Arrival at the Mines 249 
which lived families that had come down from the mountains, 
bringing with them their cows to feed on the plains during 
the wet season. I was tempted to put up at one of these, 
but all were full of people, and I persevered on until it got 
quite dark. Just then I arrived at a hacienda near the 
river, and engaged a young fellow to get his horse and ride 
with me to the town. When my mule had a companion it 
went better, and being very tired I got on its back again. 
It was extremely dark, and I should not have found the 
road without a guide. We passed over the small plain, 
where the broken statues lie, but my guide, who had lived 
all his life within a mile of them, had never heard of them. 
My mule fell heavily with me in a rocky pass, but I escaped 
with a slight bruise. We had great trouble to get it on its 
legs again, and ultimately reached Juigalpa about nine 
o’clock. 
Next morning I awoke with a dreadful headache and pain 
in my back, brought on either by the fatigue of the day 
before, or by having been tempted to eat some half-ripe 
guayavas when coming across the plains tired and hungry. 
I lay in the hammock until ten o’clock, and then feeling 
a little better, got on my mule and started. I was so ill 
as to be obliged to hold on to the pommel of my saddle 
and several times to get off and lie down. We had brought 
some “ tiste’’ with us made from chocolate and maize, and 
drinks of this relieved me. I at last reached Libertad at 
four o’clock, and went to bed immediately. Having fasted 
all day in place of taking medicine, I rose pretty well next 
morning, and we rode through the forest to the mines, 
reaching them at noon on the 29th July, after an absence of 
nineteen days. 
