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in all Catholic lands of this part of the New World. Here
they lasted two days. On the first, a statue of the Mother
of God, hung with all kinds of fabrics and adorned with a
gold crown, was carried in a procession around the court and
walls of the "presidio". At the same time at the fort they
continually shot from five cannons, the only ones fit for
shooting, which was also followed by [the cannons of] our sloops, and this was
deeply appreciated by the Spaniards. After the dinner that
followed all this, which, by the way, was entirely similar to
the one described above and where the officers, the monks,
the soldiers, and the guests, that is, we, sat at the common
table, and drank champagne (donated by us) to the health of His
Majesty, the Emperor Alexander, and to King Ferdinand the VIII.
After dinner, dancing began for which the music was supplied
by guitars and songs by women. A favorite Spanish dance, "fan-
dango," was almost the only one that they danced. This ended
the first day. The second started with the same procession,
after which the cavalry exhibited its skills in horseback
riding, in spear throwing, and throwing of lassos. As a reward,
the most skillful got a complete military outfit, that is,
deerskin armor, shield, spear, and lasso. This reward was
won by a young soldier by the name of Bernardo Jilo. After
these spectacles they started to dance, as on the previous
day. Afterward, they performed some kind of play, after which
they danced until the next morning. We, too, participated in
all these festivities because they received us with honor not