JOURNEY TO GUATEMALA. 



127 



interior by means of a river which leads up to the lake 

 called Golfo dulce ) already described. In the same bay is 

 situated the port of St. Thomas, of which mention has also 

 been made in another part of this narrative. On the Pa- 

 cific shore is the bay of Conchagua, and the ports of la 

 Union, Realejo, Sonsonate, and Istapa, of which the latter 

 is the nearest to Guatemala, but is only a road-stead, and 

 by no means safe, owing to the heavy swell constantly 

 rolling in from the ocean. 



The most considerable of the Central American islands 

 are Bonaca and Ruatan, in the bay of Honduras ; the 

 archipelago of Chiriqui, in the Carribean sea; and the 

 islands in the bay of Conchagua, in the south. 



The principal rivers are the Usumasinta, which falls 

 into the bay of Campeachy; the Polochie, which dis- 

 charges itself into the Golfo dulce ; the Balize, the Hondo, 

 and the Motagua, also called the Gualan, which flow into the 

 bay of Honduras ; the Pasa, Lempa, and Esclavos, which 

 contribute to the Pacific. These rivers are navigable for 

 many miles into the interior. There are others of less 

 note, which are not navigable. The country also abounds 

 in warm and medicinal springs. 



The lakes most deserving of notice are those called 

 Golfo dulce, or Great Fresh Water Lake of Izabal, and 

 Amatitan, which have been mentioned before, and espe- 

 cially the great lake of Nicaragua, which is connected 

 with that of Leon. 



The lake of Nicaragua is situated in the province of 

 that name, at a distance of about a hundred miles from the 

 Atlantic ocean, with which it communicates by the river 

 St. Juan. This river is now considered the most advan- 

 tageous and most practicable point for establishing a con- 

 nexion between the two oceans. It is believed to be navi- 

 gable for vessels of three or four feet draft from its port to 

 the lake; and for vessels of twice that depth, as far as the 

 point where the falls commence, which are the great diffi- 

 culty to be surmounted. The surface of the lake, accord- 



