ral
houses are set irregularly within a single enclosure; the walls are
built of poles set upright, but these are so heavily daubed with a
mixture of mud and chopped straw that they are strong and durable. In
applying this daub, the hand is used, and a simple block of wood of
rectangular form, with a projecting edge extending midway of the upper
side, is used as a trowel for spreading it, and giving it a smooth
finish. The thatchings are thick, and project far beyond the walls; they
are of palm, and neatly cut at the edges; a cresting, thin, but evenly
placed and firmly pegged down, projects over the ridge, down either
slope, and its edges form the only break in the smooth surface. Many of
the houses had _temascals_, differing considerably from those of Puebla
and Tlaxcala. They are rectangular; the walls are built of poles,
set upright, close together, and strengthened by being lashed to a
horizontal timber set midway of their height. The roof is a round vault
or arch of poles set lengthwise. The whole is neatly plastered over with
a mixture of mud and chopped straw, and in the front a cross is worked
in the clay mixture, to insure good fortune. The women here wove cotton
in the usual indian fashion, but few wore the old dress, and those few
were mostly aged. We noticed quantities of pottery here, and throughout
the Huaxteca, but none of it is local in manufacture. Most of it has
come from the two towns, Huejutla, an Aztec town, and Panuco. We were
forced to spend a third night at Tamalin. The _secretario_ had been at
home for two days and had fairly done his duty; still, our animals were
late when we were ready to start the following morning, and we were not
off until 9:30. It was a steady climb, over a long series of ascents,
until we reached a crest from which Tancoco could be seen. We made
a long descent and then a little upward climb to the town, which is
notable for its cleanliness and the industry and cleanness of its
inhabitants. The town is situated upon a little hill, from which one
looks out on a sea of green forests, with little rocky hillocks covered
with trees rising from it, here and there, like wooded islands. Between
us and Tamalin rose a semi-circle of ridges, sweeping from us off to the
left and forward in the distance. In front, near the top of this curve
of ridges, two leagues distant, lay Amatlan, clear and impressive, from
this point. Riding up to the little town-house, which had a portico
enclose