Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1865-06-27

carries VOC even beycrd PGcbls The Stage
soon came %. and ve entered gladly for the sake
Of the warmth inside. finding our dismeters
diminished By the cold. The resi- Of the journey
was through arid plains. slightly cultivated with
barley. Here the msguey (a9are MeIieana) was
ueed as hedge: and at the relays Ne began in
dslgiag in Dslqns, the fermenied drink obtained
from that plant. We found il refreshing, though
at fret not very pAlatable. Attwelve We reached
San Agastibe del Palma, where a most excel
lent breakfast OF more than eight dishes, With
fruit. dessert and coffee. awaited rs. We only
paid one dollar. the usual price on the road. for
il. We soon continued our route, and az dusk
entered Paebla. Dark "a IL was, we could still
distinguish the ravages Of the siege by the
French. Finding that their direct assault failed
they mined whole squares. and blew them up.
This system OF warfare was unknown, at ell
events in practice, to the Mer,cans. who did
not or could not countermine. The want Of
powder NAV have been the cause.
A good supper soon restored Bs, and / sailed
forth TO see the ruin caused by the siege, as the
principal attack was made from the opposite
side TO the entered. Almost from the
Plaza itselfve began to see the destruction
caused By the bombardmeut, though near the
centre much has been repaired. As We receded
from the centre Of the city, the terrible effect Of
the mnes was visible Right through the middle
Of the blocks OF houses immense rents were per
ceptible. whilst tottering walls stand on each
side, vide enough for a carriage to pass. The
scene OF des0laton was most terrible, a. did
not cover isolated houses alone, but square after
square. The destruction Of property must have
amounted 10 many millions. and will take long
before Puebls win recover from the effects Of
this memorable siege. We returned 10 our
rooms. and slept soundly until awakened TO start
At three After the usual cup Of chocolate, We
lett once more 10 pursue our tires0me journey.
The road was good and q: daylight we were Eve
leagues from Pueba We were now in the val
lev OF San Martin, famous for It's large fields Of
wheat which met our eye Thousands of acres
are arti6cially irrigated, and yields most bouD-
teous crops. This valley is most advantageously
situated from its proximity TO the City of Mexico
and that Of Puebla, where it has ready market
for its productions. At o'clock We arrived st
the village Of San Martin. where we got another
cup OF chocolate AT noon We arrived at River
Frio; here the cold was severe. as had been
ascending for some time. Pine forests sur
rounded Us on all sides, and the proximity OF the
two volcanoes with their large bodies OF snow,
gives TO this region the temperature OF the Nor
thern cline. We had luxurious breakfast,
well cooked and well served and were soon on
our way. The ascent was now very steep-up
abrupt mountains and down steep declivities-
in which there was perpetual race between the
mules and the stage, with odds in favor OF the
latter. The velocity sometimes fearful. but
fortunately the road was in tolerable repair; and
after some alarm for our bones, we at last reach
ed the highest point of the pass of Rio
Frio-l0 900 feet above the level OF the sea
From this point. while the mules were breathing
could see the far famed Valley of Mexico.
with its silver lskes-small villages everywhere
dottng its surface-whst long avenues of trees
indicated the roads. To our left the volcano
lytacihaayitle. covered with snow, almost seem
ed within reach. though twenty miles distant,
entirely covering the gigantic Popocatepetel.
The volcano here presents the figure of a shroud
ed female-hence its name. The White Wo
man." The air was so rare that We could dis
tinguish small objects at a distance. and the
mirage rising from the lakes took most wonder
full tints and forms The cold was piercing, so
drawing up our shawls, we began our last descent.
which carried US TO the city of Mexico. where
we arrived at 5 o'clock.