| Show froom major bernards bernarda account accounts 1 THE ISTHMUS OF the northern division of the isthmus that is to say from the pacific slope to the M mexican exi exl gulf has nevertheless suffered in times past from the smallpox small pox in the year 1928 in two small villages near the sea coast cast of the coatzacoalcos river no less than lyo iyo persons died out of a population population of nor were the ravages of the disease arrested until broad pica duras roads were cut throy the he surrounding forests to admit a free circulation of air this had the desired effect and the amali pox disappeared entirely A similar instance occurred at huimanguillo b ilia nar the confines of tobasco where a malignant maie maia ig v ant rever fever was entirely checked by felling t the he neighboring net laborin fokeas fo fess feas LANDS OP OF vt the paso de la puerta begins another regon of the isthmus namely that of hills and lur mountains its topographical graphical raph ical and geological characters are entirety entirely diffie different rent from those of uie vie plain of coatzacoalcos river while the latter iatter is formed of alluvial soil this has rock fot tor its basis which is covered avith a variety of 0 soil more or less deep and of variable fertil ii it y v n afferent places tte the wavelike wave like hills and dales covered cohered by r ii lip sture extend along the foot of lohy lofty mountains they thes the are interspersed with clusters of rant tant trees growing along the farious various tri t ri batry batary streams of the coatzacoalcos affording refreshing shelter to the large herds of cattle cattie e range through this region irre lire lr lii re may be seen s spots the most romantic ond and picturesque th that at it the e admirer of the beauties t es of nature can enjoy while quietly repos easiness Eu posing osing af after ter the labors and toils of the active acile buskness business siness of life here dipre and there ranchos ranches ar are c to bp met with scattering scattering 0 among among t the valleys valleye and even amon among the mountains are several indian villages suei such as san juan guichicovi which contains upwards of five thousand inhabitants who culli bif vif vate e the soil th village is surrounded on all sides bd by the cord Card cordillera illera of the same name it is inhabited inhabited only by indians called ninnes dinnes has an excel excellent lent lont climate and would amford afford a delightful and halt hall hadhy hy our valetudinarians our journey from hence across the cordillera to the plains of tehuantepec was a constant change of most interesting scenery which ye we enjoyed greatly notwithstanding the rain and very bad roads this entire region dorits salubrity cannot be surpassed by any country whatever the small village of petapa el barrio and santo domingo also built on the the elevated table land enjoy a well vell merited reputation for uncommon healthiness not only among among the in habitants harants hab habil ants of the many mexicans as I 1 learned later at tehuantepec come there even from oaxaca and several other states of M exico aico xico to recruit their health beaith eie rie alth aith tut IUT INDIA RUBBER TEBIS 71 til fluid known krown as ine inc 1 the sper sp f r gravity of which while in its liquid state is is lessman less han han ban than thai that of any other liquid known to eb chests minis ginis ts but the va vapo i which is so beav heavy y th thit that at it may maybe be bouret poured from one vessel veisel to anoil another I 1 like water is prepared from the juice 1 u i ce of this t t f in the lal lat laboratory oratory and is one 0 of r the best soi sni solvents vents for the rubber yet known take half the number of trees found within an area of one fourth of a square mile on the I 1 s anapa river as the basis of an estimate esti mahe an and allowing none to grow on the pacific aldins there would be found not leas then india rubber trees within the limits of f ue 1 e some of which yield four or five pounds of gum in a year if from f roin the prodigious number of trees we suppose one half orly to be available and a single pound per per annum be the average yield we should then have of pounds chich which at the present value of forty cents would realize the sum of for this article alone kun kud THE ran llon 1102 honses SES sus the tile horses found in this portion of mexico are of small size and almost uniformly poor in llesh flesh they are however of great endurance and possess 11 much more spirit than is indica indicated ped ted ty f heir looks by comparatively they are very intelligent and under the guidance of the powerful powers ul mexican bit are easily manag managed pd the inhabitants employ them principally as siddle beasts though sometimes for draugh tin which case c ase the load is invariably attached to the animals tail As ridiculous and barbarous as this ma may 7 appear I 1 it I 1 ia said to cost I 1 fhe the he horse no pa inand if one may judge by the weight of the load and the quiet et manner in which the animal submits to lu the 1 practice this would seem to be the case cased elih nat CAT th vampire I 1 bat pyrus spectrum exists in great numbers both men and animals are subject to its attacks and nightly the latter suffer depletion from its fangs frequently to such an extent as to be incapacitated for the net ned nei days work the vampire bleeds its lct im with such extreme gentleness and such is the noiseless nutter flutter of its velvet wings which stir the air to t p a soft and fanning breeze that the sleeper is soothed into a calm dreamlike rep repose ose nse while unconscious of harm he yields the vital fluid till lie he approaches the verge of delirium fisit CATCHING V species s p decies of vine vins known by botanists as the S pendus Sapo nalia naiia ia is used in catching nishi fishi the fabres fibres of this plant when beaten and strewn on the water exercise an intoxicating influence li causes the fish to rise stupefied to the ace where liby ilby are beadil readily taken this mode of fishing although prohibited under severe I 1 penalties is nevertheless extensively practise by the natives BIRDS binds the ile toucans Tou cans which are quite numerous are arc not the least interesting of this class of birds their enormous bills which nearly equal in size the bod body itself give them a most singular ani and ant uncouth appearance they are easily tamed and become exceedingly familiar and F lanful olay I 1 fui ful practising practicing a great variety of amusing teats laats eats but perhaps the most important ant class clas s of birds on the isthmus limus are the Gallin aca acm ac the most numerous of this class are arl the wild turkey crested Cur Part partridge ridney ridget chachalaca quail pigeon and dove ave all of which are found in great abundance through all parts of the country the ile crested Cur is a magnificent game bird it approaches the turkey in in size and is easily domesticated when it becomes become sv very tame its plumage is of a deep shining black blac color reflecting purple and green shades and the the crest which it can elevate and depress at pleasure it is composed of twisted black feathers narrow at the base and an broad at the tip the females have a smaller crest and their thel feathers more dull they associate in small flocks build their nests in trees and live on buds and fruits v alligators are ane numerous in all ali the principal j streams on te isthmus even far up in the mountains but are arc found in much greater numbers and of or a larger size near the seacoast bea sea coast at daybreak these monsters emerge from the water and creep slowly to the shore on which shieh they compose themselves for a nap hap a 1 V by shutting 11 their eyes and opening their th huge I 1 e J jaws I 1 As the sun rises the flies swarm into the inviting thorax and revel for a while in undisturbed security until the alligator is satisfied that his It trap js full fuli when he shuts the ponderous door and opens 0 ens his L s eyes as composedly as a 8 it tf nothing had rapp tapp happened happened ened the lizard presents an do almost endless variety the species known as the moloch lizard moloch hon horr idus rifus which are occasionally met with are a foot in length armed with two horns and completely covered with small irregular esto which are attached large conical acute spines of a horny substance altogether 0 ether giving them a very ferocious appearance INSECTS the Roda Rod adors dots though confined to less than one third the breadth of the isthmus are exceedingly cee troublesome their thein bites being more pois poisonous onous than that of swarm inam n such immense numbers that it is very d difficult guarding against 0 their attack attacks the inhabitants of ilie icie the country however seem to disregard their bites altogether this insect possesses 0 assesses one redeeming quality not exhibited EY by the mosquitoes toes inasmuch as it suspends operations during the night it is a singular fact that only the female female exhibit albat these biting propensities the Moy aquil commonly found on the leaves of a species of wild plantain growing in the country is adorm which often proves a source of great annoyance to both men and animals so minute are its di mentions and such is the delicate nature of its operations thac that it penetrates the flesh unperceived there it gradually increases in size and vigor until it forms a protuberance which if left to itself becomes a painful ulcer the ahe worm in the mean time bedding itself more deeply until it penetrates the bone from which it is exceedingly difficult of extraction without the aid of surgical instruments st they are however readily removed at an early stage by an external application of a little littie resin ruin derived from certain trees common in th eforest the ile oil of tobacco is also used as a remedy and fire is sometimes employed to kill them fortuna fortunately ie y the Moy aquil is confined to a few local localities tie tle of small extent the JS roca i if a small in insect S act which often does great mischief by boring into barrels and other wooden vessels containing sweets thus allowing their contents conten tg to escape the usual remedy against their incursions is to envelop the he barrels with a tarred paper the numerous well beaten p paths a that traverse the country bear testimony to the presence of ants some of the larger species of which carry a kernel of corn with ease A small variety of white ants deserve particular mention as being the principal agents in the destruction of timber their nests are usually built bulit nit fit clay and leaves adhering to the trunks and branches of trees they always worl work un der cover and destroy the inner p portions of the wood leaving a only a thin shell A in this their manner movements are unperceived and it is difficult to detect the locality and nd extent of their depredations they always travel avei avel under covered passages formed of cla cia clay by y which they are cu entirely shielded from froin ob oil er on A species of honeybee honey bee is found in some parts arts of the country in surprising numbers they hey are smaller than the ordinary apis lapis pel fical lif of other countries and ess their ests nests are usually constructed in hollow trees and such is the prolific result of their labors in 1 the flowery fields of the isthmus that the indians have been known to gather ten or or r twelve gallons of ot honey in a day the quality of this honey hohey is somewhat infer lor F to that of the domestic bee the quantity of f wax produced by this class of insects on the isthmus is prodigiously great and in tion ron ion with the honey gathered by them would doubt doubtless lesk lesi prove a lucrative source of trade at san miguel chimalapa this branch ale re ady constitute san important occupation of the ie people who occasionally send to the large towns ians on the pacific coast several verai veral hundred pounds olinda of cdx purple DYE OF TYRE tyrel among the numerous interesting of this region is the Apy lisia called by the ancients liepus apus marinus mannus and celebrated in history as furnish furnishing ing the purple dye of daunted vaunted tyre this shellfish shell fish from its limited distribution trib ution and extreme rarity has been regarded by some naturalists natura lists as R bulous fabulous but its existence on the shores of the pacific coast is clearly beyond question there the M ol 01 lusca is is found in in great num numbers cumberson berson berbon on the rocky points I 1 and is is extensively emolo A d by the th indians to I 1 dye 10 a kind of co course irsa thread called ned hed gear lear caracol acol 1 from the local ni gme me of the allelo dinimal n aai aal at the falling of the tide it is is found adhering to the rocks from which it is easily gathered by blowing into the shell the animal contracts itself closely and exude 3 an acrid lilii liquid id eitrem extremely ely f fei fel et id 1 with wh which ich the skeins of thread are foists moistened nd saturation to and subsequently washed hashed with soap and water when they become a permanent purple color this operation of dyeing is is said to strengthen 6 the thread greatly and to protect it from the effects it is 13 manufactured to some extent by the indians who finkl find a ready sale 1 for it in tehuantepec INHABIT AXIS the isthmus of within in its limits a mixed and heterogeneous population as near as can be ascertained ascertain ea of consisting consisting of europeans creoles cheoles Cr eoles indians mulat kalat mulattoes toes and negroes the indians who are by b far the most numerous portions of the inhabitants comprehend the remnants of various once powerful tribes which notwithstanding the changes and vicissitudes that have marked their condition since the days of the thi conquest still exhibit distinctive characteristics sufficient to identify ide the file sources from which they originally sprung among these are the je s coques os and Il haves these are distributed over the country in a manner which corresponds som somewhat cihat with its top topographical 0 divisions |
