AN AMUSING INCIDENT. 



459 



to provide us with relief Indians to carry the coach 

 through to Merida, twenty-seven miles. It was grow- 

 ing late, and I went on before with a horse for change, 

 to reach Merida in time to make arrangements for a 

 caleche the next day. 



Toward evening it rained hard. At dark I began to 

 have apprehension of leaving Mr. Catherwood behind, 

 sent the servant on to secure the caleche, and dismount- 

 ed to wait. I was too dreadfully fatigued to ride back, 

 and sat down in the road ; by degrees I stretched my- 

 self on a smooth stone, with the bridle around my wrist, 

 and, after a dreamy debate whether my horse would 

 tread on me or not, fell asleep. I was roused by a jerk 

 which nearly tore my arm off, and saw coming through 

 the woods Indian runners with blazing pine torches, 

 lighting the way for the coach, which had an aspect so 

 funereal that it almost made me shudder. Mr. C. had 

 had his difficulties. After carrying him about a league, 

 the Indians stopped, laid him down, and, after an ani- 

 mated conversation, took him up, went on, but in a little 

 while laid him down again, and, thrusting their heads 

 under the cover of the coach, made him an eager 

 and clamorous address, of which he did not under- 

 stand one word. At length he picked up dos pesos, or 

 two dollars, and gathered that they wanted two dollars 

 more. As the alcalde had adjusted the account, he re- 

 fused to pay, and, after a noisy wrangle, they quietly 

 took him up on their shoulders, and began trotting back 

 with him to the village. This made him tractable, and 

 he paid the money, threatening them as well as he could 

 with vengeance ; but the amusing part was that they 

 were right. The alcalde had made a mistake in the 

 calculation ; and, on a division and distribution on the 

 road, by hard pounding and calculating, each one 



40 



