10 VILLAGE OF THE NATIVES — DKESS. Book I. 
of white trowsers worn over the skin. Here I had the 
first opportunity of seeing that peculiar style of half-savage 
elegance, which characterizes the female dress and deport- 
ment of the lower classes of Spanish America. Indeed, 
these women, with their flounced skirts of striped muslin 
fastened round their naked waists, their busts looselv 
covered with the flying guipil of white muslin glittering 
with gold or silver paillettes, or the long striped reboso 
stylishly thrown over the left shoulder, a pair of small 
white satin shoes, embroidered with silver or gold, on the 
naked feet, the jet hair tastefully adorned with white, 
yellow, or crimson flowers just taken from the shrub, — 
made altogether a coquettish appearance, as they would 
walk along in assumed dignity with a defying swing of 
their arms, or would negligently repose in their gently 
moving hammocks. I observed that a perfect politeness of 
language prevailed among these people, in whose conver- 
sation the address of "senor" and " senora" was rarely 
omitted. Only the men who were rowing the canoes on 
the river, or were occupied in unloading the vessels, mutu- 
ally addressed themselves in a less formal manner, calling 
their companions by the simple designation of " hombre" 
(man !) — " mulato I " — " cuadron J" — " zambo /" — accord- 
ing to the gradations of caste. 
Between the inhabitants of the two villages a little war 
had broken out during the time of my visit. The natives 
had offered to forward the travellers up the river at a lower 
rate than the Americans would allow ; and, as the former 
neglected the prohibition, one of their canoes, filled with 
travellers, was fired at from the American side. To these 
high-handed proceedings the natives responded by similar 
acts of violence ; some wounds were received on both sides, 
and there was a good deal of excitement for a few days. 
