We congratulated ourselves that we should have no difficulty, here, in finding subjects.

The town claimed three thousand population.

Many of them were certainly away upon their fields and ranches, scattered through the mountains, and working _fincas_ for wealthy landowners.

The town itself is picturesque in the extreme.
Notable among its features is the ruined church, the roof of which has fallen in; the walls still stand, bare and broken, but the decorations, some richly carved and gilded, are still unmoved within the demolished edifice.

The damage was recent, and represented a double catastrophe--lightning and earthquake.
[Illustration: CACTUS; CUICATLAN] We could not begin work until the _mozo_ came with the instruments.
Finally, at four o'clock in the afternoon, we began measuring with no great difficulty.