, and Louis had been skinning them. The Doctor said that
there were three species of iguanas in the district, the largest being
green, changing to orange or gray, and its flesh not being eaten, as it
is too sweet; the second species is of medium size, and gray or black in
color; the third is rarer, smaller, and is striped lengthwise; it lives
among the rocks near the coast. The two last species are both eaten,
and are often sold in market. Here we learned, by a casual remark which
Manuel dropped on seeing the ugliest of the hairless dogs, that these
are believed, not only here, but in Puebla, and no doubt elsewhere
through the Republic, to cure rheumatism. In order to effect a cure, the
dog must sleep for three nights with the patient, and the uglier the dog
the more certain the cure. Through Dr. Castle, we also learned that the
Zapotec Indians hereabouts, have many songs, of which the _sandunga_ is
a great favorite. Questioning an indian friend of mine, we afterwards
learned that there are many of these pieces of music which are held
to be truly indian. The words are largely Zapotec; Spanish words are
scattered through the song, and the sentiment is largely borrowed.
Most of the songs are love-songs, and they abound in metaphorical
expressions. Our little trip to Huilotepec was for the purpose of
photographing the curious and interesting _mapa_ belonging to the
village. We rode out over the hot and dusty river-bed road, arriving at
noon. Sending for the _agente_ and _secretario_, we ordered breakfast
and made known our errand. Though it plainly was not to their taste, the
_mapa_ was brought out for our inspection. It is painted on a piece of
coarse cotton cloth, of native weaving, in three colors--blue, red and
black. The places around Huilotepec are indicated by their ancient
hieroglyphs. Several personages of the ancient time are represented in
the conventional manner commonly used in Zapotec writings before the
Conquest. After eating, we placed the _mapa_ against the wall, wrote out
a description of it, and photographed it. Dismay now filled the soul of
the _agente_, and the one _principal_ whom he had summoned for advice.
They talked long and earnestly with me about the _mapa_, and begged me
to assure the _jefe_ that it was no good; that it was not _autorizado_;
that it was _mudo_. To quiet their fears, I was compelled to write a
letter to that effect to be delivered to the _jefe_; if it ever came to
hand, he certain