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I particularly tempted to witness the celebration of this festival, because it was strictly an Indian one, in which many of the old superstitions of the tribes were mingled with the Catholic rites.

The morning was beautiful, and, although there had been much rain the preceding night, the roads were dry and hard, and the whole face of nature looked sweet and clean. The road swarmed with people. The majority of these was of course composed of females, scarcely one of whom (from thirteen upward,) was without a baby strapped to her back; and all jogged along in that little trot which is peculiar to the movement of the Indians.