354 TEAVEL, ADVENTUKE, AND SPORT. 



the country, that Castillon eagerly listened to the 

 suggestion of some American gold-speculators, that 

 he should apply for the assistance of some Cali- 

 fornians, who had already rendered themselves no- 

 torious by an unsuccessful expedition into Sonora, 

 from which they had just returned. Of this expedi- 

 tion, which had for its object the conquest of the 

 departments of Sonora in Northern Mexico, General 

 Walker was the leader; and although his daring 

 attempt at establishing an independent republic there 

 had failed, he gained so high a reputation for mili- 

 tary skill and prowess, that Castillon at once per- 

 ceived the acquisition which such a man, with a few 

 brave followers, would prove to his undisciplined and 

 almost demoralised army. He therefore applied to 

 Walker to know the terms upon which he and his 

 followers were prepared to join the Nicaraguan army. 

 The price demanded by Walker was a grant of land, 

 fifty-two thousand acres in extent, to be selected from 

 any unoccupied lands in the State. These terms 

 were at once complied with by Castillon, and Walker 

 lost no time in organising his expedition. A glance 

 at the personal history of the remarkable man who 

 conducted this daring enterprise may not be uninter- 

 esting. General Walker's father had been a banker 

 in Scotland, and emigrated to the United States in 

 1820. Walker himself was born in 1824, but mani- 

 fested a roving disposition. At an early age he gra- 

 duated successively in law, physic, and divinity; 



