80 



INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 



chocolate, taking care not to give him any. There were 

 pins in the walls for swinging hammocks, and in the 

 evening we prepared for sleep. Mr. C. was in his ham- 

 mock, and I was half undressed, when the door was 

 suddenly burst open, and twenty-five or thirty men 

 rushed in, the alcalde, alguazils, soldiers, Indians, and 

 Mestitzoes, ragged and ferocious-looking fellows, and 

 armed with staves of office, swords, clubs, muskets, and 

 machetes, and carrying blazing pine sticks. At the 

 head of them was a young officer of about twenty-eight 

 or thirty, with a glazed hat and sword, and a knowing 

 and wicked expression, whom we afterward understood 

 to be a captain of one of Carrera's companies. The 

 alcalde was evidently intoxicated, and said that he 

 wished to see my passport again. I delivered it to him, 

 and he handed it over to the young officer, who exam- 

 ined it, and said that it was not valid. In the mean 

 time, Mr. Catherwood and I dressed ourselves. I was 

 not very familiar with the Spanish language, and, 

 through Augustin, explained my official character, and 

 directed him particularly to the endorsements of Com- 

 mandant Penol and General Cascara. He paid no re- 

 gard to my explanations ; the alcalde said that he had 

 seen a passport once before, and that it was printed, 

 and on a small piece of paper not bigger than his hand ; 

 whereas mine was the one given by government on a 

 quarto sheet. Besides this, they said that the seal of 

 1 General Cascara was only that of the department of 

 ' Chiquimula, and it ought to be that of the state of Gua- 

 timala. I did all in my power to show the insufficiency 

 of these objections ; but, after a warm altercation, the 

 young man said that we should not proceed on our jour- 

 ney, but must remain at Comotan until information 

 could be sent to Chiquimula, and orders received from 



