14 



INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 



to it with extreme labour and difficulty. At length, after 

 five hours of most severe toil among the rugged heaps 

 of lava, I descended to the place where we had left our 

 provisions. Here I seized the calabash of water, and 

 stood for several minutes with my face turned up to the 

 skies, and then I began upon the alcalde and the eata- 

 bles. Both he and his companion expressed their utter 

 astonishment at what I described, and persisted in saying 

 that they did not know of the existence of such a place. 



I dwell upon this matter for the benefit of any future 

 traveller who may go out competent and prepared to 

 explore the interesting volcanic regions of Central 

 America. Throughout my journey my labours were 

 much increased by the ignorance and indifference of 

 the people concerning the objects of interest in their im- 

 mediate neighbourhood. A few intelligent and educa- 

 ted men know of their existence as part of the history 

 of the country, but I never met one who had visited the 

 Volcano of Masaya ; and in the village at its foot the 

 traveller will not obtain even the scanty information af- 

 forded in these pages. The alcalde was born near this 

 volcano ; from boyhood had hunted stray cattle on its 

 side, and told me that he knew every foot of the ground ; 

 yet he stopped me short of the only object of interest, 

 ignorant, as he said, of its existence. Now either the 

 alcalde lied, and was too lazy to encounter the toil which 

 I had undergone, or he was imposing upon me. In ei- 

 ther case he deserves a flogging, and I beg the next 

 traveller, as a particular favour to me, to give him one. 



I was too indignant with the alcalde to have anything 

 farther to do with him ; and bent upon making another 

 attempt, on my return to the village I rode to the house 

 of the cura, to obtain his assistance in procuring men 

 and making other needful preparations. On the steps 



