us batata_), chile, melons, and
the calabash. On one side of the clearing there is a hut--a sort of
shed. A few upright poles forked at their tops; a few others laid
horizontally upon them; a thatch of palm leaves to shadow the burning
rays of the sun--that is all.

In this shadow there are human beings--men, women, children. They wear
rude garments of white cotton cloth; but they are half-naked, and their
skins are dark, almost black. Their hair is woolly and frizzled. They
are not Indians, they are not negroes, they are "zamboes"--a mixture of
both. They are coarse-featured, and coarsely clad. You would find it
difficult, at a little distance, to distinguish their sex, did you not
know that those who swing in the hammocks and recline indolently upon
the palm-mats (_petates_) are the men, and those who move about and do
the work are the females. One of the former occasionally stimulates the
activity of the latter by a stroke of the "cuarto" (mule-whip).

A few rude implements of furniture are in the shed: a "metate" on which
the boiled maize is ground for the "tortilla" cakes; some "ollas" (pots)
of red earthenware; dishes of the calabash; a rude hatchet or two; a
"machete"; a banjo made from the gourd-shell; a high-peaked saddle, with
bridle and "lazo"; strings of red-pepper pods hanging from the
horizontal beams--not much more. A lank dog on the ground in front; a
lean "mustang" tied to the tree; a couple of "burros" (donkeys); and
perhaps a sorry galled mule in an inclosure adjoining.

The zambo enjoys his _dolce far niente_ while his wife does his work--
what work there is, but that is not much. There is an air of neglect
that impresses you; an air of spontaneity about the picture--for the
yams and the melons, and the chile-plants, half choked with weeds, seem
to grow without culture, and the sun gives warmth, so as to render
almost unnecessary the operations of the spindle and the loom.

The forest opens again, and another picture--a prettier one--presents
itself. It bears the aspect of a better cultivation, though still
impressing you with ideas of indolence and neglect. This picture is the
"rancho", the settlement of the small farmer, or "vaquero"
(cattle-herd). Its form is that of an ordinary house, with gables and
sloping roof, but its walls are peculiar. They are constructed of
gigantic bamboo canes, or straight poles of the _Fouquiera splendens_.
These are laced together by cords of the "pit