of the Pacific Coast of Guatemala. 195 



wail of the Colola {Tinamus robustus, Scl., and T. boucardiy^cl.); 

 nor is the well-known cry " Tres-pesos-son," from the Pigeon 

 [Colwnba nigrirostris, Scl.)^ ever heard. Nor yet does the large 

 Cacique {Ostinops montezuma, Scl.) ever disturb the silence of the 

 forest. The eye, too, searches in vain for familiar forms of Ta- 

 nagers {Rhampkocelus and Calliste); nor is a single Chatterer 

 [Cotinga amabilis, Gould) anywhere to be seen. Much of the 

 forest consists of bamboo, with here and there a huge lieba. 

 There is, however, a belt of normal tropical forest, four leagues 

 wide, commencing about twelve miles from the sea, between 

 which and the sea the soil seems comparatively unproduc- 

 tive. Everything bears the stamp of land reclaimed from the 

 sea at a comparatively recent date. The long line of volca- 

 noes suggest a recent slow upheaval ; and the constant discharge 

 of sand by every river would tend to advance the coast-line by 

 slow degrees. 



Such speculations occupied my thoughts as I rode to Huamu- 

 chal, my last fishing-destination. This name is applied to a 

 district lying on the Mexican frontier, the boundary being the 

 river Tilapa, the right bank of which is in the province of Soco- 

 nusco, and therefore Mexican territory, though Guatemala, 

 according to some maps, lays claim to the ownership. The 

 country is almost perfectly flat, and during the rainy season 

 the greater portion of it is flooded. The first rise of the river 

 causes this, and a stretch of country, extending inland some 

 twelve or fifteen miles, is covered with water. As the dry season 

 sets in, the water gradually subsides, leaving a number of shal- 

 low lagoons in the depressions of the land, none of which are 

 more than about four feet deep. It sometimes happens, in 

 seasons of great drought, that even these dry up, with the excep- 

 tion of one large lagoon — that of Taraachian. From this, 

 Huamuchal would be re-stocked with fish. The species of fish 

 are not numerous ; they consist of an Atractosteus, two species 

 of Pimelodus, two of Heros, two or three Salmonoids, and some 

 three or four more kinds. The first is the most remarkable, 

 its occurrence here showing a wider range of a northern genus. 

 It is also found in some lagoons on the frontier of San Sal- 

 vador. During the period just preceding Lent it is much 



