Not yet certain that the man was telling truth, we spoke to him severely, saying that we should report him to the governor for not having obeyed the order of the _prefecto_.

At the same time we demanded an official document signed by himself as _presidente_, and by the _secretario_, and duly sealed, stating that no messenger had come to him from the _prefecto_.

To our surprise this document was promptly furnished, good evidence that the _prefecto_ had played us false, only pretending to despatch the messenger whom we had seen started.
With profuse apologies and expressions of regret from the officials, we left Cheran, hurrying on to Nehuatzen for the night.

Our chief reason for doing so was that everyone who knew of our intention to visit Cheran had shaken their heads, remarking "Ah! there the nights are always cold." Certainly, if it is colder there than at Nehuatzen, we would prefer the frigid zone outright.

Nehuatzen is famous as the town where the canoes for Lake Patzcuaro are made.