DAILY LIFE. 



161 



of the Creole is made of the ornamental " Caoba," or mahogany tree. 

 Eight guests may be seated, each one in a different species of mahogany. 

 His Indian servants gather grapes, make wine, collect the tropical fruits, 

 and tobacco ; while his wife or daughter take pride in well-made cigars. 

 The climate is such that horses roam about all the year ; there is no 

 expense for stabling the animals. No barns are necessary for the 

 protection of his harvests during a hard winter. His house may be as 

 open as a shed. What little thin clothing and bedding his family re- 

 quire are supplied by the soil, and worked into fine cloth by the hands 

 of Indians, who spin, weave, and sew. Silver he cares little for. except 

 in table use. Gold ounces are melted into crosses and earrings for the 

 Indian girls. The inhabitants of Santa Cruz are therefore the most in- 

 dolent in the world ; under its hospitable climate, few men exert them- 

 selves beyond what is absolutely necessary. 



It may be well to give, from report, an outline of the daily life of a 

 family in this town. Very early in the morning the Creole, getting out 

 of bed, throws himself into a hamac ; his wife stretches herself upon 

 a bench near by, while the children seat themselves with their legs under 

 them on the chairs, all in their night dresses. The Indian servant girl 

 enters with a cup of chocolate for each member of the family. After 

 which, she brings some coals of fire in a silver dish. The wife lights her 

 husband a cigar, then one for herself. Some time is spent reclining, 

 chatting, and regaling. The man slowly pulls on his cotton trousers, 

 woollen coat, leather shoes, and vicuna hat, with his neck exposed to the 

 fresh air, — silk handkerchiefs are scarce, — he walks to some near 

 neighbors, with whom he again drinks chocolate and smokes another 

 cigar. 



At midday a small low table is set in the middle of the room, and the 

 family go to breakfast. The wife sits next to her husband ; the women 

 are very pretty and affectionate to their husbands. He chooses her from 

 among five, there being about that number of women to one man in 

 the town. The children seat themselves, and the dogs form a ring be- 

 hind. The first dish is a chupe of potatoes with large pieces of meat. 

 The man helps himself first, and throws his bones straight across the 

 table ; a child dodges his head to give it a free passage, and the dogs 

 rush after it as it falls upon the ground floor. A child then throws his 

 bone, the mother dodges, and the dogs rush behind her. The second 

 dish holds small pieces of beef without bones. Dogs are now fighting... 

 Next comes a dish with finely-chopped beef; then beef soup, vegetables, 

 and fruits ; finally, coffee or chocolate. After breakfast the man pulls 

 off his trousers and coat and lies down with his drawers in the hamac. 

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