NICARAGUA AA'D THE MOSQUITO COAST. 163 



lands, which along their whole length are indented with a series 

 of shallow lagoons separating them from the main sea, are in- 

 habited by a mixed race in whose veins African and Indian blood 

 are striving for the ascendency, with a dash of white blood infused 



by buccaneers and Jamaica traders of the olden times. In the 

 government of the community the people of the coast lands are 

 the predominant element, the Indians farther in the interior 

 being apathetic; nevertheless, the "chief/' who is at the head of 

 the government, is a full-blooded Indian. The official language, 



