Ch. XV.] ASCEXD THE HIGH RANGES. 287 



although it is the one that caught it when younff. The 



o */ o 



custom of planting the square with vegetables, and 

 bringing together all the wild animals that can be col- 

 lected, is doubtless an Indian one. The ancient Ni- 

 caragua^ are said to have worshipped maize and beans ; 

 but the service may not have been dissimilar to our own 

 harvest feasts. 



"We reached the edge of the savannahs of the plain 



of Segovia and began to ascend the high ranges that 



divide it from the province of Matagalpa, and soon 



entered a mountainous country. Our course at first lay 



up the banks of a torrent that had cut deeply into beds 



of boulder clay filled with great stones. The lower part 



of the range was covered with trees of various kinds, but 



none of them growing to a great height ; higher up we 



reached the sighing pine trees ; and higher still, the 



hills were covered with grass, and supported herds of 



cattle. About noon, we reached a poor-looking hacienda 



near the top of the range. The proprietor owned about 



two hundred cattle, and lived in a house, mud- walled 



and grass-thatched, consisting of one room and a kitchen. 



Round the sides of the room were crowded eight rude 



bedsteads, and hammocks were slung across the centre. 



A mob of twenty- one men, women, and children, lived 



at the house, and must have herded together like cattle 



at night. There were a great number of half-clothed and 



naked children running about. The women, of whom 



there were six, made us some chocolate and tortillas 



ready, and we rested awhile. Before we left, the men 



came in with the milking cows and calves. There were 



two men on horseback, but as the country was too roua'h 



' O 



for riding fast, they were accompanied by three boys on 



