Esquipula 43 
of the cattle, mules, and horses feeding on the meadows. 
Far in the distance the view was bounded by a line of 
dark, nearly black-looking forest, which, there commencing, 
extends unbroken to the Atlantic. Near its edge, a seven- 
peaked range marked the neighbourhood of Libertad—the 
beginning of the gold-mining district. Descending the slope 
of the range, we found the savannahs on its eastern side much 
more moist than those to the westward of it; and as we 
proceeded, the humidity of the ground increased, and the 
crossings of some of the valleys and swamps were difficult 
for the mules. The dry season had set in, and these places 
were rapidly drying up; but in many it had just reached 
that stage when the mud was most tenacious; at one very 
bad crossing, called an “estero,’ my mule fell, with my leg 
underneath him, pinning me in the mud. The poor beast 
was exhausted, and would not move. Night had set in— 
it was quite dark, and I had lagged some distance behind 
my companions: fortunately they heard my shouts, and, 
soon returning, extricated me from my awkward predica- 
ment. Without further mishap we reached Esquipula, a 
village inhabited mostly by half-breeds, and slung our 
hammocks for the night in a small thatched house belonging 
to the mining company, who kept many of their draught 
bullocks at this place on account of the excellent pasture 
around. The village of Esquipula is built near the river 
Mico, which, rising in the forest-clad ranges to the eastward, 
runs for several miles through the savannahs, then again 
enters the forest and flows into the Atlantic at Blewfields, 
a broad and deep river. This river must have had at one 
time a large Indian population dwelling in settled towns 
near its banks. Their burial places, marked with great 
heaps of stones, are frequent, and pieces of pottery, broken 
stone statues, and pedestals are often met with. Near 
Esquipula there are some artificial-looking mounds, with 
great stones set around them; in fact, this and another 
village, a few miles to the south, called San Tomas, are, I 
believe, both built on the sites of old Indian towns. The 
Indians of the Rio Mico gave the Spaniards some trouble on 
their first settlement of the country. About two leagues 
from Acoyapo, the site of a small town was pointed out to 
me, now covered with low trees and brushwood. Here the 
