,731, four-fifths of
which are Indians and Mestizos or half-breeds. The general business of
the country is agricultural, and the territory is divided into landed
estates or farms, called haciendas, which are devoted to the breeding of
cattle, and to raising jenniken or Sisal hemp, and corn. Cotton and
sugar are also products, but not to an extent to admit of exportation.
Some of the plantations are very large, covering an area of six or seven
miles square, and employing hundreds of Indians as laborers.

Farm houses upon the larger estates are built of stone and lime, covered
with cement, and generally occupy a central position, with private roads
diverging from them. These houses, which are often very imposing and
palatial, are intended only for the residence of the owners of the
estate and their major-domos or superintendents. The huts for the Indian
laborers are in close proximity to the residence of the proprietor, upon
the roads which lead to it, and are generally constructed in an oval
form with upright poles, held together by withes of bark; and they are
covered inside and out with a coating of clay. The roofs are pointed,
and also made with poles, and thatched with straw. They have no
chimneys, and the smoke finds its way out from various openings
purposely left. The huts have no flooring, are larger than the common
wigwams of the northern Indians, and ordinarily contain but a single
room. The cattle yards of the estate, called corrals, immediately join
the residence of the proprietor, and are supplied with water by
artificial pumping. All the horses and cattle are branded, and roam at
will over the estates, (which are not fenced, except for the protection
of special crops), and resort daily to the yards to obtain water. This
keeps the herds together. The Indian laborers are also obliged to rely
entirely upon the common well of the estate for their supply of water.

The Indians of Yucatan are subject to a system of peonage, differing but
little from slavery. The proprietor of an estate gives each family a
hut, and a small portion of land to cultivate for its own use, and the
right to draw water from the common well, and in return requires the
labor of the male Indians one day in each week under superintendence. An
account is kept with each Indian, in which all extra labor is credited,
and he is charged for supplies furnished. Thus the Indian becomes
indebted to his employer, and is held upon the estate by that bo