10 



CENTRAL AMERICA. 



Leon ; and, with the exception of wine or 

 beer, the general living was far better 

 than I have often experienced in my many 

 travels. 



Though in latitude twelve to thirteen de- 

 grees north of the line, the heat was not so 

 immoderate as on the coast, and the vast 

 range of forest gave plenty of shelter ; in- 

 deed, when the north winds rushed down 

 with great violence from the mountains after 

 the rains, the nights were often very chilly, 

 and the water of the stream at day icy 

 cold; very different from the hot moist 

 nights and the lukewarm water on the vast 

 plains below. 



These " ranchos" served me as head-quar- 

 ters for two years ; and, though I do not 

 regret having thrown away such time, I 

 certainly would not wish to pass that time 

 over again in the same way, though I look 

 back with pleasure to many adventures on 

 lake and river, forest, savannah, and moun- 

 tain. 



I shall now proceed to give a few short 

 chapters on the different subjects before ad- 

 verted to, confessing at once my ignorance of 

 the technical terms ascribed by the learned 

 to some of the different geological formations, 



