Pinata (1868)

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THE STRANGER IN THE TROPICS:
BEING A HAND-BOOK FOR HAVANA AND GUIDE BOOK FOR TRAVELLERS IN CUBA, PUERTO RICO, AND ST. THOMAS;
WITH DESCRIPTIONS OF THE PRINCIPAL OBJECTS OF INTEREST, SUGGESTIONS TO INVALIDS, BY A PHYSICIAN.
HINTS FOR TOURS AND GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR TRAVELLERS
by C. D. Tyng
American News Co., NY
1868

Pg. 100 (CARNIVAL):
   When these are over, comes the lottery, the _pinata_, or whatever else forms the special attraction of the ball.  After this, staid people retire, while the more vivacious resume the dances and the fun.
   The _pinata_ is a large globe of paper, filled with a variety of objects, suspended over the ball-room floor.  At an appointed hour, usually about midnight, this is lowered sufficiently to be reached by sticks provided for the purpose, and is struck at by volunteers blindfolded for the attempt.  Many fail to hit it at all, and are rewarded with laughter and jests; while the successful striker fractures the paper globe, and brings down with applause the multitude of its contents for a general scramble.

(OED and Merriam-Webster both have 1887--ed.)

Pg. 51:  The yellow fever, or "black vomit"....
Pg. 56:  For the conveyance of persons, the _volante_, a vehicle peculiar to Cuba....
Pg. 70 (restaurant menu):  Fish a la Minuta...Tatare...Mayonesa...Holandesa...Sebastopol...Milanesa...Gratin...Normanda...Catalan.
Pg. 71:  Chicken a la marengo.
Pg. 95:  The _panal_ is a mixture of sugar and the white of an egg, dried in rolls about six inches long.