JOURNEY TO GUATEMALA. 



57 



out their way, avoiding the holes and loose stones, and 

 never moving a foot till they had secured a firm stepping 

 for it, was a proof of their patience and sagacity that 

 struck me with surprise. 



On these occasions, the rider, if he is wise, will be 

 careful not to meddle with his mule, but will tie the 

 reins of her neck and abandon himself to her discretion. 

 For my part, I had enough to do, in another way, with- 

 out attending to the mule, since I was kept a great part 

 of the time drawing up my legs to avoid the projecting 

 rocks, and bobbing my head to save it from the branches. 



The density of the trees was also a great obstruction 

 to our progress ; the mules, with all their sagacity, run- 

 ning against them with their loads, and sometimes get- 

 ting jammed between two trees, so as to be prevented 

 from moving either backwards or forwards. Then 

 might be heard the angry muleteer rating his beast for 

 carelessness ; and the words, u Ah mula ! ah lerda ! li- 

 bra^ libra!" (oh mule' oh stupid! stop, stop!) would 

 echo through the woods. The word libra is also used 

 when a mule is required to make room for another to 

 pass ahead. 



As we continued up the mountain, the features of this 

 sylvan wilderness became more and more picturesque and 

 grand. Groups of rocks of various and fantastic forms 

 hung over our heads, as if ready to fall and crush us, or 

 rose up' in our path, obliging us to make a tedious cir- 

 cuit. Now a deep ravine must be crossed, and now a 

 precipice must be passed within a few feet of its edge. 

 Gigantic trees reared their heads in the vallies below, 

 and on the heights above, while others, of smaller size, 

 grouped together at intervals, looked like little groves 

 planted by the hand of man. Nature was here exhibited 

 in her most wild and majestic form. The lofty pine was 

 there, and the mahogany, and knotty ceyba, and the 

 palm tree, the pride of the Tropics. Of the latter there 

 were many varieties, some rising to a height of fifty feet, 

 8 



