322 THE NATURALIST IN NICARAGUA. [Ch. XVII. 



nearly upon me. We soon found it was our own gun, 

 which had been given to Rito to carry. He had strapped 

 it behind his saddle, and one of the other mules had come 

 up and rubbed against it and let it off. The poor horse 

 was only four feet from the muzzle, and the contents 

 were lodged in its loin. A large wound was made, from 

 which the blood flowed in a great stream, until Velasquez 

 got some burnt cloth and stanched it. Fortunately the 

 charge in the gun was a very light one, and no vital part 

 was touched. We arranged with the muleteers to take 

 our cargo to Juigalpa for us, and determined to leave 

 Rito behind to lead the horse gently to Pital. I may 

 here say that the horse, which was a very good one, 

 ultimately recovered. 



At this house the woman had eight children, the 

 eldest, I think, not more than twelve years of age. The 

 man who passed as her husband was the father of the 

 youngest only. Amongst the lower classes of Nicaragua 

 men and women often change their mates. In such 

 cases the children remain with the mother, and take 

 their surname from her. Baptism is considered an in- 

 dispensable rite, but the marriage ceremony is often 

 dispensed with ; and I did not notice that those who 

 lived together without it suffered in the estimation of 

 their neighbours. The European ladies at Santo Do- 

 mingo were sometimes visited by the unmarried matrons 

 of the village, who were very indignant when they found 

 that there were scruples about receiving them. They 

 were so used to their own social observances, that they 

 thought those of the Europeans unwarrantable prudery. 



Before turning out the mules, Rito got some limes and 

 squeezed the juice out upon their feet, just above the 



