120 CENTRAL AMERICA. 



his waist, invited the party to read the in- 

 scrij^tion on the blade : — those who could 

 read did so for the benefit of the rest — " No 

 me tiras sin razon ; no me envaynas sin 

 Jtonor^'' — " Do not draw me without cause ; 

 do not sheath me without honour ;" which 

 inscription seeming to have a great effect 

 upon the audience, the Don gave himself a 

 few thumps upon the breast, and remarked 

 he was a true Spaniard and a descendant of 

 the conquerors of the whole world ; which 

 was tacitly agreed to by all parties; the latter 

 assertion being not worth while refuting in a 

 wild forest. 



The head herdsman made him a very quiet 

 remark, that the tiger had that evening killed 

 a calf within a mile of the rancho ; and, 

 though he had been driven away, no doubt 

 he would be at the same spot the next morn- 

 ing, and that it was close to the path he in- 

 tended to travel ; upon which the Spaniard 

 l^ronounced the tiger " a doomed animal," 

 " un condenador 



Very early the next morning the same 

 parties had to follow the same route for three 

 or four miles before they separated. Accom- 

 panied by the herdsman and two more Indi- 

 ans, they arrived at an opening of the wood 



