OH, SHOOT! 



attempting to emulate his success. He de- 

 clared there existed among these benighted 

 heathens a senseless prejudice against cameras. 

 They regarded a lens as the devil's eye, and a 

 black box as his abiding place. He offered to 

 buy from us, at a flattering price, any films 

 showing San Bias women. Our ignorance and 

 our optimism amused him. 



On our way to Hyatt's mine we gained some 

 idea of this forbidden country. We were in 

 a magnificent harbor dotted with small 

 islands the upper end of the San Bias ar- 

 chipelago, which extends more than a hun- 

 dred miles to the Colombian line. Mountains 

 stood back from the sea ; the placid sound was 

 guarded by an inner and an outer row of 

 reefs and keys, the latter crowded with coco 

 palms, all huddled together as if to keep their 

 feet dry. These keys were like clean, or- 

 derly, little picnic grounds; they were green 

 jewels ringed with settings of gleaming white. 

 Through the glasses we could see villages of 

 thatched houses and great numbers of what 

 looked like bits of paper blown broadcast by 

 the wind. They were the sails of countless 

 cayucas, heading homeward. 



Our course to Cardi, on the following morn- 



112 



