70 
About four A. M. (Oct. 7th) we embark- 
ed, that is, I and my police guard, to drop 
down with the tide towards Zarumilla, 
the Peruvian frontier towards the left bank 
of the River Guayaquil at this point, which 
is about two leagues to the North of Tum- 
bez. The channel is above a league wide, 
betwixt the Island of Puna and the oppo- 
site or Eastern bank; and the swell, with 
a contrary wind, rendered the passage as 
disagreeable as might be expected from a 
short sea, and a flat boat of the kind used 
in this river, called bongos, which are ca- 
noes raised upon, and carrying a single 
square sail, commonly very ragged and 
very badly managed. On the morning of 
the 8th, we reached the point called Tem- 
blique, where we waited for the next tide, 
lighted a fire on the beach, and made a 
breakfast of a kind of mussel, found in 
great quantities embedded in the sand. 
We here quitted the main river to enter 
the labyrinth of creeks, which form a kind 
of net-work along the left bank of the river, 
for the distance of about thirty miles ; they 
are fringed with thick forests of mangroves, 
and so intricate, that it is necessary to be 
well practised to hit the direction to any 
given point; however, we made but one 
blunder, and about midnight reached what 
is called “ the Port of Zarumilla," meaning 
jected setting up a mint, literally for the purpose of 
coining bad money, and. instead of purchasing the ne- 
cessary implements, they considered it simpler to steal 
The man, aware of what was to happen, entreated me 
. to take charge of his shop, and when the escort ar- 
rived, I presented myself to defend the property, in 
virtue of the article of the Constitution, which de- 
clares, “ No man bea on any pretext, be Aree sean 
Er made." In consequence of my resist- 
Z ance I was cited before the Prefect, and as the minis- 
ters of a Sultan are all Sultans in their spheres, he 
NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY TO PAYTA, 
a single shed, at the water’s edge, without 
inhabitants, and so infested with mosquitos, 
that we determined rather to walk at that 
hour to Zarumilla, than sustain their at- 
tacks. The road was over an open level 
plain, and in about an hour we reached the 
farm-house, which, in fact, with about a 
dozen houses scattered in the neighbour- 
hood, inhabited almost entirely by the ser- 
vants of the estate, constitutes the hamlet 
of Zarumilla. 
The next morning, my conductor having 
carried into effect his commission of seei 
me out of the line of the Equator, took his 
leave to return to Guayaquil. 
turned out to be an old acquaintance of 
mine in Rio Hacha, and so far from giving 
me any annoyance, had made my journey 
thus far as agreeable as circumstances 
would permit. General Cordero had given 
him a paper for me to sign, by which I was 
made to acknowledge the right of govern- 
ment to try me as a traitor, should I re- 
turn. Of course I did nothing so ridicu- 
lous, but handed the officer a receipt of my 
having been illegally and arbitrarily ex- 
pelled by the military authority of Cordero. 
I had now * the world before me, where 
to choose," though rather ill-provided for 
the journey, for trusting foolishly to the 
word of Modesto Larea; all my baggage lay 
in a valise, which was all I required in 
Ambato, but was far too scanty for so in- 
definite a pilgrimage as I had now in pros- 
pect. The country round Zarumilla is a 
level plain, interspersed with copses, and 
covered with long grass, at this season per- 
^ fectly dry, so that I was rather surprized 
to see the cattle preserve their codd 
and the cows of the farmers yield a tolera- 
ble quantity of milk. The cheese of this 
estate has considerable reputation in Guay- 
aquil. ese cattle-farms, which border 
on the coast, are even more extensive than 
those of the Paramas, yet they only pre- 
sent a miniature of those of the plains of 
Orinoco and Apure. Zarumilla is the ex- 
