of burthen, or an antiquated clumsy Mexican coach, were the only means of travelling. Of these, the litera, a species of palanquin in which the traveller reclined at ease upon his mattress and cushions, was by far the most comfortable, and the use of this convenient vehicle is still continued especially in the warmer parts of the country where exposure to the sun is dangerous, and into which the modern diligence or stage coach has not been introduced from the factories of the United States. In many portions of Mexico, where the transportation has been for centuries carried on by Arrieros with their mules and jackasses, scarcely any thing of the original road remains, while the path that has been so long trodden by the single file Atajos of these useful beasts has been worn so deeply by their feet in the yielding soil or rock, that the animals themselves are often concealed by the steep sides of the gully. Thousands of sturdy Mexicans have for years been employed as Arrieros in this business of mule-carriage. The "Conducta" is recognized as one of the traditionary, time honored, and almost constitutional institutions of the Republic, and it may easily be conceived that with so powerful a body of honest, industrious men opposed to any new scheme of transportation,