one might wish to
see. He was teaching her how to read and write, and she had learned
her letters in two months.

The padre, good-natured to officiousness, helped me to get Indians
to be photographed, fie also would insist upon arranging them before
the camera. His efforts, however, were directed more toward achieving
artistic triumph than scientific truth, and he wanted, for instance,
to decorate the Indians with peacock feathers. He yielded, however,
to my suggestion that turkey feathers would be more appropriate,
and straightway ordered one of his turkeys to be caught and deprived
of some of its tail feathers. The only way in which I could show
my appreciation of the disinterested kindness of the family was by
photographing them, too.

It was a new sensation to them, and the ladies asked to have it done
next day, as they wanted to arrange their hair and prepare themselves
properly.

After them it was the turn of the presidente of the village "to look
pleasant," but at this juncture the camera met with an accident. The
ring holding the lens broke and fell out. This happening miles away
from civilisation was decidedly annoying. But the sisters proved
themselves equal to the occasion. Their father having been a tinsmith,
they had picked up the trade and had tools; and the ring was soldered
on so well that it lasted until I returned to the United States the
following year.

Norogachic is situated in the most populous part of the Tarahumare
country, and its presidente exercises authority over the large
surrounding district. He told me that his municipality counted
4,168 souls, among them about 300 Mexicans. With the help of a
very intelligent Mexican I made a rough calculation of the number
of Indians belonging to Tonachic and Guachochic, next neighbours
of Norogachic, and estimated in the former 350, and in the latter
250 families. Counting each family as consisting of eight members,
this would give us a population of 4,800. Thus the most populous
part of the Tarahumare country, including the three municipalities
of Norogachic, Tonachic, and Guachochic, would contain a population
of about 8,500 Indians,

As the presidente of Norogachic is an honourable man and speaks the
native language, he exercised great influence over them, and on one
occasion, when they had gathered in large numbers and threatened to
avenge some abuse, he was able to avert disaster. Nature had endowed
him with the doubtful blessing of bloodsh