EEGALIA SUGAK ESTATE. 29 



fully than I otherwise would. In the first place I may mention 

 that our " pit-pan," a shallow dug out without keel (and with 

 square ends sloping upwards almost like a butcher's tray), was 

 admirably adapted for going up rivers and for passing over 

 shallows and rapids. It was 32 feet long, 2 feet 10 inches wide 

 in the middle, and with low seats placed at equal distances 

 apart. The crew, consisting of four strong Belize Creoles, knelt 

 or sat close together in the bow, and paddled with their faces 

 looking up stream. The bowman and the steersman, the latter 

 also a Creole, supplied with a paddle, had full control of the " pit- 

 pan," and they generally agreed beforehand what course to take 

 in running falls and rapids, as well as, the particular channel 

 offering the least resistance in going up stream. 



Chanting a somewhat monotonous tune, and keeping time 

 with their paddles, the crew in front bend to their work with a 

 will, and soon the "pit-pan" is swiftly sped on its journey. 

 After leaving the settlements, the scenery becomes essentially 

 tropical and luxuriant : passing now between deep, richly-clothed 

 banks and cliffs, which sometimes shut out the strong rays of 

 the sun, we suddenly emerge into open and almost level country, 

 with low, rush-fringed banks, dotted here and there with tall- 

 growing figs and the ubiquitous trumpet-tree. Further inland 

 there would be a " pine ridge," with its clumps of " pitch pine " 

 and " pimento palms," isolated by vast stretches of grassy 

 savannahs. 



We would next pass through a densely- wooded forest, con- 

 sisting of mahogany, cedar, rosewood, &c., with the characteristic 

 vegetation of a " cohune ridge," which extending for a greater or 

 less distance on each side of the river would indicate the richest 

 land of the colony. 



On the Sittee Paver, as on the Mullin's Eiver, the upper 

 portions of their respective valleys have magnificent tracts of 



