6 Excursion from Angostura to ihc 



grow and gather their own provisions : but all hands are ex- 

 pected to muster on Sunday evening. The spinning and 

 weaving is assigned to the girls, who are too young for field 

 labour ; these all work in the galleries of the conventual 

 buildings. Being Sunday, attended the service at six P.M. 

 All the young people were present, ranged in two rows down 

 the church ; the boys on one side and girls on the other. 

 Silvas and the choristers read and chanted the service ; all the 

 rest joined in the responses. Near the end of the service, a pro- 

 cession was formed in the same order, preceded by the cross 

 and banner, with six lanterns, and a hymn was chanted all 

 round the town ; the whole efFect was good ; 120 young Indians 

 joining in a Christian service with much decorum, was a most 

 pleasing sight. After the service, the unmarried girls assembled 

 in the gallery to amuse the strangers and themselves with a 

 dance. The men and married women never join in these 

 diversions. Two old Indians scraped away on the violin, to 

 whose melody bowed, with great regularity, entire rows of girls, 

 with their arms locked closely about each others' necks. The 

 dance consisted of two steps in advance, an inclination of the 

 body, and then two steps to the rear. This was kept up as long 

 as possible, and the point of contention seemed to be, who should 

 bend the lowest and hold out the longest ; being ranged two 

 or three rows deep, the occasional contact of the noses", of the 

 rear with the hind-quarters of the front ranks was ludicrous 

 enough. Our boys were soon laid hold of and locked in, each 

 between two stout wenches, until bent almost double ; nor was 

 it long before the Dr. and myself, who hoped to escape on the 

 plea of fatigue, were each of us carried off by two damsels, 

 who, winding our arms about their necks, soon broke us into 

 tlieir discipline. The sport continued until about nine o'clock, 

 when we retired to bed pretty well stunned, and much to the 

 disappointment of our tawny partners, who hoped to have been 

 escorted home. It was arranged that K. should remain behind, 

 to perform an operation upon Silvas, until ray return ; and that 

 my horse and two of our mules should be left to recruit, mount- 

 ing Anisette upon another borrowed of our host. 



