A MISADVENTURE. 221 
an equal number of negroes. The negroes pulled 
the boat, and the whites encouraged the negroes, and 
withal we made a very Satisfactory voyage. Having 
secured the boat a little way from shore, we marched 
up the slope toward the summit. Our host had pro- 
vided a substantial breakfast, to be eaten at the cave, 
and the men staggered under divers’ kinds of nourish- 
ment contained in bottles: with wired corks, a tub of 
ice and other necessaries. 
Soon the bushes grew so thickly that we were 
obliged to “cutlass” our way, and took turns in cut- 
ting out a path with the great, sword-like knives of 
the blacks. It was hot, weary work, and we made 
slow progress. C. started up a great iguana, quite 
five feet in length, which was basking on the rocks. 
Part of our party got lost in the thick growth, and this 
delayed us so that it was well toward noon when we 
arrived at the ridge and felt the cool breezes from the 
east. ‘ : 
After a light lunch, we scattered down the cliffs in 
search of the cave. A whoop from one of our attend- 
ants drew us half-way down the precipice, where we 
were introduced to a deep fissure-like hole in the rock, 
hidden by trees. Crawling carefully over the loose 
rock, three hundred feet above the surf beating at the 
base of the cliff, we entered the cave and prepared to 
explore it. A glance showed that it was not large nor 
deep, and we soon found that it led in only a hundred 
feet before the crevice grew so narrow that it could 
not be followed; but we were satisfied that it led 
down to the sea as we could distinctly hear the boom- 
ing of the waves. 
Along each side of the cavern were hollows, evi- 
