ck. The
women made no demur whatever to being measured, but everyone, who
presented herself for the operation, came dressed in her best clothing,
with her hair elaborately braided, and showed serious disappointment and
dissatisfaction if not invited to be photographed.

[Illustration: MAZATEC WOMEN; HUAUHTLA]

[Illustration: HEAVY BRAIDS; MAZATEC WOMEN; HUAUHTLA]

The town has a most curious reputation, as devoted to commerce, and not
to manual labor. In fact, it is considered disgraceful for a man of
Huauhtla to indulge in work. The people of San Lucas, the nearest town,
and a dependency, are, on the other hand, notably industrious, and it
is they who carry burdens and do menial work for the lordly Huauhtla
people. Mrs. de Butrie told us that she tried in vain to get a cook in
the village. The woman was satisfied to cook and found no fault with the
wages offered, but refused the job because it involved the carrying of
water, and she feared lest she might be seen at such ignoble labor. Mr.
de Butrie a while ago bought a set of shelves from a man who had them in
his house. As they were dirty, he suggested that they must be cleaned
before he would receive them. The seller said, very well, he would send
for a man of San Lucas to clean them. It was only lately that they
condescended to carry stuff to Teotitlan to sell. In the town-house they
cherish two much-prized possessions, the _titulo_ and _mapa_ of the
town. The former is the grant made by the Spanish government to this
village, in the year 1763. It is an excellently preserved document in
parchment and the old writing is but little faded. As for the _mapa_, it
is a strip of native, coarse cotton cloth, seven feet by three feet nine
inches in size, with a landscape map of the surrounding country painted
upon it in red, yellow, black and brown. It is a quaint piece of
painting, with mountains valleys, streams, caves, trees, houses,
churches and villages represented on it with fair exactness. It was
probably painted at the same time that the _titulo_ was given to the
village.

The morning after our arrival, we witnessed a quadruple indian wedding
in the church at seven. The brides were magnificent in the brilliant
_huipilis_, and the godmothers were almost as much so, with their fine
embroideries. The ceremony was much like that at Coixtlahuaca, already
described. The bride put a silver ring upon the groom's finger, and
he did the same by her; the priest put money in