Arrival at Greytown 5 
Inside the bar we were in smooth water, for but a small 
stream is discharged by this channel. On our right was a 
sandy beach, on our left great beds of grass growing out of 
the shoal water—weedy banks filled up the once spacious 
harbour, and cattle waded amongst the long grass, where 
within the last twenty years a frigate has lain at anchor. 
Wading and aquatic birds were abundant in the marshes, 
amongst which white cranes and a chocolate-brown jacana, 
with lemon-yellow underwing, were the most conspicuous. 
A large alligator lazily crawled off a mud-spit into the water, 
where he floated, showing only his eyes and the pointed scales 
of his back above the surface. The town was now in full 
view—neat, white-painted houses, with plume-crowned palms 
rising amongst and over them, and we landed at one of several 
wooden wharves that jut into the river. 
Greytown, though only a small place, is one of the neatest 
tropical towns that I have visited. The houses, especially 
in the business portion of the town, are well built of wood, 
and painted white with brown roofs. Pretty flower gardens 
surround or front many of them. Others are nearly hidden 
amongst palms and bread-fruit, orange, mango, and other 
tropical fruit trees. A lovely creeper (Anizgonon leptopus), 
with festoons of pink and rose-coloured flowers, adorns some 
of the gardens. It is called la vegessima, “ the beautiful,” 
by the natives, and I found it afterwards growing wild in the 
provinces of Matagalpa and Segovia, where it was one of the 
great favourites of the flower-loving Indians. The land at 
and around Greytown is perfectly level. The square, the 
open spaces, and many of the streets are covered with short 
grass that makes a beautiful sward to walk on. 
The trade in the town is almost entirely in the hands of 
foreign residents, amongst whom Mr. Hollenbeck, a citizen 
of the United States, is one of the most enterprising. A 
considerable import trade is done with the States and Eng- 
land. Coffee, indigo, hides, cacao, sugar, logwood, and india- 
rubber are the principal exports. I called on Dr. Green, the 
British Consul, and found him a most courteous and amiable 
gentleman, ready to afford protection or advice to his country- 
men, and on very friendly terms with the native authorities. 
He has lived for many years in Nicaragua, and his many 
charitable kindnesses, and especially the medical assistance 
