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The men are almost immediately recognized, wherever met, by the characteristic camisa, made of white cotton, vertically striped with narrow lines of pink, which is woven in the Chol towns, and does not appear to be used by other Indians. The doors of the hospitable home at El Triunfo are ever open, and a day rarely passes without some traveller seeking shelter and entertainment.
Both Abyssinia and the Galla being renowned for a fine breed of mules, affords good circumstantial evidence that the Akkara tribe of the Chol are true Gallas, and that the Latookas may be derived from a similar origin by settlements after conquest.
At two o'clock we reached La Trinidad, where he had promised that we should eat the finest meal in the State of Chiapas. We found a complete surprise. Trinidad is little more than a finca, or rancho, but it has an agente, and quite a population of Chol indians. The agente was a decent-looking fellow, active and ambitious; he talks a little English, and is something of an amateur photographer.
They introduced themselves to the immobile-featured Celestial when they had jointly and severally inspected the house from top to bottom. Sam Foo gazed at them, listened to their account of themselves, and disappeared. He re-entered the room presently, bearing a package. "Mist' Chol' Bentlee him leave foh yo'." Stella looked at it. On the outer wrapping was written: From C.A. Benton to Mrs.
Altogether their appearance denotes a Galla origin, and it is most probable that, at some former period, an invasion by the Gallas of this country originated the settlement of the Latookas. One of the principal channels, if not the main stream of the river Sobat, is only four days' march or fifty miles east of Latooka, and is known to the natives as the Chol.
These strange cattle would not live at Fatiko, as the herbage was quite different to that to which they had been accustomed. They died in such numbers, that in three months only three or four remained out of as many thousand. Thus all these beautiful beasts were wasted. The river Sobat was described as flowing from the south, and was known as the Chol.
The women dressed more gaily than in any other Tzendal town which we have seen; their huipíls were decorated with a mass of bright designs, worked in colored wools or silk. Here we saw our first Chol, a carrier, passing through the village with his load; in order to make a start upon our final tribe, we had him halted, to take his measurements and picture.
There is an interesting circumstance connected with these invasions, that the Gallas were invariably mounted upon MULES. Neither horse, camel, nor other beast of burden is known to any of the White Nile tribes, therefore the existence of mules on the east bank of the Chol is a distinguishing feature.
This was once the largest of the Chol towns, and we had thought to do the bulk of our work there. It is fortunate, indeed, that we stopped at Hidalgo, because Tumbala is now completely ruined by the contract-labor system, which has sent its men all through the country onto fincas.
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