You would find it difficult, at a little distance, to distinguish their sex, did you not know that those who swing in the hammocks and recline indolently upon the palm-mats (_petates_) are the men, and those who move about and do the work are the females.

One of the former occasionally stimulates the activity of the latter by a stroke of the "cuarto" (mule-whip).
A few rude implements of furniture are in the shed: a "metate" on which the boiled maize is ground for the "tortilla" cakes; some "ollas" (pots) of red earthenware; dishes of the calabash; a rude hatchet or two; a "machete"; a banjo made from the gourd-shell; a high-peaked saddle, with bridle and "lazo"; strings of red-pepper pods hanging from the horizontal beams--not much more.

A lank dog on the ground in front; a lean "mustang" tied to the tree; a couple of "burros" (donkeys); and perhaps a sorry galled mule in an inclosure adjoining.
The zambo enjoys his _dolce far niente_ while his wife does his work-- what work there is, but that is not much.

There is an air of neglect that impresses you; an air of spontaneity about the picture--for the yams and the melons, and the chile-plants, half choked with weeds, seem to grow without culture, and the sun gives warmth, so as to render almost unnecessary the operations of the spindle and the loom.
The forest opens again, and another picture--a prettier one--presents itself.

It bears the aspect of a better cultivation, though still impressing you with ideas of indolence and neglect.