"Disappointed in one of the objects of our journey, we settled down to an enjoyment of the sights of the canal; but our pleasure was a good deal marred by the number of smells the boatmen stirred up from the bottom.
RESIDENCE ON THE BANKS OF THE CANAL.
"How old the canal is nobody can tell; it was in use long before the Conquest, for when Cortez came here the boats of the Aztecs were plying on its waters, and he observed the activity of the local commerce when he walked along the banks while he was the guest of Montezuma. There are little villages near the canal; they are the homes of the people who till the gardens and supply the markets of the city with vegetables, and with grass for horses and other quadrupeds.
SUNDAY DIVERSIONS AT SANTA ANITA.
"To see the chinampas it was necessary to go to Santa Anita, or better still, to the lakes Xochimilco and Chalco. Santa Anita is a sort of Coney Island without its ocean, a place of recreation for the middle and lower classes, especially on Sundays and feast days. We went there on a week-day, when it was comparatively quiet; a gentleman who lives here says that on Sunday the place is crowded with people, all bent on amusing themselves. The first thing they do on arriving is to deck themselves with wreaths of poppies and other flowers, which are sold for next to nothing and grow here in great abundance. After obtaining a supply of flowers they dance, drink pulque, eat tamals and other Mexican delicacies, and have a thoroughly good time as they understand it. There are other villages of the same sort farther along the canal, but they are not so well patronized by the Sunday excursionists as Santa Anita.