled with every imaginable growth of farm, orchard and vineyard, with garden flowers, fruits, chickens, birds, and all other living and growing things that can be sold. As soon as one leaves the car the crowd surges around imploring the hire of their boats.

The boatmen use only one long oar, with which they pole or scull the craft along. In no other way can be gained so accurate an idea of the varied population of Mexico; in no other way can so many charming effects in costume and personal ornamentation be studied; and certainly nowhere else can such a marvellous array of products of this most marvellous of all countries be seen.

Santa Anita is a peculiar little spot, Mexican in every detail, and a favorite pleasure-resort for the people of Mexico City. It is a town of reed-thatched houses, and everywhere there is a tempting odor of Mexican culinary dainties.

Pulque may be had in various wonderful and insidious styles in which the original flavor is merged in something far more agreeable.

At Ixtacalco are chinampas, with less gayety. A fine old stone bridge crosses the canal at this point, with the ruins of a chapel at the water’s edge, where in the old days the passing boatman muttered an _ave_ and deposited an offering to the patron saint, in the hope that good luck would follow him on his voyage and that his vegetables would sell for a few more _tlacos_ than usual. In front of the church, which is dedicated to San Matías and which has a Franciscan foundation more than three hundred years old, is the customary little plaza with a fountain of running water.

There is a fascination about the capital of Mexico which is peculiar. Western progress in science, art, life, fashions, architecture, government, and facilities and attractions are linked with customs foreign to the life of Europe and characteristics exclusively Mexican. In its splendid avenues and boulevards, magnificent buildings, the lighting and transportation, it vies with European and American cities. It is most cosmopolitan, yet its own charm hangs over all. The churches suggest the Moorish influence. Its floral beauties, in size and color matchless, its rich and peculiar foliage, its wonderful sky, its great guardian mountains, its lakes, that recall the most romantic stories; the historic wonders of the city and its neighborhood; the recollection of great struggles that overthrew successively the cultures of the several peoples that dwelt in the Valley of Anáhuac and whose characteristics are stamped on the people of the present city; nowhere can the picture be duplicated. There is an inexpressible imprint in nature and art that makes Mexico singular. It is found in its buildings, solid, convenient and of even proportions, in styles wonderfully varied but generally ornate. It is pointed out in its flowers, shrubs and trees--the peculiar growth of the land; it is found in the costumes, customs of the people; it is found in the wonderful sky, the great mountains--a something unique in each feature and in the combination of all.

The towering form of Popocatepetl fills the eastern view, its glistening snow covered crest rising above the level of the city ten thousand five hundred feet and almost eighteen thousand above the waters of the gulf, and the magnificent Iztaccihuatl, sheltering and protecting the Valley of San Martin which spreads out in wonderful fertility at their base. Sublime grandeur is the most sober term descriptive of the magnificent setting of Mexico City.