now used as a schoolhouse. The priest lived in a
rented house close by the river bank. The house is a double one and the
priest occupied but half of it; those in the other half were hostile to
him and he was anxious to rent the whole place. His neighbors, however,
did not care to leave and threatened vengeance; they were behind a mass
of accusations filed against him with the bishop. His friends rallied to
his support, sent in a strong endorsement, and he remained. The padre
had been industrious while here. Behind his house is the little river,
with a bath-house built over it; crossing in a dugout canoe we found his
garden flourishing, filled with fresh vegetables. The family of pets had
grown; Baldur, Freia, Votan, Doxil--the dogs--were here as at Chila, but
he also had fantail and capuchin pigeons, hens and chicks, ducks
and geese, canary birds, and native birds in cages. Here also were
archaeological relics, plants, beetles and birds for gathering. And here
too, for the first time, I had the opportunity of examining his great
collection of Ecuadorean humming-birds and a magnificent lot of
Guatemalan quetzal skins, among them probably the finest ever collected.

[Illustration: THE PADRE'S HOUSE; MEDELLIN]

[Illustration: THE CHURCH; MEDELLIN]

We left Medellin on January 8th; went by rail to Puebla, then to Oaxaca.
Here we found our friend Doctor Hyde, of Silao, who was nursing Lucius
Smith, in what proved to be a final illness. He aided us in finding
animals and completing preparations for our journey. We secured a large
bay horse for myself, a roan for Ernst, a little mule for baggage. For
my own part, I dislike mules; Ernst and the doctor, however, were loud
in their praise of such a beast; both asserted that a good mule should
sell for double its cost on our arrival at Guatemala City. When,
finally, after inspecting a variety of animals we found one lively,
young one, the doctor was delighted. Taking me to one side, he informed
me that such an opportunity was unlikely to occur again. I yielded and
the little mule was ours. We named the three animals Mixe, Zapotec, and
Chontal, from three tribes through whose country we expected to pass.

The doctor's helpfulness was not confined to advice regarding mules. He
insisted upon our buying various supplies, such as boxes of sardines,
sago, coffee, etc., the utility of which appeared neither at the time
nor later. Also at his suggestion a quart of whiskey was purchased