ms of waterwear; upon a
mass eight or ten feet across, there will be worn a system of ridges
and intervening channels, which, in miniature, seems to reproduce the
orographic features of the whole country.

[Illustration: WOMEN WITH BABIES; SAN JUAN ZAUTLA]

[Illustration: CAIRN, ON ROAD TO COIXTLAHUACA]

While we were passing over one of these limestone stretches, a little
before reaching the summit, we found a spot of unusual difficulty. The
two pack animals were together, one tied to the tail of the other; the
second had several times acted badly, but in passing over this bit of
road, he jumped and plunged, so that his pack loosened and slid to one
side. Plunging, kicking, and falling, he dragged down the unfortunate
beast to whose tail he was tied; the old rope tugged and creaked, and,
for a moment, we expected to see the very tail of the forward animal
pulled out, and both packs destroyed by the struggling beasts.
Fortunately, at this moment, the rope itself broke. The forward
animal was loosened and quickly quieted; but the other one kicked and
struggled, with our load of plates and developing trays under him.
Quickly cutting the ropes that held the burden, we tried to release the
animal, but it lay exhausted, and, for a moment, we thought it dead.
Really, however, it was not hurt at all, and the loads themselves
appeared undamaged. The burdens having been repacked, we again started
on the journey. At several places on this road, we had noticed cairns,
or heaps of pebbles. On inquiring from Don Manuel--the funny little
man, who had the animals in charge--we learned that every Chocho indian
passing the place adds a pebble to the heap, to secure good luck and
insure his safe return home. At the summit, we found one of these piles
of stone surmounted by a cross, and learned that when the Chochos reach
this spot, they always stop, repeat a prayer, and dance for good health
and fortune before the cross. It was now almost dark. Soon we saw the
downward slope, at the foot of which Huauhtla lay. We hastened down
the slope, passing through a grove of oak trees, heavily loaded with
bromelias; at the foot of the slope, we crossed a stream of clearest
water, bordered with handsome cypress trees, and passing several houses,
came to the one where we planned to stop for the night. It was now dark.
There was no opportunity for sleeping in the hut, and so we prepared
to lie down outside. The people in the house prepared _tortilla