Logo
Prev
Bookmark
Rotate
Print
Next
Contents
All Pages
Related Articles
Browse Issues
Help
Search
Home
'
National Geographic : 1940 Sep
Contents
The National Geographic Magazine In Her Lean-to Maria Prepares Culinary Wonders The range at Tres Zapotes is an earth-filled box, with an iron ring on a tripod. On it Maria cooked tortillas (corncakes), and such highly seasoned Mexican dishes as arroz con polio (chicken with rice), enchiladas (meat, cheese, or vegetables folded in corncakes), and frijoles (Mexican beans). All the foodstuffs utilized by the community are raised on the spot. Cocoa and coffee are both grown and prepared for use. Bananas and coconuts are raised, besides purple sweet potatoes, manioc, and jicamas, a turniplike root with a refreshing body somewhat like an apple. This vegetable fare is augmented by game shot in the neighboring jungle. The principal food animals are monkeys, deer, and tapir, which are plentiful. A Jaguar Comes-and Kills One night we were awakened by a ter rific uproar in the clearing-loud squealings mingled with other sounds. We heard Ubaldo ever, is principally and his wife stir in the house next door and the word "tigre" was ut tered. Next morning we saw the carcasses of three hogs-one large full-grown boar and two smaller pigs which had been killed by the jaguar not more than 200 yards from the house. After being mauled somewhat, the victims had been left lying just inside the jungle cover. This was a serious blow to Ubaldo, since pigs represented a fair proportion of his wealth, but it was a type of disaster to which he had grown accustomed and he took a philosophical at titude toward his loss. I asked the men if they intended follow ing the jaguar to kill it. They said no, that it would not be prac ticable, since a jaguar after such a killing usually left the vicinity completely. The women appear to have considerable fear of these animals, and Ubaldo's wife fre quently chided Mrs. Stirling for walking alone through the jungle. This fear, how due to superstition. A problem arose concerning the method of housing our seven visiting workers overnight, since they were all too far from their own homes to make the trip back and forth daily. They had decided to sleep on a floor of poles laid under the roof covering Ubaldo's pigpen when we bethought ourselves of our small mosquito-proof pup tent. This was only 42 feet wide, 31 feet high, and 8 feet long, counting the pointed ends, but we thought it might accommodate two or three of them. We offered it to our workmen for use and they gratefully accepted. That night we heard a great deal of laughter and stirring about, and early the next morning 330
Links
Archive
1940 Oct
1940 Aug
Navigation
Previous Page
Next Page