will live. But what made us notice these Nopals was, that they were
covered with what looked like little white cocoons, out of which, when
they were pressed, came a drop of deep crimson fluid. This is the
cochineal insect, but only the wild variety; the fine kind, which is
used for dye, and conies from the province of Oajaca, miles off, is
covered only with a mealy powder. There the Indians cultivate great
plantations of Nopals, and spread the insects over them with immense
care, even removing them, and carrying them up into the mountains in
baskets when the rainy season begins in the plains, and bringing them
back when it is over.

On Friday, the 14th of March, at three o'clock in the morning, we took
our places in a strong American-built diligence, holding nine inside,
and began our journey by being dragged along the railroad--which was
commenced with great energy some time ago, and got fifteen miles on its
way to the capital, at which point it has stopped ever since. When day
broke we had left the railroad, and were jolting along through a
parched sandy plain, thinly covered with acacias, nopals, and other
kinds of cactus, bignonias, and the great tree-euphorbia, with which we
had been so familiar in Cuba, with its smooth limbs and huge white
flowers. At last we reached the first hill, and began gently to ascend.
The change was wonderful. Once out of the plain, we are in the midst of
a tropical forest. The trees are crowded close together, and the
convolvulus binds their branches into an impassable jungle, while ferns
and creepers weave themselves into a dense mass below; and here and
there a glimpse up some deep ravine shows great tree-ferns, thirty feet
high, standing close to the brink of a mountain-stream, and flourishing
in the damp shade.

Indian Ranchos become more frequent as we ascend; and the