THE STORM EL NORTE. 



225 



CHAPTER XL 



Superintending Indians. — The Storm El Norte. — Arrival of Don 

 Simon. — Subterraneous Chambers. — Discovery of broken Pot- 

 tery and a Terra Cotta Vase. — Great Number of these Cham- 

 bers. — Their probable Uses. — Harvest of the Maize Crop. — 

 Practical Views. — System of Agriculture in Yucatan. — Planting 

 of Corn. — A primitive Threshing Machine. — News from Home. 

 — More Practice in Surgery. — A rude Bedstead. — A Leg Pa- 

 tient. — An Arm Patient. — Increasing Sickness on the Hacien- 

 da. — Death of an Indian Woman. — A Campo Santo. — Digging 

 a Grave. — An Indian Funeral. 



The next day I resumed my occupation of super- 

 intending the Indians. It was, perhaps, the hardest 

 labour I had in that country to look on and see 

 them work, and it was necessary to be with them 

 all the time ; for if not watched, they would not 

 work at all. 



The next day opened with a drizzling rain, the 

 beginning of the prevailing storm of the country, 

 called El Norte. This storm, we were told, rarely 

 occurred at this season, and the mayoral said that 

 after it was over, the regular dry season would cer- 

 tainly set in. The thermometer fell to fifty-two, 

 and to our feelings the change was much for the 

 better. In fact, we had begun to feel a degree of 

 lassitude, the effect of the excessive heat, and this 

 change restored and reinvigorated us. 



This day, too, with the beginning of the storm, 



Vol. L— F f 



