neighborhood of Puebla, and with the Cholulans whose solitary pyramid,—a grand and solemn monument of the past,—still rises majestically from the beautiful plain, he slowly toiled across the steeps of the grand volcanic sierra which divides the valleys and hems in the plain of Mexico. Patiently winding up its wooded sides and passing the forests of its summit, the same grand panoramic scene lay spread out in sunshine at the feet of the American General that three centuries before had greeted the eager and longing eyes of the greatest Castilian soldier who ever trod the shores of America.
In order to comprehend the military movements which ended the drama of the Mexican war, it will be necessary for us to describe
the topography of the valley with some minuteness, although it is not designed to recount, in detail, all the events and personal heroism of the battles that ensued. This would require infinitely more room than we can afford, and we are, accordingly, spared the discussion of many circumstances which concern the merits, the opinions, and the acts of various commanders.
Looking downward towards the west from the shoulders of the lofty elevations which border the feet of the volcano of Popocatepetl, the spectator beholds a remarkable and perfect basin, enclosed on every side by mountains whose height varies from two hundred to ten thousand feet from its bottom. The form of this basin may be considered nearly circular, the diameter being about fifty miles. As the eye descends to the levels below, it beholds every variety of scenery. Ten extinct volcanoes rear their ancient cones and craters in the southern part of the valley, multitudes of lesser hills and elevations break the evenness of the plain, while, interspersed among its eight hundred and thirty square miles of arable land and along the shores of its six lakes of Chalco, Xochimilco, Tezcoco, San Cristoval, Xaltocan and Zumpango, stretching across the valley from north to south, are seen the white walls of ten populous cities