edy for eye troubles.

The tribe has undeniably a certain gift for mechanics. The people are
deft with their fingers and do everything neatly. This shows itself
in their ingeniously constructed wooden locks and in the niceness
with which they stuff animals. They are also very clever in following
tracks, and even recognise the hoof-prints of particular horses among
others in the same trail. They will also tell you that a tired deer
keeps its toes more closely together than an animal just aroused from
its lair. And never do they lose their way in the forest, not even
when drunk. They love to sit among their corn plants, and will hide
among them when strangers approach.

The Tarahumares are inquisitive, and will stand for a long time
looking at you from a distance, if anything unusual attracts their
attention. They are very critical and there is much gossip going on
among them. They also laugh at the Mexicans, and say that the hair on
their faces is like the fur on a bear. Squint-eyes also afford them
much amusement. They are smart, attentive and patient. They have no
qualms of conscience about telling an untruth, but my experience with
them shows appreciation and gratitude for benefits received. An Indian
whom I had occasion to treat to a good meal, many months afterward
at a feast came up and said to me, "You were good to me when I was
very hungry," and he proved his thankfulness by assisting me in
various ways in establishing friendly relations with his people,
which otherwise would have been very difficult to bring about.

Children are bright, and when sent to school learn Spanish
quickly. They also master reading and writing without difficulty. They
are diligent, eager to learn, and very religious, docile, and easily
converted to Christianity.

There is a story about a padre who asked a Tarahumare boy, "What is
God doing in Heaven?" The boy said, "The same as the macaw does in the
tree." The padre asked, "What does the macaw do in the tree?" and
the boy replied, "He eats the good seeds and lets the bad ones
drop." A Mexican asked me if God was going to walk on earth again,
and my Tarahumare attendant remarked, "No, he is now afraid to come,
because people have too many rifles."

When they learn something their ambition runs high, and the boys
always want to become generals and presidents of the republic.

The Tarahumares are careful observers of the celestial bodies,
and know the Pleiades, the Belt of Orion, an