ht-colored handkerchiefs, and a helmet or cap of bright-red
stuff from which rose a crest of macaw feathers, tipped with tufts of
cotton. On his back, he bore a kind of pouch, the upper edge of which
was bordered with a line of macaw feathers. In his hand, he carried a
wooden war-axe. A pretty little girl, dressed in a Guatemaltec _enagua_,
wore a fancy head-dress, and, in her hand, bore a _jicara_, which was
filled with pink carnival flowers. These two dancers faced each other
and in dancing moved slowly back and forth, and from one foot to the
other; the only other dancers were two men, one of whom was dressed as,
and took the part of a woman. This couple danced in much the same way,
but with greater freedom than the chief persons, and at times circled
around them. The music consisted of a violin and native _pito_ or pipe,
and a drum of the _huehuetl_ type,--cut from a single cylindrical block,
but with skin stretched over both ends instead of one.

I was surprised the following morning when thirty-six subjects were
produced; we knew that, for the moment, the building operations of the
government palace were discontinued, and we suspected that all the work
done by indians in Tuxtla was likewise temporarily ceased. When the last
one had passed under the instruments, the _jefe_ heaved a sigh, rang his
bell for glasses, and the event was celebrated by a final draught of
cognac.

[Illustration: ZOQUE DANCERS; TUXTLA GUTIERREZ]

[Illustration: TZENDALS FROM TENEJAPA; COLD HANDS]

The man with whom we had expected to arrange for animals had promised to
come to the hotel at seven. He came not then, nor at half-past, nor at
eight, nor at nine. When we sent an inquiry, he made the cool reply,
that it was now too late to arrange matters; that he would see us at
eight the following morning. Furious at his failure, we ourselves went
with the boy from the hotel at ten o'clock to his house, but could not
get him even to open the door. "To-morrow! To-morrow!" was his cry.
Desperate, we went, although it was now almost midnight, to another
_arriero_, who, after some dickering, agreed to leave at eight the
following morning, charging a price something more than fifty per cent
above the usual rate. Of course he was behindhand, but we actually set
out at nine.

CHAPTER XXV

TZOTZILS AND TZENDALS

(1901)

We started out over the hot and dusty road, passing here and there
through cuts of the white earth, which is used by