Benighted on the Road 187 
given them some hopes of saving their crops. We passed 
a village called Apands and then struck across the plains, 
and on the other side reached low flat-topped ranges covered 
with small trees and brushwood, amongst which were many 
clearings well fenced and planted with maize. Passing over 
an undulating country, the hills covered with oak forests, 
the lowlands well grassed, we reached about two o’clock San 
Rafael, a small town that has used up all its houses in forming 
the plaza in front of a barn-like church. As usual, the half- 
breed population were sunk in idleness and poverty. 
We stopped at one of the houses to get a drink of “ tiste,”’ 
and were visited by a fussy little man who told us that he 
was secretary to the judge and keeper of the “ estanco,” and 
in fact the ruling power in the town, which he placed at our 
disposal. We, however, wanted nothing but our “ tiste,”’ 
and to get some information about a cave we had heard was 
in the neighbourhood. Our friend knew all about it, and got 
a boy to show us the way for a couple of dimes. Under his 
guidance we crossed a brook, and passing through a pine 
forest soon reached the cave, which was on the side of the 
precipitous bank of a small stream. It was only a small one, 
extending for about twenty feet back, hollowed out of a 
sandy conglomerate, probably by the action of the brook 
when it ran at a higher level. I dug a little into the floor, 
but had not time to do much, and found nothing. There 
were signs of its having been recently occupied, the walls 
and roof were blackened with smoke, and numerous shells 
of the common fresh-water melania were lying about. We 
were told that the Indians when travelling used it, and that 
during the last revolution the inhabitants of San Rafael hid 
their valuables in it, though what they consisted of I am at 
a loss to say. 
On leaving the cave our guide put us on the wrong road, 
and we did not discover the mistake until we had travelled 
a couple of miles. We then arrived at some huts in the pine 
forest, where we were told that the road to Ocotal was half 
a mile distant, across a stream and a high steep range oppo- 
site. We had either to return to San Rafael to take the right 
road or to cross the range. The latter looked rather formid- 
able, but we determined to try it. It was very steep and 
rocky, but amongst the pines there was no underwood, so, 
