I now thought it advisable to make some changes with regard to the manner of travelling. Hitherto I had managed very well with Augustin and one spare mule. The mule carried in the saddle bags, provisions for several days, together with a change of clothing in case of wet weather, but experience had shown me that it would be better to reduce the weights to what could easily be carried by an Indian in his pack, and who, at the same time, could act as guide. I should thus avoid the risk of being detained by any accident happening to the cargo mule. My own good mule carried nothing but its rider, and a great coat and hammock, rolled up in military fashion, and strapped over the pommel of the saddle. Everything being satisfactorily arranged, Carlos appeared at the convent steps at daybreak with his pack duly placed over his shoulders, and carried by the head band. Into this were put two days’ provisions, and part of the change of clothing. My mule carried the halter wound round her neck. A small supply of fodder was added to the Indian’s load, and thus we started. Carlos took the lead by breaking into a quick, rapid pace, or steady Indian run. The mule followed at her best speed, and before the sun had risen above the summits of the Cordilleras, we were well forward on our way towards Jacaltenango and the Mexican frontier. • • • • • Gueguetenango, the chief city of the Department, was a place of importance before the conquest. It was the capital of the Mams, a warlike tribe, whose caciques and principal families were of the same race as the Quichés. They were conquered and reduced to submission by the Spaniards in 1525. There are certain circumstances respecting that campaign and the methods of defence adopted by the Mams, which should receive particular attention in connection with the theories and Indian traditions, respecting the migrations of the mysterious tribe who have been named the Toltecs, and who appear to have been the predecessors of the Aztecs. There are, in the accounts of the campaign several details which are valuable, as leading to the conclusion that the Mams, Quichés and Kachiquels, whose leaders were all of the same race, pursued systems of defensive warfare, which had analogies with the habits of the tribes who raised the fortified hill works in Ohio.