It Is A Walled
Town, Containing About Five Or Six Thousand Inhabitants, With A
Cathedral And College, Which Last Is,
However, at present deserted.
It is situated on the confines, and may be called the capital of a
tract of
Land called the country of the Maragatos, which occupies
about three square leagues, and has for its north-western boundary
a mountain called Telleno, the loftiest of a chain of hills which
have their origin near the mouth of the river Minho, and are
connected with the immense range which constitutes the frontier of
the Asturias and Guipuscoa.
The land is ungrateful and barren, and niggardly repays the toil of
the cultivator, being for the most part rocky, with a slight
sprinkling of red brick earth.
The Maragatos are perhaps the most singular caste to be found
amongst the chequered population of Spain. They have their own
peculiar customs and dress, and never intermarry with the
Spaniards. Their name is a clue to their origin, as it signifies,
"Moorish Goths," and at the present day their garb differs but
little from that of the Moors of Barbary, as it consists of a long
tight jacket, secured at the waist by a broad girdle, loose short
trousers which terminate at the knee, and boots and gaiters. Their
heads are shaven, a slight fringe of hair being only left at the
lower part. If they wore the turban or barret, they could scarcely
be distinguished from the Moors in dress, but in lieu thereof they
wear the sombrero, or broad slouching hat of Spain.
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