The town—­Magdalena de los Comales—­is so named from the comales, or earthenware griddles, made there.  Besides this characteristic product, the town makes a good deal of unglazed but polished red pottery.  The forms are chiefly candle-sticks, censers and toys.  Much weaving of palm is here done, and the hats of the place are rather famous.  Famous, too, are the mantas, or women’s dresses, of black wool, made in long rectangular pieces.  The common grade sells for $6.00, and in using it, it is, like indian dresses generally, simply wrapped about the figure and held in place by a sash or belt.

Nowhere in our journey in southern Mexico had we met with the kind of scenery which we encountered between Magdalena and Tlaxiaco; its whole character was like that of New Mexico.  Directly behind the town was a fine cart-road, worn in red sand pumice; before the town rose a magnificent cliff, which had been a landmark in our journey of the day before.  The road running up the mountain, over gray and red pumice strata, was deeply worn, just like the road back of Cochiti, New Mexico.  Here, too, were the same noble pines for forest.  It was a full hour’s climb to the summit, where we found a pretty brook tumbling over ledge after ledge into deep round basins of purest water.  A long and rather gentle slope downward led to a valley filled with neat farm-houses and cleared patches.  Our last ascent brought us to a mass of rounded hills, composed of brilliant clays—­yellow, brown, pink, red and white.  From among these hillocks Tlaxiaco, a magnificent picture, burst into view.  It is compactly built; the flat-topped houses are white or blue-tinted; trees are sprinkled through the town; the old convent, with the two towers of its church, dominates the whole place; a pretty stream flows along its border; and a magnificent range of encircling mountains hems it in on all sides.  The descent was rapid, and we reached Tlaxiaco with the morning but half gone.

[Illustration:  MIXTEC HOUSES WITH BEEHIVES; SAN BARTOLO]

The jefes of the districts of Mexico are frequently men of ability and force.  Rarely, however, have we encountered one so prompt and energetic as Javier Cordova, then jefe of the district of Tlaxiaco.  When he took possession of this district, not long before, deeds of robbery along the high-road were common.  In many portions of the district, acts of violence were quite the rule.  Perhaps the largest agricultural district in the Republic, it possessed few of the conveniences of modern life.  Under Cordova’s administration, vast improvements have been made.  The roads are secure, deeds of violence are rare, the advantages of the district are being rapidly developed, telephone and telegraph have been introduced, and a railroad is talked of.  Although we had no letter from the governor addressed to Senor Cordova, when we showed him the communications for other jefes, we were received with the greatest