EXTEMPORE SHOEMAKING. 



53 



machete, made proper holes, and, passing a leather 

 string under the instep, around the heel, and between 

 the great doigt du pied and the one next to it, was 

 shod. 



Again our road lay on the ridge of a high mountain, 

 with a valley on each side. At a distance were beau- 

 tiful hillsides, green, and ornamented with pine-trees 

 and cattle grazing upon them, that reminded us of park 

 scenery in England. Often points presented them- 

 selves, which at home would have been selected as 

 sites for dwellings, and embellished by art and taste. 

 And it was a land of perpetual summer ; the blasts 

 of winter never reach it ; but, with all its softness and 

 beauty, it was dreary and desolate. 



At two o'clock it began to rain ; in an hour it clear- 

 ed off, and from the high mountain ridge we saw the 

 Motagua River, one of the noblest in Central America, 

 rolling majestically through the valley on our left. 

 Descending by a wild, precipitous path, at four o'clock 

 we reached the bank directly opposite Encuentros. It 

 was one of the most beautiful scenes I ever beheld : 

 all around were giant mountains, and the river, broad 

 and deep, rolled through them with the force of a 

 mighty torrent. 



On the opposite bank were a few houses, and two 

 or three canoes lay in the water, but not a person was 

 in sight. By loud shouting we brought a man to the 

 bank, who entered one of the canoes and set her adrift ; 

 he was immediately carried far down the stream ; but, 

 taking advantage of an eddy, he brought her across to 

 the place where we stood. Our luggage, the saddles, 

 bridles, and other trappings of the mules, were put on 

 board, and we embarked. Augustin sat in. the stern, 

 holding the halter of one of the mules, and leading her 



