388 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 



ing look, begged the senores to take in sail ; and the se- 

 nores, all shouting together, ran and tumbled over the 

 logwood, hauling upon every rope but the right one. 

 The mainsail stuck half way up, and would not come 

 down ; and while the patron and all the men were 

 shouting and looking up at it, the marinero who had 

 been upset in the canoe, with tears of terror actually 

 streaming from his eyes, and a start of desperation, ran 

 up the mast by the rings, and, springing violently upon 

 the top one, holding fast by a rope, brought the sail 

 down with a run. A hurricane blew through the naked 

 masts, a deluge of rain followed, and the lake was lash- 

 ed into fury ; we lost sight of everything. At the very 

 beginning, on account of the confusion on board, we 

 determined not to go under the hatch; if the bungo 

 swamped, the logwood cargo would carry her to the 

 bottom like lead. We disencumbered ourselves of 

 boots and coats, and brought out life-preservers ready 

 for use. The deck of the bungo was about three feet 

 from the water, and perfectly smooth, without anything 

 to hold on by, and, to keep from being blown or wash- 

 ed away, we lay down and took the whole brunt of the 

 storm. The atmosphere was black ; but by the flashes 

 we saw the bare poles of another bungo, tossed, like 

 ourselves, at the mercy of the storm. This continued 

 more than an hour, when it cleared off as suddenly as it 

 came up, and we saw the Laguna crowded with more 

 shipping than we had seen since we left New- York. In 

 our long inland journey we had almost forgotten the 

 use of ships, and the very sight of them seemed to bring 

 us into close relations with home. The squall having 

 spent its fury, there was now a dead calm. The men 

 took to their sweeps, but made very little headway ; 

 and, with the port in full sight, we had great apprehen- 



