is strong among these poor people, and rightly so. They are proud in their own way of the great past of their race; and if the Spanish element in the country contemns them and speaks slightingly of them as naturales and gentes sin razon, is it to be marvelled at that the Indians for their part hate and despise the descendants of their Castilian conquerors? Notwithstanding that the majority of the Indians can speak Spanish, they very frequently refuse to do so; their religious confessions are made in Nahuatl; and even Indian boys at school refuse to have any relations with their white fellow-pupils. Mexicans are never welcome at Indian entertainments; and should they interfere in internecine squabbles, the Indians of both conflicting parties will join forces against the intruders.
But it must be recorded that the Aztecs are by no means liberal save in their feasts. They have to labour too strenuously to allow themselves the luxury of generosity, and in this they resemble most peasantries chained to the soil. Indeed, it is difficult to get them to render a service, even if ample remuneration is tendered them, so thorough is their distrust of the whites, by whom they have been continuously exploited for nearly 400 years.
The Tarascan Indians, most of whom are situated in the North-western portion of the State of Michoacan, are the descendants of a people who at one time The
Tarascans. rivalled in civilisation and culture the Aztecs themselves. They were celebrated for their excellence in the jeweller's art and in pottery. Their present-day representatives are small and agile in build and movements, and usually succeed, unlike some other native tribes, in growing respectable beards and moustaches. Their attire is by no means scanty, and they frequently wear Mexican clothing. Their women are clever at the loom, and produce excellent blankets and zarapes, both cotton and woollen. The scenery of their country is pastoral and, for the most part they have it all to themselves, or it is in the hands of
