174 CENTRAL AMERICA. 



ore, which made its appearance every now and 

 then on the surface of the ridge ; when one 

 of those dark black clouds, that fly across the 

 sky every afternoon for three months in the 

 year, charged with whole batteries of light- 

 ning, and literally floods of rain, was gaining 

 the meridian so fast, that we agreed to take 

 shelter under a shed built over the mouth of 

 a new shaft ; the shed containing a large heap 

 of dry sacate grass for repairs in the thatch. 

 We reached the entrance just as the storm 

 began, and hurried into it, leading our horses. 

 We had both drawn machetes in our hands, 

 as is the usual custom in the country, especially 

 when fire-arms are not carried. I was leading 

 the way in, when a great big coil loosed itself 

 from the grass on which it was lying, and 

 made a dash at the entrance, evidently solely 

 to escape ; however, I hit it with my machete 

 pretty hard on the head as it passed, and it 

 coiled itself up again on the desmontes^ or pile 

 of rubbish thrown out of the shaft : its head 

 was erect in the centre of the coil, with the 

 blood running down from the cut it had got 

 in the head ; but the Indian, whom it had 

 very nearly knocked down in trying to escape, 

 took up one of the spare rafters for the roof 

 of the shed, and dealt it such a double-handed 



