INHABITANTS. 



13 



In the towns there is very little pure In- 

 dian blood, though many villages might be 

 quoted that possess it; in general there is, 

 even in the interior, a slight mixture of races, 

 but the dark red skin, and the long black 

 straight hair, is generally seen after leaving 

 the towns. 



It is true that many of the upper classes 

 possess large herds of cattle, but still they 

 are very poor, as they can seldom dispose of 

 but a very few, and that by a sort of barter* 

 A good bullock is only worth from four to 

 six dollars, and even to obtain that, in any 

 number above two or three, the herds must 

 be driven some hundreds of miles to the fair 

 of St. Miguel, which occurs once a year. 



Many of the cattle perish on the difficult 

 road ; and the expenses of the herdsmen and 

 horses that accompany the herd, together 

 with the great probability that no sale will 

 be effected, render the speculation very 

 doubtful. The loss is, on the average, greater 

 than the gain. There are many proprietors 

 of land near the towns who cultivate indigo, 

 but the crop is so very precarious, and the 

 want of capital to keep the pits in order, and 

 pay the wages of working, in ready money, 

 so great, as to render it almost invariably a 



