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& other goods were common. Most of the local supplies & small goods were carried on the back of the indians from the valley each taking his own outfit to sell. They make a toilsome trip across 75 to 100 miles of country with a backload of goods & are satisfied to make 2 or 3 dollars in a hard tramp of 6 or 8 days across the mountains. Constant trips of this kind have developed strong legs & lung power in these men & they do this severe work on a simple fare of tortillas with a little dried meat & chili sauce as a luxury at intervals.

We finally came out on the outer ridge of the mountain range & saw lying below us the south end of the valley of Miahuatlan which is the extreme southern border or arm of the Val. of Oaxaca. The sun was shining hotly & the slope of the mt. became more & more arid as we descended & the open valley barren of trees & bushes looked parched & dead- Far away in a patch of dark green trees we could see the red dome of a church rising to mark the town.