of her not recovering, for I felt pretty sure that
she would not do all that I had bidden her, and if she came short in any
one thing I should have an excuse ready to my hand.

But to my surprise she did not come short. For Mamcuna to give up her
cider and her flesh pots, and, flabby and fat as she was, to walk and ride
four hours every day, must have been very hard, yet she conformed to
regulations with rare resolution and self-denial. As a natural consequence
she soon began to mend, at first slowly and almost imperceptibly,
afterward rapidly and visibly, as much to my satisfaction as hers; for if
my treatment had failed, I could not have said that the fault was hers.

Meanwhile I was picking up information about her people, and acquiring a
knowledge of their language, and as I was continually hearing it spoken I
was soon able to make myself understood.

The Pachatupecs, though heathens and savages, were more civilized than any
of the so-called _Indios civilizados_ with whom I had come in contact.
They were clean as to their persons, bathing frequently, and not filthy in
their dwellings; they raised crops, reared cattle, and wore clothing,
which for the caciques consisted of a tunic of quilted cotton, breeches
loose at the knees, and sandals. The latter virtue may, however, have been
due to the climate, for though the days were warm the nights were chilly,
and the winters at times rather severe, the country being at a
considerable height above the level of the sea. On the other hand, the
Pachatupecs were truculent, gluttonous, and not very temperate; they
practised polygamy, and all the hard work devolved on the women, whose
husbands often brutally ill-used them. It was contrary to etiquette to ask
a man questions about his wives, and if you went to a cacique's house you
were expected either to ignore their presence or treat them as slaves, as
indeed they were, and the condition of captive Christian girls was even
worse than that of the native women.

Considering the light esteem in which women were held I was surprised that
the Pachatupecs consented to be ruled by one of the sex. But Gondocori
told me that Mamcuna came of a long line of princes who were supposed to
be descended from the Incas, and when her father died, leaving no male
issue, a majority of the caciques chose her as his successor, in part out
of reverence for the race, in part out of jealousy of each other, and
because they thought she would let them