lish without having my steed to fall with me, but
luckily escaped injury, the saddle bearing the brunt of the shock, and a
broken stirrup saving my leg and foot from a like mishap. We reached the
low lands within eight leagues of San Blas, and found a disagreeable
contrast in the dry heat, from the salubrious atmosphere above.

Changing horses and rapid riding brought us to the main trunk of the Rio
Grande, when embarking with our saddles and geer, in broad canoes, we
were ferried to the opposite bank at Santiago. The river is wide, rapid
and muddy. Small houses of rushes extended from the banks, and hundreds
of people were washing or bathing within them.

The town appeared to have been visited with a heavy shower of
water-melons; I had never before seen such quantities. In front of
every house there were pyramids five feet high, like racks of shot in an
ordnance yard; every man, woman and child had their heads immersed to
the ears in huge fragments; even cattle, swine and dogs were at work,
and the river, too, was covered with seeds and rinds. It was not
surprising, that under such a novel dispensation, there was delay in
procuring horses; to pass my time I supplied myself with a huge green
monster of its species, engaged a little shed of rushes, and cooled my
limbs in the tepid waters, which last feat did not in the least shock
the modesty of an ancient _planchadora_--washerwoman--who carried on
her occupation quite unconcernedly beside me.

Under lash and spur away we went in great good humor, but had not gone a
league, when I waxed exceeding wroth on discovering that some watchful
thief had stolen three ounces from my hat while bathing--it was too late
to return, and we consigned him to his just deserts. The roads were
perfectly level, dry and sandy; at times we scented the ocean air, borne
along by the regular sea breeze, and the atmosphere was filled with
knats and musquitoes, that by no means enlivened the journey. The
vegetation had changed, and we passed for leagues through groves of
tapering palm trees, broad-leafed bananas, rank vines and vegetation.
Fording the Rio San Pedro, we traversed the little towns of Rosa Morada
and Buena Vista, thence over the Rio Cana to Acaponeta. The river was a
clear, shallow stream, and had not yet been swollen or turbid by the
freshets near its source above. We had ridden all night, and sending my
mozo to the town, with the post boy who had suffered severely from the
sting o