more persons, not more than three or four glasses are brought in, so
that one glass is passed repeatedly from hand to hand, and from mouth to
mouth. The quantity of brandy drunk at one of the evening parties called
in the Sierra _Jaranas_, is almost incredible. According to my
observation, I should say that a bottle to each individual, ladies
included, is a fair average estimate, the bottles being of the size of
those used in Europe for claret. In the year 1839, whilst I was residing
for a time in one of the largest towns of the Sierra, a ball was given
in honor of the Chilian General Bulnes; on that occasion the brandy
flowed in such quantities, that, when morning came, some members of the
company were found lying on the floor of the ball-room in a state of
intoxication. These facts naturally create an impression very
unfavorable to the inhabitants of the Sierra; but a due allowance must
be made for the want of education and the force of habit on the part of
those who fall into these excesses. These people possess so many
excellent moral qualities, that it would be unjust to condemn them
solely on account of these orgies. The Serrano is far from being
addicted to habitual drunkenness, notwithstanding his intemperate use of
strong drinks amidst the excitement of company.

But if the vice of excessive drinking be occasionally indulged in among
the better class of people of the Sierra, it is much more frequent among
the Indian inhabitants. Every one of their often-recurring festivals is
celebrated by a drinking bout, at which enormous quantities of brandy
and chicha are consumed. In some districts of the Sierra the chicha is
prepared in a peculiar and very disgusting manner by the Indians.
Instead of crushing the _jora_ (dried maize-grain) between two stones,
which is the usual method, the Indians bruise it with their teeth. For
this purpose a group of men and women range themselves in a circle round
a heap of _jora_; each gathers up a handful, chews it, and then ejects
it from the mouth into a vessel allotted for its reception. This mass,
after being boiled in water, and left to ferment, is the much admired
_chicha mascada_ (that is to say, _chewed chicha_), the flavor of which
is said to surpass that of the same beverage made in any other way. But
they who have been eye-witnesses of the disgusting process, and who bear
in mind various other preparations of Indian cookery in which the teeth
perform a part, require some fo