104 SIX MONTHS IN MEXICO, 



commodities to advantage ; the whole placed 

 on the ground, and protected from the sun by 

 umbrellas of a rude construction. The In- 

 dian women, clean, and neatly dressed, sur- 

 rounded by their children, expose for sale the 

 fine tropical fruits and vegetables, which are 

 often brought a long distance from the warmer 

 districts (Tierras callientes). The poultry, 

 which is plentiful and cheap, occupies another 

 division of the market, and the cooked meats 

 a third— here the Indians, with fires of char- 

 coal, prepare in large quantities, and in a va- 

 riety of ways, meat, poultry, and vegetables ; 

 their cooking is in general highly seasoned 

 with chili, the favourite ingredient of the na- 

 tives. Great quantities of earthenware are 

 also exposed in the markets, and the stranger 

 will be pleased to observe the beautiful way in 

 which the Indian women expose a variety of 

 liquors, of every colour and flavour. A vase, 

 much larger than any made in Europe, of 



