he share has naturally to be
renewed quite frequently, but it serves its purpose where the ground
is not stony. Later on, in Cusarare, Nararachic and other places,
I found ploughshares of stone applied in the same manner as were the
wooden ones.

Here at an elevation of 7,600 feet, and at the end of February,
I saw the first flowers of the year, some very fresh-looking yellow
_Ranunculus_. On crossing the ridge to Piedras Azules, sixty-odd miles
south of Temosachic, a decided change of climate and vegetation was
noticeable. I found another kind of _Ranunculus_, as well as various
other flowers, and as we passed through a small but gorgeous canon,
with the sun shining against us through the fresh leaves of the
trees, everything in Nature made the impression of spring. All was
green except the ground, which was gray. The road was stony, and bad
for the feet of the animals; altogether the country presented a new
aspect with its small volcanic hills, many of them forming cones.

A few Indian hamlets surrounded by peach trees in full bloom were
found here. The Indians here are Pimas, who, in their general
characteristics, resemble the Tarahumare, although they impress you
as being less timid and suspicious, and more energetic, perhaps also
more intelligent, than the latter. We had no difficulty in taking some
photographs. Among those who agreed to have their pictures taken was a
dignified, courteous old man, who thought he was a hundred years old,
but was probably only eighty. He showed me some scars on his body,
which were a souvenir from a fight he once had with a bear.

In order to see more of the Southern Pimas I went to the near-by
village of Yepachic, which I think is also a Tarahumare name, yepa
meaning snow. There are, however, more Mexicans than Pimas in the
village, and the presidente was a half-caste Tarahumare; he was once
a shepherd, but had made money by trading mescal to the natives--six
bottles for a cow.

Although the Pimas whom I visited in the neighbourhood, were very
reserved, and even more Indian-like than the Tarahumares I had seen
so far, still in their dress they showed more traces of advancing
civilisation than the latter tribe. Everything here betrays the
nearness of the mines, with the characteristic accompaniment of cheap
clothes, cheap, tawdry jewelry, and a slight influx of iron cooking
utensils. The Pimas, like the Tarahumares, use pine cones for combs;
and we picked up several discarded o