224 



CENTRAL AMERICA. 



Juan to the Boca, or mouth of the river, on 

 the Atlantic. 



I had been lying in my rancho for a 

 week, very much exhausted, and weak from 

 extreme loss of blood, when, finding myself a 

 little stronger, I determined to start for Leon 

 the next morning, as, at least, I could there 

 get some little surgical aid, of which I stood 

 much in need, being obliged to dress my 

 wound myself. 



Having selected my steadiest horses and 

 mules, I started the next morning, taking 

 with me everything I meant to take home, 

 and leaving a great many things for the In- 

 dians who came in to take leave of me : two 

 Indians accompanied me who had been with 

 me from the first, but the journey was more 

 full of accidents to me than all the previous 

 ones put together. We had hardly travelled 

 two leagues than my horse, always used for 

 the lasso, and a favourite, from his sure- 

 footedness, came down, for the first time, 

 right on his nose. On the spur of the 

 moment I disengaged the left arm that was 

 bandaged to the side, to pull him up, and 

 burst afresh the large artery that had been 

 severed, and I had only time to dismount, 

 when I had another fainting-fit. However, 



