e at once began our work, and before nightfall
had measured and photographed a number of cases.

The next morning, Saturday, all started merrily. After breakfast,
however, Padre Ponce left us, going to Quiroga for celebrating
Christmas. The moment he was gone, work slackened, and it was with
difficulty that we could procure subjects. Early the next morning the
_padre_ appeared to say mass, after which he stirred up the people and
we were again at work. But as soon as he left for Quiroga, once more,
the interest diminished. Finally, as no one came and the officials had
disappeared, we started out upon a tour of investigation. We found the
whole town drunk; the _juez_, the chief of police, the _mayores_, all
were too drunk for measurement. We experimented upon two or three
subjects, but soon gave up in despair.

[Illustration: LOS VIEJOS; SANTA FE DE LA LAGUNA]

Padre Ponce need not have gone to Quiroga for Christmas celebrations; we
had them also. For example, we had _Los Viejos_. One afternoon, we saw a
band of half-a-dozen persons singing in the street. All but one of them
were men or boys dressed in long robes of brilliant red, purple or
green, which were buttoned down the front; their heads were covered with
white cloth, over which were fitted little masks of clay. The last one
in the company was a woman, dressed quite in the usual fashion, but
barefoot and with her _rebozo_ covering her face and a man's _sombrero_
on her head. Two of the party had guitars of local manufacture. This
company strolled through the streets, singing and dancing; some of the
dancing was clog-dance, some the _jarabe_, a man and woman taking part.
Having noticed this group, we saw that the whole town seemed in movement
toward the _corral_ connected with the shrine behind the church.
Following with the crowd, we found the _corral_ already filled with
people. The men were seated on benches or squatting against the walls;
women and children were sitting on the ground. We noticed that all the
women brought burdens, which proved to be pots full of hot _atole_,
bundles of large _tortillas_, trays heaped high with _tamales_, or sacks
full of little cups. Various bands of dancers made their way around,
delighting the crowd with their performances. The group we had already
seen was the least interesting. Those that really represented _los
viejos_ (the old men) were the best. These wore large, comic, wooden
masks, many of which showed signs of long-