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.[1] In certain parts the consumption of commodities at the mines was the main support of commerce.[2] 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.[3] 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 assas-
- ↑ Humboldt, Essai Polit., ii. 689.
- ↑ Humboldt mentions a curious system of traffic with the wild Indians in the north. The natives were accustomed to place small crosses on the road from Chihuahua to Santa Fé. A piece of deer-meat in a leathern bag was hung on a cross, and a buffalo hide spread at its foot. This indicated that the Indians wished to trade with the worshippers of the cross, and offered skins for provisions. The soldiers of the presidios took the hides and left salt meat in payment. This barter was carried on without the parties seeing each other: 'un système de commerce qui indique un mélange extraordinaire de bonne foi et de méfiance.' Essai Polit., i. 304-5.
- ↑ The regulations by which these markets in the capital were conducted were strict. Producers could sell their articles only in the respective places of sale. Wholesale business was carried on by auction, under the direction of a corregidor. All cereals had to be delivered and sold at the alhóndiga, or corn-market. Retail shopkeepers could sell provisions of every kind. Prices in some instances were regulated by law, as those of poultry. Montemayor, Sumario, iii. 3-8, 43-4, 56-9; Recop. de Ind., ii. 48-53. Over the markets a juez de plaza presided, who daily attended office in the plaza del Volador and verbally decided disputes. In cases of rascality the culprits were sent by him to prison to be tried. Revilla Gigedo, Bandos, ii. no. xv. 30.
