CENTRAL CHIHUAHUA. 
139 
as we clattered by the humble huts of 
the peons and saw them making their 
simple morning meals, we regretted 
exceedingly having placed any faith in 
the punctuality of this particular diligence. 
As we drove onward through the broad 
avenue of alamos on the outskirts of the 
town the fields were filled with the early 
workmen, who rise as soon as it is light 
for their work, and rest in the heat of 
noonday. In this part of the country 
these laborers are always dressed in 
white that looks immaculate in the dis¬ 
tance, against the dark background of the 
fields, but it will not bear close inspec¬ 
tion. I was thus able to prove another 
virtue of the Mexican people, or at least 
a certain portion of them, and this too 
despite the fact that my discovery does 
not accord with the generally accepted 
