We crossed the bed of one dried river after another--streaks of sand and pebbles.

The people in the villages near these dried river-beds dug holes a foot or two deep into this sand and gravel and thus got water.

At the place where we camped for the night, Suspiro Ranch, a new house was being palm-thatched.

All the men and boys of the neighborhood were helping; the labor was carefully divided; some were bringing in great bundles of the palm leaves; others pitched these up to the thatchers, who were skilfully fitting them under and over the poles of the roof framework and then beating them firmly home.

Many of the helpers had come considerable distances and spent the night, so that we shared our room with quite a dozen men and boys, while the women and children slept in another house.
Passing through Zanatepec, we stopped for Sunday at Tanatepec.