“Capitan” Ogo made an impressive bow in the direction of his mud mansion and then another bow to Nux and Bry.  
“Come,” he said.
 
They accepted the invitation and climbed out of the machine.
 
“Don’t be long, Nux,” I remarked, in the Tayakoo dialect.
 
Instantly the chief swung around on his heel.
 
“What does this mean?” he cried, speaking the same language. “Do you receive orders from your white slaves?”
 
I stared at him open mouthed, but to my intense admiration neither Nux nor Bryonia exhibited the least surprise.
 
129
“Orders?” asked Bry, quietly. “Do you blame us that the whites are fools, and speak like fools? My brother has surely more wisdom than that. If you knew the white dogs, you would believe that their tongues are like the tongues of parrots.”
 
“I know them,” answered Ogo, grimly. Then he asked, abruptly:
 
“Where did you learn the language of my people—the ancient speech of the Techlas?”
 
“It is my own language, the speech of my people of Tayakoo, whose chief I am.”
 
They looked upon each other with evident curiosity, and I examined the two Indians, as they stood side by side, and wondered at their similar characteristics. Bryonia might easily be mistaken for a brother of the San Blas chief, so far as appearances went, and although Nux was of a different build there were many duplicates of him in the silent crowd surrounding us.
 
“Where is Tayakoo?” asked Ogo.
 
“Far to the south, in the Pacific ocean.”
 
“What is the history of your people?”
 
“I do not know.”
 
“Are there many of you?”
 
“But a few, inhabiting a small island.”
 
130
The chief seemed thoughtful. Then he turned again.
 
“Come!” he commanded; and they followed him into his house.
 
Duncan Moit was clearly puzzled by this conversation, carried on in a language unknown to him.
 
“What is it all about, Sam?” he enquired, in a low voice.
 
“The Sulus and the San Blas speak the same language,” I replied.
 
“Anything wrong?”
 
“No; our chances are better than ever, I guess.”
 
Fifty pair of eyes were staring at us curiously; so we decided not to converse further at present. We stared in turn at the natives, who seemed not to object in the least.
 
Without question the San Blas were the best looking Indians I have ever seen. They resembled somewhat the best of the North American tribes, but among them was a larger proportion of intelligence and shrewdness. Their faces were frank and honest, their eyes large and expressive, and they moved in a self-possessed and staid manner that indicated confidence in their own powers and contempt for all enemies.
 
131
Their costumes were exceedingly interesting. Men and women alike wore simple robes of finely woven wool that were shaped somewhat like Greek tunics. The arms of the men were bare; the women had short flowing sleeves; and this was the only perceptible difference in the garb of the two sexes, except that most of the men wore sandals of bark, while the women and children were bare-footed.
 
The tunic was their sole garment, and reached only to the knees, being belted at the waist. The women, I afterward learned, wove the cloth in their houses, as one of their daily occupations, and the body of the tunic was always white, with colored stripes worked in at the neck and around the bottom.
 
132
These colors, which must have been vegetable dyes, were very brilliant in hue, including purple, orange, red, blue and yellow. Black was never used at all, and green was the color reserved for the nobles and the king. I noticed that the chief, Ogo, had a narrow band of green on his robe, which explained his proudly proclaiming himself a “green” or royal chief. The bands of green we found varied in width according to the prominence of their wearers.
 
One can easily imagine that the appearance of an automobile in this country, isolated as it was from all modern civi............