88 TRAVEL, ADVENTURE, AND SPORT. 



The report of a pistol is heard ; then another, a 

 third, hundreds, thousands of them. It is the flood, 

 las ayuas ; the shots are drops of rain ; but such 

 drops ! each as big as a hen's egg. They strike 

 with the force of enormous hailstones stunning 

 and blinding us. The next moment there is no 

 distinction of drops, the windows of heaven are 

 opened ; it is no longer rain or flood, but a sea, 

 a cataract, a Niagara. The hillock on which I am 

 standing, undermined by the waters, gives way and 

 crumbles under me ; in ten seconds' time I find my- 

 self in the barranca, which is converted into a river, 

 off my horse, which is gone I know not whither. 

 The only person I see near me is Eowley, also dis- 

 mounted and struggling against the stream, which is 

 already up to our waists, and sweeps along with it 

 huge branches and entire trees, that threaten each 

 moment to carry us away with them, or to crush us 

 against the rocks. We avoid these dangers, God 

 knows how make violent efforts to stem the torrent 

 and gain the side of the barranca ; although, even 

 should we succeed, it is so steep that we can scarcely 

 hope to climb it without assistance. And whence is 

 that assistance to come ? Of the Mexicans we see or 

 hear nothing. They are doubtless all drowned or 

 dashed to pieces. They were higher up on the hillock 

 than we were, must consequently have been swept down 

 with more force, and were probably carried away by 

 the torrent. Nor can we hope for a better fate. 



