186 



NARRATIVE OP A 



Here and there, as we passed on, some rancherias or 

 little hamlets occurred, and one or two haciendas ; but 

 we made no halt before reaching St. Miguel de Tucuru, 

 This was a village situated in a hollow in the mountains, 

 where a circular range of woods and sierras formed 

 around a natural .amphitheatre. The place, when we 

 first discovered it from an adjacent eminence, looked so 

 rural, so pleasant and secluded, that I readily agreed to 

 stop there for the night ; nay, I would almost have con- 

 sented to pass there the remainder of my days. On our 

 arriving there, however, these favourable impressions 

 were in a measure destroyed by the absence of every 

 comfort. The curate being absent in the performance of 

 some of the duties of his calling., his house was shut up ; 

 that of the alcalde offered us no inducement for remaining 

 in it ; and the provisions the place afforded were but 

 few and homely, In selecting our quarters, we had the 

 choice of the church or the cabildo, both of which were 

 open ; but we entertained too much respect for the former 

 to turn it into a caravansary, and took our lodgings in 

 the latter. This was a commodious and substantial hut, 

 consisting of one large room, with a corridor in front. A 

 field hard by afforded excellent * pasture for the mules ; 

 and, however we might fare, it was some satisfaction to 

 know that our beasts were properly provided for. 



At an early hour the next morning, we left the pic- 

 turesque little valley of St. Miguel, and were again upon 

 the road. After passing a rocky ridge, over a difficult 

 and rugged path, and fording several small brooks, we 

 came again to the stream, the course of which we had 

 followed during the preceding days. This stream was 

 now a respectable river ; its banks were perfectly clear, 

 or shaded only by lofty palm trees, growing at intervals, 

 and the road was completely level, and clothed with a 

 fine short grass, so that our mules were able to make 

 more progress with less fatigue. The weather, too, was 



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