RETREATING FROM HOSTILE INDIANS.
[CHAPTER XXIX.]
RAILWAY-STATION AT MERIDA.—PUBLIC CONVEYANCES.—THE CALESA.—A RIDE THROUGH THE STREETS.—WHEN MERIDA WAS FOUNDED.—PRACTICAL MODE OF DESIGNATING STREETS.—PUBLIC BUILDINGS.—CASA MUNICIPAL.—DRESS AND MANNERS OF THE PEOPLE.—INDIANS, SPANIARDS, AND MESTIZOS.—A CITY OF PRETTY WOMEN.—CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MAYA RACE.—THE MESTIZO QUARTER.—SCENES IN THE MARKET.—BREAKFASTING AT A MEDIO RESTAURANT.—EUCHRE OR YUCCA.—USES OF THE YUCCA PLANT.—GAMBLING IN YUCATAN.—LA LOTERIA; HOW IT IS PLAYED.—AMERICAN COUNTERPART OF THE YUCATEO GAME.—A POPULAR ASSEMBLAGE.
IN THE OUTSKIRTS.
The train rolled into Merida and halted under the walls of an old convent that has been converted into a public hospital. As the passengers emerged from the station Frank and Fred were impressed with the listlessness of the cab-drivers, who did not seem to care whether they obtained customers or not. They stood or sat idly near their vehicles, and one was sound asleep on his box, where he evidently did not wish to be disturbed for so trivial a matter as earning a living.
