We carefully wrote out the message for forwarding, in which we told the jefe, that we had waited three hours for attention from the town officials, and asked how much longer we should put up with delay.  We never heard his answer, but in less than ten minutes, the presidente, covered with perspiration, was waiting for our orders and every policeman or the force was ready for our bidding.  The message he received from the jefe must have been vigorous, for not only was everything done for our comfort, but work was rushed.  During the next day we measured ninety-eight men, photographed twelve subjects, and made moulds for all our five busts—­an unparalleled day’s labor.  We were fortunate in one respect—­that the men had been summoned that day for public labor.  So far as men were concerned, they gave no difficulty as subjects.  With the women it was different, and full half a day was taken in getting together our twenty-five types; not but what there were plenty of them, for our second day at Pantepec was market-day, and the plaza was gay with women, but they did not wish to be measured, and the whole town force, from presidente to the meanest topil, was afraid to meddle with them; at first, too, we had none but the most wretched cases, women broken down and worn out with years of labor.  When nearly half our number had passed through our hands, and all presented this same unsatisfactory type, we were forced to make a sharp remonstrance, and only so did we get fair samples of young and middle-aged women.

At Pantepec the centre of the town is mestizo; the Indians consist of Otomis, of whom there are thirty households, and Totonacs forming the bulk of the population.  It is easy to distinguish the women of the two tribes by the difference in dress.  The quichiquemils are particularly picturesque.  Both are more heavily loaded with embroidery than any Indian garments we had ever seen, but the styles of the two decorations are completely different.  The quichiquemils of the Otomis are smaller and completely covered with red and black embroidery; those of the Totonacs are much larger, and portions of the white foundations may still be seen, notwithstanding the heavy patterns in brilliant colors—­red, green, yellow and blue.  Mothers put babies onto one side, with their little legs astride a hip, and then tie them firmly in place with an ayate, or carry-cloth, of cotton, thus leaving their hands free for work or other burdens.  If we had difficulty measuring the Totonac women, we had still greater difficulty in photographing satisfactory groups of them.  Neither pleadings nor bribes on our part, orders nor threats on the part of the officials, had much influence.