Page:Vol 3 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/661

Rh by the irregularity of the maize crops, and consequent exchange of productions in different provinces, the prices of maize often varying in neighboring districts in the proportion of nine to twenty-two. In certain parts the consumption of commodities at the mines was the main support of commerce. In every town a daily market was held in the public square; and in the capital itself, besides the general one in the plaza del Volador, there were various others assigned for the sale of special articles, such as that in the plaza de Jesus, where building materials only were sold, the plaza de la Paja or hay-market, and the alhóndiga where grain and flour were sold. Notable also was The baratillo, a place where second-hand goods were bought and sold, and which was the thieves' emporium, since stolen articles could always be disposed of in that mart.

The great commercial gatherings at the fairs were, however, the events which marked the activity developed at the different centers of periodical trading. Wherever a fair was held, thither thronged the merchant with silks and foreign staples, the petty dealer and huckster, the gambler, and the thief The day was passed in close dealing and cheating, and the night in gambling, fandangos, and carousal, the