ot much interest attached to the study of half-civilised
natives, but the first pure-blooded Tarahumares I met on their little
ranch about ten miles south of Temosachic were distinctly Indian and
very different from the ordinary Mexican family. There was a kind of
noble bearing and reserve about them which even the long contact with
condescending whites and half-breeds had not been able to destroy. The
father of the family, who, by the way, was very deaf, was a man of some
importance among the native ranchers here. When I approached the house,
mother and daughter were combing each other's hair, and did not allow
themselves to be disturbed by my arrival. The younger woman wore her
long glossy tresses plaited in Mexican fashion. She evidently was in
robust health and had well-moulded, shapely arms and an attractive
face, with an eagle nose. She was beautiful, but I could not help
thinking how much better she would have looked in her native costume.

On the road we had several times overtaken donkey-trains carrying
corn to the mines of Pinos Altos. In the small Rio Verde we caught
three kinds of fish: suckers, catfish, and Gila trout, which grow
from one to three feet long, and, according to Tarahumare belief,
change into otters when they are old.

The name of the village of Tosanachic is a Spanish corruption of
the Tarahumare Rosanachic, which means "Where there is White," and
alludes to a number of white rocks or cliffs of solidified volcanic
ash, which rise to a height of some fifty feet and give to the little
valley quite a striking appearance. There are caves in these rocks,
and three poor families of Pima Indians lived in some of them.

In the village we noticed the first Tarahumare plough, the share
of which was made of a section of oak. In its general appearance it
is an imitation of the ordinary Mexican plough, in other words, is
simply a tree stem with a branch as a handle. But, however primitive
in design and construction, the civilised man's implement always has
an iron share. Of course, such among the Tarahumares as can afford
iron shares, never fail to get them; but in several parts of their
country ploughs made entirely of wood, that is to say, ploughs with
wooden shares, are seen. The foremost part of such a plough is cut to
a point, and into a groove made for the purpose a section of tough oak
is inserted, to serve as a share. It is held in place by the tapering
of the groove, and some wedges or plugs. T