THE ISTHMUS OF TEHUANTEPEC 



1001 



enormous sum of 20 pesos. The manner 

 in which the thread is dyed is in itself 

 costly and tedious, and, when woven, is 

 well worth the price. 



There is a little cove on the Pacific 

 coast, about two days distant from 

 Tehuantepec, where the Huave Indians 

 go laden with skeins of coarse thread. 

 Here they wait until the tide is far out 

 V and then paddle off in little boats to a 

 group of rocks some distance from the 

 shore. These rocks are covered with a 

 certain species of small mollusks, Aplysia 

 depilans, clinging fast to the rocks. The 

 men quickly pry off and blow into the 

 little shells, whereupon a milky, acrid, 

 and ill-smelling fluid ' exudes from the 

 animal. When they have collected 

 enough of this fluid the thread is thor- 

 oughly wet with it and left in a sunny 

 place on the beach to dry, subsequently 

 being washed with soap and water, when 

 it turns into a beautiful and permanent 

 violet color. The Indians insist that this 

 process keeps the thread from rotting. 

 The men are very gentle in handling 

 these shells, carefully replacing them on 

 the rocks after their work is done. This 

 mollusk is closely related to the Lepus 

 marinus of the ancients, which history 

 tells us furnished the purple of vaunted 

 Tyre. 



My hostess next took us into her kit- 

 chen and showed us her bake oven, which 

 looked more like an Eskimo hut than 

 anything I can think of. It was verv 

 ♦ large, all of four and a half feet high, 

 round, and made of clay, with a large 

 door in one side. A spotted pig with an 

 inquiring turn of mind kept close to my 

 heels during my stay in the kitchen, and 

 two brown hens pecked around as if very 

 much at home. 



The parlor came next, a very neat, 

 well-kept room, and one in which our 

 . hostess evidently took much pride. There 

 was an upholstered sofa and two chairs, 

 an elaborate "what-not" in the corner, 

 covered with fancy fans and gay colored 

 picture cards, and two or three ordinary 

 cane-bottomed chairs. We sat down 

 here while she showed a number of na- 

 tive ball costumes. These are very elab- 



orate, especially the skirts, which are 

 either of brocaded velvet or of plush, 

 often with very intricate patterns of em- 

 broidery and beads. These skirts are all 

 made in one style, very scanty, and gath- 

 ered on to a band for the waist. With- 

 out exception they are finished at the foot 

 with a pleated ruflie of stiffly starched 

 white cotton lace about 10 inches wide. 

 These costumes seem to be peculiar to 

 Tehuantepec, and, though seen sometimes 

 at Salina Cruz and San Geronimo, are 

 only worn by the Tehuanas. 



MARKS OF AN OLDER CIVIUZATION 



There are many points of interest to 

 be seen round about Tehuantepec. In a 

 northeasterly direction, about three miles 

 from the town of San Geronimo, is a 

 curious painted rock standing straight up 

 from the sloping side of the Cerro de 

 Ixtaltepec. It is covered with quaint fig- 

 ures and hieroglyphics painted in red, 

 and, though very old, these figures are 

 still quite distinct. It is thought by some 

 to have been a treaty rock, probably set- 

 tling some dispute between two tribes in 

 the days before the conquest. The In- 

 dians do not like to go near the rock, 

 fearing the evil spirits that abound there. 

 Several bright red crosses have been 

 painted over the figures in recent years, 

 evidently work done by the padres to 

 drive the devils away. 



A number of ruins, silent evidences of 

 a once vast and powerful people, have 

 been brought to light from time to time. 

 One, a very interesting study, the moun- 

 tain of Guihengola, whose summit is 

 covered with ruins, lies about five leagues 

 to the west of the town of Tehuan- 

 tepec. 



Near the summit of one of the lime- 

 stone spurs of this mountain is a cave, 

 sloping downward, with several large 

 rooms and passages from one to the 

 other. After a hard climb to the summit 

 a large valley about two miles long is 

 reached. In this valley, surrounded by a 

 massive crumbling wall about 12 feet 

 wide, is a large oblong structure, sup- 

 posedly a temple, built of small flat stones 

 and lime. It is 33 feet high, 90 by 105 



