I was anxious to follow, and see the ceremony, but the horse of
one of my companions had become frightened, and was tearing off toward
the town; and having thrown his rider, and got one of his feet
caught in the saddle, which had slipped, was fast dragging and ripping
it to pieces. Knowing that my shipmate could not speak a word of
Spanish, and fearing that he would get into difficulty, I was
obliged to leave the ceremony and ride after him. I soon overtook him,
trudging along, swearing at the horse, and carrying the remains of the
saddle, which he had picked up on the road. Going to the owner of
the horse, we made a settlement with him, and found him surprisingly
liberal. All parts of the saddle were brought back, and, being capable
of repair, he was satisfied with six reals. We thought it would have
been a few dollars. We pointed to the horse, which was now half way up
one of the mountains; but he shook his head, saying, "No importer" and
giving us to understand that he had plenty more.
Having returned to the town, we saw a great crowd collected in the
square before the principal pulperia, and riding up, found that all
these people- men, women, and children- had been drawn together by a
couple of bantam cocks.
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