Peruvian horse will make a
pirouette (_voltata_) at the signal of his rider, I may mention the
following fact, which occurred under my own observation. A friend of
mine, in Lima, rode at full gallop up to the city wall (which is
scarcely nine feet broad), leaped upon it, and then made his horse
perform a complete _voltata_, so that the fore-feet of the animal
described the segment of a circle beyond the edge of the wall. The feat
he performed several times in succession, and he assured me he could do
the same with all his horses.

Peruvian taste requires that the neck of the horse should present a
finely-curved outline, and that the mouth should be drawn inward, so as
to approach the breast. The horses called _Cavallos_ de Brazo are much
esteemed. At every step they describe a large circle with their
fore-feet, in such a manner that the horse-shoe strikes the lower part
of the stirrup. This motion is exceedingly beautiful when combined with
what is termed the "Spanish pace," in which the noble form of the animal
and his proud bearing are advantageously displayed.

The mule is a very important animal in Peru. The badness of the roads
would render commercial communication impracticable, were it not for
mules. The Peruvian mules are fine, strong animals. The best are reared
in Piura, and sent to Lima for sale. The amblers are selected for the
saddle, the trotters for harness, and the rest are used as beasts of
burthen. The price of a mule of middling quality is one hundred dollars;
a better one double or treble that price; and the very best may even
cost ten times as much. The endurance of these animals under fatigue and
indifferent nurture is extraordinary, and without them the vast sand
plains of Peru would present insuperable obstacles to intercourse
between one place and another. In the power of continuous ambling they
exceed the horses, and are often equal to them in speed.

In Lima there is a public lottery, which the Government farms to a
private individual, for a considerable sum. The tickets are drawn
weekly. The price of a ticket is one real. The largest prize is 1000
dollars; the smaller prizes 500, 250, or 100 dollars. A lottery on a
larger scale is drawn every three months. The highest prize in this
lottery is 4000 dollars, and the price of the ticket is four reals. To
every ticket is affixed a motto, usually consisting of an invocation to
a saint, and a prayer for good luck, and at the drawing of the lotter