Page:Face to Face With the Mexicans.djvu/301

Rh the diversified and lovely scenery and the dwellings and mode of life of the inhabitants.

The humble huts of the Indians have an indescribable charm imparted to them by their quaintness of construction. They cannot exceed six feet in height, and with their roofs of straw, maguey leaves, or, as with many, planks laid on loosely, held in place by countless stones, each one weighing one or two pounds, reminded me of a peg-soled



shoe before it is worn. They begin in the valleys and run in irregular lines up the mountain sides, until one wonders how it is that some mighty landslide or upheaving earthquake does not sweep these frail structures from their lodging places.

These Indians own patches of land, and each one has his portion divided from his neighbors by rows of maguey. They cultivate wheat, corn, oats, and barley; and the different shades of green running in geometrical lines, transversely and obliquely, reminded me of