n, in which she brings her stuff
to market. These vessels are a specialty of the neighborhood, being made
at Chiapa; they are richly decorated with a lacquer finish, of bright
color. In carrying a baby, the child is placed against one side of the
body, with its little legs astride, one in front and one behind, and
then lashed in place by a strip of cloth, which is knotted over the
woman's opposite shoulder. Almost every Zoque woman is asymmetrical,
from this mode of carrying babies, one shoulder being much higher than
the other. Among the subjects measured, was a woman notable in several
ways. She was the fattest indian woman we had ever seen; she was the
richest of her kind, and not only were her garments beautiful in work
and decoration, but she was gorgeous with necklaces, bristling with gold
coins and crosses; more than this, she was a capital case of purple
_pinta_. The disease is common among the indians of the town, and, while
both the red and white forms are found, purple seems to be the common
type. Sometimes the face looks as if powder-burned, the purple blotch
appearing as if in scattered specks; at other times, the purple spots
are continuous, and the skin seems raised and pitted.

[Illustration: ZOQUE MODE OF CARRYING BABIES; TUXTLA GUTIERREZ]

[Illustration: FAT, RICH, AND PIXTA; TUXTLA GUTIERREZ]

It appears that the adjusting of family quarrels and disputes between
friends are among the duties of the _jefe_. In the office that day, a
quarrel was settled involving two young men related by blood and by
comradeship; a woman and a man of middle age were also interested;
the quarrel had been a serious one, involving assaults, ambushes, and
shootings. The _jefe_ first summoned each of the four persons singly,
going over the whole matter with each one; the more intelligent of the
two combatants was first to be reasoned with; then the woman was called
in and he and she were left together in the office. For a long time,
they would not even speak to each other. Finding this condition, the
_jefe_ reasoned with them, and warned them that they must come to some
conclusion, after which he left them to themselves again. At first
they would not speak, but finally held a conversation, and came to an
understanding; the old man was then called in and made to talk the
matter over with the two, who had already been in conference. Lastly,
the more belligerent youth was summoned, the _jefe_ remaining in the
room with the who