asurements. Having finished with him, I turned again to the
_presidente_. "And what other member of the committee particularly
objects to being measured?" As I spoke, another man was indicated.
Turning to him, I said, "Let us lose no time. Take off your hat and
sandals while I measure you." In an instant the thing was done. The
operation was carried through. Before I had finished with the second
case, the others began to smile and snicker, and when I was ready for
my third subject I simply asked, "Who next?" and they came one after
another without complaint. Having measured all the members of the
committee, I soberly addressed them. "Now, if there is any harm in this
that I have done, you are all as badly off as can be. If I were you, I
would try to get as many other people in the same position as I could;
go out and bring in others." Before noon the work was done, and we were
ready to go on to Juquila.
We rested, however, the balance of the day, and spent a second night at
Ayutla. The day had been given to drinking, throughout the town. It will
be remembered that the village proper lies on a terrace, upon a slope
above the town-house. As we sat before the house, in the afternoon
and evening, we heard from time to time yells and cries above. Some
policemen, who were standing up there to keep order, would then appear
upon the edge of the slope, and, waving their hands, would loudly cry
for help; then the policemen from the town-house would run to their
assistance, and in a little time the party would return, dragging one
or more victims to the jail. This operation continued from early in the
afternoon until late at night; fully fifteen or twenty persons were
brought down from the village to the jail during that time.
We had hoped to find the valley of clouds, and the great cloud cataract,
on the road to Juquila, but were doomed to disappointment. When we stood
upon the summit, looking down into what before had been the sea of mist,
the whole place was clear, and everything, to the very bottom of the
valley, was visible. The further journey seemed more tedious than
before, and the latter part of the road seemed truly endless. There was
not a breath of air; the sun poured its hot rays down mercilessly. Long
before we reached Juquila I felt, for the first time in Mexico, that I
was suffering from fever. After seven and a half hours on the road,
we reached the town at 1:30 in the afternoon, and went at once to the
town-ho
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