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I had but a moment in which to view the impressive scene Scarcely had the head of our colureeted ild shouts of triumph, immediately succeeded by shrieks of distress, while there streae proportion of omen and children The children were absolutely nude and peculiarly white of skin, while the former wore rude skirts of coarsely woven cloth fastened about the waist, their long hair inthem a wildness of aspect beyond description; yet withal they were not uncoed about us with scowling faces, and, when sternly forced back by the lowered weapons of the guard, either joined the procession, or else trooped alongside, yelling and jeering
Pressed forward, although by now so utterly spent I could barely stagger rapidly enough to escape those pitiless thrusts, I s to understand that we traversed ground which had been cultivated; that low fences, here and there encountered, divided the land into sions farmers protect their fields What their crops may have been I could not deteruished what I supposedalso a considerable ditch, certainly four feet in width, filled with clear running water, which seeetation ainst the farther rock wall
The view directly in advance was at first obscured by the leaping figures of the exultant savages leading the hooping with exciteth fell back along either side, our guards hurrying us across the ditch, spanned by the great trunk of a tree, and thus on into the village This town resees on which my eyes had ever looked I saide open space, a blackened stake set in the etation, and tra this plaza upon two sides, were several rows of houses, all facing the same direction It reminded reat Bible, only the houses were built of sun-dried clay, such as peons use in the far Southwest on the Brazos, square in shape, of but a single story, having dome-shaped roofs, heavily thatched with cane They less, with one narrow opening for a door, protected by a heavy rass Behind these, perhaps a hundred yards orthe upper extremity of the valley, there arose from the surface of the plain two immense rounded mounds of earth, each fully a hundred paces wide at its base, sloping sharply upward Considerable vacant space lay between the thile on the apex of each stood buildings of sun-baked clay, reseer, and, because of their elevation, appearing spacious and iures bearing a slight reseht The other was surure, blackened as by fire, with distorted face daubed a glaring yellow, and long hair glittering frorass curtain had been drawn aside, while before the entrance, their faces striped with disfiguring black lines, their dull vestaudily tris, their coarse hair so trained as to stand alesticulations, and sole sun, the last beah a rift in the western wall