Travels amongst American Indians - their ancient earthworks and temples - including a journey in Guatemala, Mexico and Yucatan, and a visit to the ruins of Patinamit, Utatlan, Palenque and Uxmal (14596974137)

Identifier: travelsamongstam00brin (find matches)
Title: Travels amongst American Indians : their ancient earthworks and temples : including a journey in Guatemala, Mexico and Yucatan, and a visit to the ruins of Patinamit, Utatlan, Palenque and Uxmal
Year: 1894 (1890s)
Authors: Brine, Lindesay, 1834-1906
Subjects: Indians -- Antiquities Guatemala -- Antiquities Mexico -- Antiquities North America -- Description and travel
Publisher: London : S. Low, Marston & Company
Contributing Library: Brown University Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Brown University



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hem, which gave anelement of sadness to the scene. Their lives seemto be passed in a state of quiet melancholy andlistlessness. This condition of the Indians is practically thesame throughout this part of Central America. Theproblem of existence is worked out in its lowestterms. It cannot however be said that they live inwant and poverty, because they have no wants.They exist, and are apparently content to exist, inthe state in which they find themselves placed.The bare ground, a thatched roof, bedstead, a fewmats, some firewood, and a small store of maizesuffice for the necessities of their lives. Their sub-missive natures assent to these conditions and theyseem to accept their fate with passive resignation. Upon my return to the shed in the evening, Ifound that it was enlivened by the arrival of a busy,loud-voiced Spaniard named Don Pepe Ortiz. Heinformed me that he was travelling from Oaxacatowards the coast of the Gulf of Campeachy with acargo of tobacco. He had with him a band of
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Indian Woman Grinding Chocolate, Central America. CROSSING THE RIVER SAN PEDRO. 289 cargadores to carry the bales. He also employedfor his own personal use a man of great strengthto carry him in places where he could not ridea mule. The direction of his journey over thesierras was for some distance the same as my own,and he proposed that we should, without delay,make arrangements for crossing a river which occa-sionally was difficult to pass over. I had not heardthat there was a stream of any importance inour way, and I asked Don Pepe to do what wasexpedient. Accordingly he sent on an Indian toorder several canoes to be in readiness for us on thefollowing morning. At sunrise my new guide Jose arrived and we allstarted together. After riding about a league wereached the bank of a river, called the San Pedro,which we found to be a deep stream about threehundred yards wide. The passage was not madewithout difficulties, chiefly caused by the conductof the mules, when they reached the oppo