28 



DESCRIPTIVE OUTLINE 



odd as it may sound, is cockfighting every Thurs- 

 day and Sunday. I was riding one Sunday when 

 I first discovered their arena, and got off my horse 

 to look at it. It was crowded with priests, who 

 had each a fighting-cock under his arm; and it was 

 surprising to see how earnest and yet how long they 

 were in making their bets. I stayed there more 

 than an hour, during which time the cocks were 

 often upon the point of fighting, but the bet was 

 not settled. Besides the priests, there were a num- 

 ber of little dirty boys, and one pretty-looking girl 

 present. While they were arranging their bets, 

 the boys began to play, so the judge instantly or- 

 dered all those who had no cocks to go out of the 

 arena ; upon which the poor girl and all the little 

 boys were immediately turned out. 



I soon got tired of the scene ; but before I left 

 them, I could not help thinking what an odd sight 

 it was, and how justly shocked people in England 

 would be to see a large body of clergymen fighting 

 cocks upon a Sunday. 



At St. Juan the priests have rather more power 

 than at Mendoza, and this they shewed the other 

 day, by taking the governor prisoner while in bed, 



