I asked to be directed to the alcalde, for whom I had a letter from
the Prefect. The shopkeeper replied sulkily that he had gone away,
but a woman standing near him, and not in the secret, contradicted
him, said the alcalde was at home, and told me his house was a httle
farther on. For giving this information she was promptly and
severely reproved. It was easy to see that the Indians were extremely
suspicious of us; several even closed the doors of their huts as we
came along. The alcalde's hut was in no way different from the
others, but just as dirty and small. The door was open, however,
and after some caUing his wife appeared from a smaller hut in the
back yard and bade us enter and make ourselves at home. The bare
dark, windowless, filthy little hut was soon completely filled with our
luggage, hammocks, and cot, and there was barely room for the raw-
hides on which Luis and his assistant arriero sleep. Soon after dark



NUNCHIA TO THE PARAMO OF PISVA



193



the alcalde appeared. He had presumably been hiding in the bushes
until he had an opportunity of sizing us up. His welcome was not
cordial, but he pretended to read the official letter and soon provided
us with several bowls of soup.
Api'il icth. Pisva, like Paya, is situated on a terrace about four
hundred feet above the bed of the river. There is a thatched church
which is in good repair, although no priest lives here. Many of the
huts seem to be unoccupied. During the day a number of Indian
carriers passed through the village, some of them stopping to buy



in


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Pisva, Looking Westward.
