NICARAGUA AND THE MOSQUITO COAST. 173 



the water, presenting an overhanging bow and stern exactly alike 

 in shape. Although the natives paddle about in all kinds of seas 

 and weather, to the novice the boats are most frail and cranky 

 craft; the slightest demonstration is sufficient to careen them to 

 the very verge of capsizing. When such an accident does hap- 

 pen, the natives, who are excellent swimmers., right the boat and, 

 by dexterously shaking it from side to side, empty it of water, and 

 then, jumping in, they will pursue their journey with the utmost 

 complacency. They propel their canoes with large shovel-shaped 

 paddles, which they work for hours without signs of fatigue. 



Pearl Lagoon is the sheet of water immediately north of the 

 lagoon of Bluefields. The two are separated by a neck of land 

 known as " Haulover." Pearl City, the home of the chief, is situ- 

 ated on the banks of Pearl Lagoon, and is about thirty-five miles 

 from Bluefields. Much of the journey is through dark, winding 

 creeks, and nowhere on the trip, until the settlement at Pearl La- 



FIG. 7. LOADING BA.XANAS. 



goon is reached, can the slightest trace of civilization be seen. 

 Pearl City is a far prettier place than Bluefields, and is built on 

 a prairie or savanna of some six square miles in extent. I was 

 cordially received by Robert Henry Clarence, the Mosquito chief, 

 who placed at my disposal one of his three horses, and I had 



