CHAPTER XII. 



FROM Acapulco we went to Manzanillo, where 

 we shipped a quantity of wood, and several tons 

 of the husks of the Coquilla nut for fuel. This 

 palm grows in great abundance in the woods 

 near Manzanillo; the nut is used for making oil, 

 and contains such a quantity that it will burn 

 like a candle. We found the husks sufficient 

 for our purposes; they throw out so great a 

 heat, that we could steam by their aid alone, 

 without using coal or wood. Our chief engineer 

 reported so favourably of them, that I ordered 

 a large supply to be ready for us on our return; 

 the only expense attached to this kind of fuel 

 is the labour of collecting it. Whilst here I 

 rode over to a lagoon a few miles from the 



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