watch that he does not remain with the
"neighbours." He has learned the language tolerably well, and has
risen to such importance that the gobernador, as I saw myself,
visited him every morning, asking his advice in every movement.

These Indians visited me all day long, accompanied by their wives
and children, undauntedly seating themselves in front or outside of
my tent. In response to my expressed desire to see and buy articles
made by them, they brought me, during my short stay here, girdles and
ribbons of wool or cotton, as well as a great variety of bags of all
sizes, knotted from twine of maguey fibre.

The people here do business on a basis entirely different from
that of the "neighbours," inasmuch as they have a fixed price for
everything. There is no bargaining with them; when they have once told
the price of a thing (and it is always a high one), they adhere to it
firmly, and as money is no object to them, they make trading rather
difficult. On my tours among the people, I found them hospitable. They
always asked me to come in and sit down, and they have good manners.

The one thing they strenuously objected to, and which they were deadly
afraid of, was the camera, and it took Don Crescencio's and my own
combined efforts for five days to induce them to pose. When at length
they consented, they looked like criminals about to be executed. They
believed that by photographing a person I should be enabled to carry
his soul off to eat it later, at my ease, if I chose. They would die
as soon as their pictures arrived in my country, or some other evil
would result, anyhow. The women disappeared like frightened quails,
when I was about to perform the dreadful operation on the men. However,
most of them returned to see how their spouses stood the painful
ordeal. When I then asked for some women to pose, they ran away,
in spite of the demonstrations of the men; only three sturdy ones
with "great souls" remained and were "taken" after having been duly
"shaken" with fears.

The Tepehuanes feel at home only in their ranches. They clear land in
the numerous little valleys of which their rugged country consists,
and plant corn in places where no plough could ever be used.

They always have sufficient corn for their wants. Their store-houses
are square upright cribs of bamboo sticks held in place with withes
on a framework of pine poles. Sometimes they stand at considerable
distances from the dwellings. The floor is rais