The Coolidge examiner., 1935-04-26

un the s8rfhen Hour ~ wtnde"
e less adobe house with q cat and
three turkeys as companions A.
Z q. m. they rose and set forth again
info the dark Sunrise found them
ai the top % a low mountain pass
Z rsfors them stretched a wlde sal
ley siIll deep In purple shadow and
E In the distance blue mountains with
serratei crests batbed Ia pale gold
en- light. This was the valley ~
ocoiinn. branch ~ the great Val.
icy % Oaxaca. ceuter Of Zapotec
civilization.
Produce Spread Out
rs 30 they reached the town.
dominated by a domed church. salm-
on pink and pale jade green. In
The market place. beneath striped
awnlngs-sorne white. some terra
Gotta. ike the sails % Venetian
barges-all local produce Is spread
out There is milk In plenty. coffee.
chocolate. several kinds 81 bread
and dried nsh brought up from
the coast By mule and donkey.
Oranges. bananas. and plneapples
are piled ~ decorative heaps.
Even peanuts and beans. lnclud.
lng special white beans. 60 BE- eaten
on Fridays. are laid out Ia geomei
rical patterns. for the Mexican has
90 Unborn sense - deslrH and moth.
inx = too humble 10 be arranged
with care and displayed as work
of art
one Of the party. suffering from
headachs. approached an herb stall
In = prominent position lay red
crested woodpecker. which. "a the
chief cure for heart disease. Is g..
obvious a professional sign 10 In
dlans as The BARRIERS pole 20 Us.
Laid ont on straw mats were star
fsh. seashells. rattles from rattle
snakes. birds OF brilliant plumsge.
and herbs 20 cure diseases both hu.
man and animal; but. curlously
enough. for headache and heariache
the cure was identleal-two little
patches OF banana leaf affixed 20
The temples
In the blazing MONDAY sun they
set forth again across the treeless
plain. IFS monotony relieved by
giant candelahra cactus and many
small artificial mounds. on one %
which n man was actually sowing
corn. Although this valley Is stu
thlckiy populated. II Is no center ot
civilization. as IN the days when
Militia was built and pyramids or
temples rose on nearly every hin.
Though the party trudged on all day
and well into the night. II passed
only one hamlet. San Pedro Apostol.
Walls Of Organ Cactus
Typical OF Zapoiec villages were
defiant walls Of organ cactus lining
the roadway and barricadlng every
house-impeneirable barriers 10 all
save the lean dogs who squeezed
through TO get bark a, the APP
preaching cayalcade. Characteristic.
too. we're the numerous pigs and
turkeys. the former dressed" ln
wooden trlangles TO prevent their
prying into other peoples business.
and the latter resplendeut with
gorgeous blue throats and heads
and dazzling white plumage.
The second night was passed az
AyoQuezcc. The Place of stlll Tor
tolses." Here the men slept on the
stone floor OF n large earthquake.
ruined hacienda along with Is poems
OF both sexes. who. swathed in
serapes aud laid out in regular lines
resembled recumbent efiigles OF
knights In an ancient church.
The following day they left the
great Valley OF Oaxaca. their trail
keeping for q time 10 the Rio
Atoyac; but where this river bends
round a mighty limestone bluff the
path scales a mountain. then de-
scends abruptly to Sola de Vega. In
four hours they climbed this pass,
famed for rattlesnakes and taran.
tula spiders.
Beyond Sola neither an automo-
bile nor even an oxcart can pass.
The precipitous trail to Juqulla as
cends $500 feet. then drops nearly
T.7OO feet. only TO rise Immediately
another 5000. These tremendous
variations In altitude form com
mercial. racial. and linguistic bar
rier. beyond which the level OF civil
ization falls considerably. Sola is
nominany Zapotec. The next town
Is Chatino.
This high frontier" pass has typ
lcal changes OF vegetation. First
the travellers climbed through shad-
ed banana groves and fields OF
sugar cane; then TO zone of cul-
tivated maguey; then, at 6,0o0 feet,
10 a more temperate zone with oaks
and other trees. Finally, perhaps
thousand feet higher, they entered
a cool forest OF Iong-leaf pine, the
trees resplendent with white or
chlds, like candles on a Christmas
tree, and gorgeous crimson flowers
Derched high in the upper branches.