JOURNEY TO YALAHAO. 



345 



CHAPTER XIX. 



Departure. — Journey to Yalahao. — Stony Road. — Arrival at the 

 Port. — The Sea. — Appearance of the Village. — Bridge. — 

 Springs. — Pirates. — Scarcity of Ramon. — The Castillo. — Its 

 Garrison. — Don Vicente Albino. — An Incident. — Arrangements 

 for a Voyage down the Coast. — Embarcation. — The Canoa El 

 Sol. — Objects of the Voyage. — Point Moscheto. — Point Fran- 

 ces. — An Indian Fisherman.— Cape Catoche. — The first Land- 

 ing-place of the Spaniards. — Island of Contoy. — Sea-birds. — 

 Island of Mugeres. — Lafitte. — Harpooning a Turtle. — Different 

 Kinds of Turtle.— Island of Kancune. — Point of Nesuc. — Sharks. 

 — Moschetoes. — Bay of San Miguel. — Island of Cozumel. — 

 Rancho established by the Pirate Molas. — Don Vicente Albino. 

 — Mr. George Fisher. — Piratical Aspect of the Island. — A Well. 

 — Plantation of Cotton. — Stroll along the Shore. 



On Monday, the fourth of April, we took leave 

 of the warm-hearted cura, and set out for our new 

 point of destination, the port of Yalahao. 



I am obliged to hurry over our journey to the 

 coast. The road was lonely and rugged, mostly a 

 complete crust of stone, broken and sharp pointed, 

 which severely tried and almost w^ore out our hor- 

 ses. It was desperately hot ; we had no view ex- 

 cept the narrow path before us, and we stumbled 

 along, wondering that such a stony surface could 

 support such a teeming vegetation. 



In the afternoon of the third day we were ap- 

 proaching the port. When w^ithin about a league 

 of it, we came out upon a low, swampy plain, with 



Vol. IL— X x 



