His cows were dead. Only the week before, Don Porfirio said, he had paid four pesos in Creel, and even that seemed too much. The Mexican grocer, Clifton discovered, had been acting on a rumor that the government was quadrupling the price of beans, and he meant to score an early profit. He had the only supply of beans in town. Clifton browbeat the grocer into giving Don Porfirio the pre-rumor price, and the old man went back into the Sierra satisfied.
Times are hard for the Tarahumara, small victories notwithstanding.
Lately the Sierra Madre, prime country for Marijuana cultivation, has also been invaded by drogueros , who think nothing of clearing the land of its original owners by force. In the last few years dozens of Indians have been murdered so that gringos can enjoy cheap Mexican dope. Times are harder now. Northern Mexico is suffering its worst drought in more than a century, possibly the worst in 1,000 years. The drought has meant a succession of failing crops, of dead livestock throughout the state of Chihuahua, where, by one estimate, nearly half a million head of cattle have died since 1992.