22 ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND ETHNOLOGICAL 



From Danli I went to Dipilto, and the mineral district in its vicinity in Nicaragua. 

 In Dipilto 1 was pleased to find an American cottage painted white, and surrounded 

 by a picket fence ; the property of an American family, who likewise owned, on 

 the brook passing in front of the cottage, a saw-mill; this was, however, idle, 

 the owner of it having gone to Potosi, to work in the silver mines. 



Re-entering Honduras I travelled around the beautiful bay of Fonseca to the 

 city of La Union, the principal port in San Salvador on that bay. From La Union, 

 directing my steps to the capital of that state, where I had my headquarters, I 

 visited the ancient ruins situated on tlie hacienda Opico, near the foot of the vol- 

 cano, San Vicente, and the city of the same name. I did not find there what I 

 was told I should, gigantic sculptured stones, and subterraneous abodes, or passages, 

 but discovered simply the foundation walls of some edifices, and superstructures 

 of others erected with quadrangular hewn stones. These remains Avere arranged 

 in streets, which indicated the existence of a former population of considerable 

 extent. The ruins of the largest edifice show that it covered a space of two 

 hundred feet square. At the hacienda Opico was preserved a stone for crushing 

 maize, with fine filigree work, and a head of a wild animal at its upper end, which 

 is said to be that of a lion. From this stone the ruins have received the name, 

 Leon de Piedra, stone lion. 



SECOND EXCURSION FROM SAN SALVADOR. 



On my second excursion from San Salvador I visited Nicaragua, which offers an 

 extensive field for archa?ological explorations. Disembarking in Corintho, the 

 principal port of Nicaragua on the Pacific, I went first to Leon, the capital, to ar- 

 range the preliminaries of my travel, such as buying a horse, getting governmental 

 protection in the shape of a letter of recommendation to the authorities, and infor- 

 mation about the most interesting localities to visit, and the best mode of reaching 

 them. 



My visit to Leon happened at the time of the Easter holidays ; and as there is 

 no travel in Passion week 1 had to delay my journey. This gave me the oppor- 

 tunity of witnessing the celebration, which consists of public processions in the 

 daytime and late in tlie evenings. In these processions are carried wooden images 

 of different saints. The favorite ones are those of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and 

 San Benitto. These three represent the three different races inhabiting that coun- 

 try. Although San Benitto was an Italian, he was there represented as a Negro 

 with black face, hands, etc. The color of the Christ was that dusky, copper 

 color of the aborigines, and the Virgin Mary alone represented the Caucasian race 

 by a pale-colored body. In the procession at night the men appear in women's 

 attire, in a white dress trimmed with black ribbons, a white kerchief covering the 

 head and tied under the chin, and with a burning wax candle in the hand. The 

 procession on the night of Good Friday is the favorite one, and most numerously 

 attended ; the people flocking together from the surrounding country to participate 

 in it. The candles used on these occasions are of a brown color, made of the wax 



