ups and downs, we journeyed
through fine pine forests, with oaks mingled, here and there, among the
pines. We met quantities of Chamula and Tenejapa indians on their way to
market. The Chamulas carried chairs, loads of well-tanned skins, and
sacks full of little, round wooden boxes, well and neatly made, while
the Tenejapes were loaded with nets of oranges, _limas_, and
_ahuacates_. We were sorry to leave the village of Chamula to one side,
but lack of time forbade our visiting it. It was amusing to note the
terror of our _arriero_ on the road. Until we passed Cancuc, he was
constantly expecting attack from the dreadful indians of Chamula,
Tenejapa, and Cancuc, telling us that such attacks might be expected at
any time, but particularly in the early morning and in the dusk of
evening. What indians we met were most gentle, and answered our
salutations with apparent kindness. After a long journey on the high,
smooth road, we finally began descending into a pretty valley, and soon
saw the great town of Tenejapa, below us, on a space almost as level as
a floor, neatly laid out, and still decked with the arches erected for a
recent fiesta. The _agente_ of the town had been warned of our coming,
by telephone from the _jefatura_, and received us warmly, a little
before one o'clock, giving us a large and comfortable room in the
municipal building, supplied with chairs and benches, and a table,
though without beds or mats. We were here delayed by the slowness of the
old man, who had been furnished at San Cristobal for carrying our
instruments. By three o'clock, all was ready, and the twenty-five women
were summoned. They gave no kind of trouble, and by six o'clock the work
was done. Women here braid their hair in two braids, which are wrapped
about closely with cords, making them look like red ropes; these are
then wound around the head and picturesquely fastened. The _huipils_ of
cotton are short, and decorated with scattered designs, worked in color,
and loosely arranged in transverse bands. Belts are of wool, red in
color, and broad, but not long. Over their shoulders the women wear,
particularly in cool weather, a red and blue striped cotton shawl or
wrap. The red worn--whether in belts, wraps, or hair-strings--is all of
one shade, a dull crimson-red. As night fell, dozens of little bonfires
were lighted in the plaza, made from cobwork piles of fat-pine. People
were already gathering from other pueblos for market, and many of