f this sort takes place is attended
with loss of life, and sometimes the sacrifice both of men and horses is
very considerable. During my residence in Jauja, fourteen Indians and
nineteen horses were killed or seriously wounded in a bull-fight; yet
catastrophes of this kind appear to make no impression on the people.

Some of the church festivals are celebrated by the Indians of the
Sierra, in a manner which imparts a peculiar coloring to the religious
solemnities. In the midnight mass on Christmas Eve, they imitate in the
churches the sounds made by various animals. The singing of birds, the
crowing of cocks, the braying of asses, the bleating of sheep, &c., are
simulated so perfectly, that a stranger is inclined to believe that the
animals have assembled in the temple to participate in the solemnity. At
the termination of the mass, troops of women perambulate the streets,
during the remainder of the night. Their long black hair flows loosely
over their bare shoulders; and in their hands they carry poles with
long fluttering strips of paper fixed to the ends of them. They
occasionally dance and sing peculiarly beautiful melodies, accompanied
by a harp, a fiddle, and a flute; and they mark the measure of the
music by the movement of their poles.

The celebration of Christmas-day is marked by the appearance of what are
termed the _Negritos_. These are Indians, with their faces concealed by
hideous negro masks. Their dress consists of a loose red robe, richly
wrought with gold and silver thread, white pantaloons, and their hats
are adorned with waving black feathers. In their hands they carry gourd
bottles, painted in various gay colors, and containing dried seeds.
Whilst they sing, the _Negritos_ shake these gourds, and mark the time
by the rattling of the dried seeds. They perform the dances of the
Guinea negroes, and imitate the attitudes and language of a race which
they hold in abhorrence and contempt. For the space of three days and
nights these negritos parade the streets, entering the houses and
demanding chicha and brandy, with which the inhabitants are glad to
supply them, to avoid violence and insult.

On New Year's Day other groups of mummers, called _Corcobados_,
perambulate the streets. They are enveloped in cloaks of coarse grey
woollen cloth, their head-gear consists of an old vicuna hat, with a
horse's tail dangling behind. Their features are disguised by ludicrous
masks with long beards; and, bestridin