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During the carnival proper,
before Lent, the streets are filled with masked persons in groups or
alone, who dance, make impudent remarks or otherwise indulge in
nonsense, to the special delight of the ubiquitous small boy. The
better class celebrate with masquerade balls, where the merry spirit
of the Dominican is given free rein.
The principal vice of the country is gaming. Men of the better class
play cards, dominoes, chess, checkers and billiards, for money, but
they do so rather for pastime than for gain. Among the poorer classes,
however, the predominant idea is that of making money quickly. Cards
and dice are often used, but the typical form of gambling, the one at
which the poor countryman is fondest of staking his hard-earned wages,
is the cockfight. Every town has its cockpit where on Sundays and
holidays the barbarous sport is carried on in the presence of crowds
of whooping, screaming spectators who often ride miles to attend. The
authorities claim that efforts have been made to stop this sport, but
that they have all been unavailing.


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