Huilotepec was for the purpose of photographing the curious and interesting mapa belonging to the village.  We rode out over the hot and dusty river-bed road, arriving at noon.  Sending for the agente and secretario, we ordered breakfast and made known our errand.  Though it plainly was not to their taste, the mapa was brought out for our inspection.  It is painted on a piece of coarse cotton cloth, of native weaving, in three colors—­blue, red and black.  The places around Huilotepec are indicated by their ancient hieroglyphs.  Several personages of the ancient time are represented in the conventional manner commonly used in Zapotec writings before the Conquest.  After eating, we placed the mapa against the wall, wrote out a description of it, and photographed it.  Dismay now filled the soul of the agente, and the one principal whom he had summoned for advice.  They talked long and earnestly with me about the mapa, and begged me to assure the jefe that it was no good; that it was not autorizado; that it was mudo.  To quiet their fears, I was compelled to write a letter to that effect to be delivered to the jefe; if it ever came to hand, he certainly found it incomprehensible.  Mrs. Seler, in her book, describes the trouble that they had in seeing this mapa, and the interest which their examination of it aroused.  Dr. Castle told us that, several years ago, he accompanied a Mr. Werner and a priest to Huilotepec to see the mapa, and, if possible, to secure a picture of it.  For a long time they were unable to secure a glimpse of the old document, and it was only when the priest assured the indians that the doctor was an American engineer, who had been commissioned to survey the line in dispute between the village and the Juaves, that they were allowed to see it.  Before permission was then given, a general meeting of the principales was held, and none of the guests were permitted to touch the document.  Mr. Werner made an exposure, which he sent to the States for development; it was lost or destroyed.  It is thus possible that ours is the only picture of it in existence.

We had been told that a coach went regularly from San Geronimo to Tuxtla Gutierrez, making the journey in two days.  This seemed too good to be true, and no one at Tehuantepec knew anything of such an arrangement, but we took the train the following morning for San Geronimo, hoping to get off without delay.  All that the traveller sees upon descending from the train is the station, the place of Senor Espindola, and the little Hotel Europa.  To our surprise, we found that our baggage had not yet come from Coatzacoalcos, although we had seen it loaded on the train ourselves.  Still worse, we were informed that frequently fifteen days were consumed in transportation of freight from that point hither, and that we had no right to expect it so promptly.  Inquiry regarding the coach revealed