IN QUEST OF THE COCK-OF-THE-ROCK 79 



and present a clean appearance. The main industry is the 

 making of Panama hats of a rather coarse kind. Many In- 

 dians visit the town on market-days, bringing coca leaves, 

 lime, and sera, a kind of vegetable wax, obtained from a 

 berry that grows in the mountains and used for making 

 candles. Pigeons are very fond of the berry, and as they 

 ripen the great band-tailed species congregate in flocks to 

 feed upon them, becoming so fat that they finally pay with 

 their lives for the short season of feasting. The candles 

 made of sera are green, but burn well and are generally 

 better than the ordinary tallow dip. The lime, or "mam- 

 be," is used for chewing with the coca leaves, which is a 

 confirmed habit in this part of the country. 



As elsewhere, the weekly market at Almaguer is a day of 

 great activity and is looked upon almost in the light of a 

 fiesta. Early in the morning, usually at four o'clock, a 

 cow is killed in the plaza and all the inhabitants gather 

 around to watch the skinning of the carcass. 



At eight o'clock the plaza is filled with tradespeople, 

 usually women, squatting on the ground with their wares 

 spread before them in wooden trays, bags, or baskets. All 

 that these simple people deem necessary to existence, and 

 even some luxuries, may be had. There are rows of venders 

 of bread, cakes, and dulces; others with vegetables, rice, 

 coffee, corn, and cheese; occasionally peaches, apples of 

 an inferior quality, oranges, and a few plantains are brought 

 up from some sheltered valley; but the greatest space is 

 always taken up by the coca merchants, who unquestion- 

 ably do the most thriving business, as every one takes 

 advantage of market-day to have their "mambero" re- 

 plenished. Sometimes a buyer of hats visits the market. 

 On such occasions the day is ushered in with an unearthly 

 hammering noise that proceeds from all the houses, and in- 

 vestigation will disclose the women industriously pounding 

 the Panamas into shape on a wooden block. Later they 

 carry them to market on their heads, where the buyer, after 

 a casual examination, makes an offer which varies from 



