them
slept through the night in the open market-place. The band played a
mournful piece, repeatedly, during the evening, and some rockets were
fired--no doubt, the tailing-off of the late fiesta.

[Illustration: CLOSE OF MARKET, TENEJAPA]

Market had begun in the morning, as we prepared to leave, but the
great plaza was not more than half-full, and there was little that was
characteristic. Noteworthy, however, were the great loaves of salt made
at Ixtapa; about the size of old-fashioned sugar-loaves, they were
shaped in rush-mats, and showed the marks of the matting on their
surface; saws were used to cut off pieces for purchasers. The _agente_
said that it was not good, being mixed with earth or sand. He, himself,
came from the neighborhood of Tapachula, where quantities of salt are
made from the lagoon water. The salt-water and the salt-soaked earth
from the bottom of the lagoon are put into vats and leached, and the
resulting saline is boiled in ovens, each of which contains an _olla_.
The industry is conducted by _ladinos_, as well as indians, but the salt
is poor.

It was 8:45 when we started, and almost immediately we began a hard
climb over limestone, giving a severe test to our poor animals. At the
summit we found a group of indian carriers, who, as usual, stopped
at the pass to rest and look upon the landscape. The view was really
beautiful, the little town lying in a curious, level valley, which was
encircled by an abrupt slope, and which had been excavated from an
almost level plateau. For some time, we followed this high level, but
finally plunged down into a deep gully, where our road passed away
to the left in a dry gorge, while to the right, the valley deepened
abruptly by a great vertical wall. When we reached the point of sudden
deepening, in the gorge below, we saw water, bursting in volume from the
cliff's base. Dismounting from our horses, and climbing down, we found
a magnificent arch of limestone over the emerging stream, the water of
which was fresh and cold, and clear as crystal. The shallow portion of
the valley marks the ancient level of the stream. In some past time, the
stream had sunk, cutting a subterranean channel under its old bed, which
was left high and dry. The deep part of the valley may be due to the
falling of the roof of rock above the subterranean stream. Following up
the ancient valley, we presently turned into one of its old tributary
gorges, coming out into a country well-w