262 SPORTING ADVENTURES 



then found, to our dismay, that the other seats 

 were occupied by a Mexican, and his wife and 

 children, all in the worst stage of small-pox. 

 This disease had been raging at Mazatlan and 

 San Bias for some time, but was said to be 

 passed. There was no help for it, as we could 

 not stop where we were, nor go back ; and as 

 they were not likely to -do so, we travelled 

 together for the rest of the journey, some 

 thirty miles. During this time we smoked 

 without ceasing, so that we could hardly see 

 each other's faces, and fumigated ourselves so 

 thoroughly, that we felt no evil effects from 

 the contact ; it is to be hoped that our fellow- 

 travellers were all the better for it. 



During the three days we stayed at Tepic 

 we enjoyed some good sport at the river, 

 bagging twenty brace of ducks on two succes- 

 sive days. On our arrival at Mazatlan from 

 San Bias, a few days afterwards, we found that 

 there was no freight ready for us, and that 

 none was expected for a month. I therefore 

 decided to employ this time in visiting some 



