HORSE-MARKET. SCENE IN THE PLAZA. 195 



any other branch of commerce carried on at the fair, 

 as I wished to purchase horses for our journey. 

 There were plenty of them, though, as in all other 

 sections of the country, but few fine ones. Prices 

 varied from ten dollars to two hundred, the value 

 depending, not upon bone, blood, or muscle, but upon 

 training and paces. The young hacienda horses, 

 with nothing but the trot, or trotones, as they were 

 called, were worth from ten dollars to twenty-five, 

 but as they excelled in pace or easiness of move- 

 ment their value increased. No one pretends to 

 ride a trotting horse in Yucatan, for he who does 

 labours under the imputation of not being able to 

 purchase a pacer. The finest horses in the country 

 in appearance are those imported ; but the Yucatan 

 horses, though small, are remarkably hardy, require 

 no care, and endure an extraordinary degree of fa- 

 tigue. 



Night came on, and the plaza was alive with peo- 

 ple and brilliant with lights. On one side, opposite 

 the church, along the corridors of the houses and in 

 front of them, were rows of tables, with cards and 

 dice, which were very soon crowded with players, 

 whites *and Mestizoes ; but the great scene of at- 

 traction was the gathering of Indians in the centre of 

 the plaza. It was the hour of supper, and the small 

 merchants had abundant custom for their eatables. 

 Turkeys which had stood tied by one leg all day, 

 inviting people to come and eat them, were now 

 ready, of which for a medio two men had a liberal 



