276 



INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 



of Ciudad Vieja), this immense basin, probably the cra- 

 ter of an extinct volcano, vrith sides much higher than 

 they are now, became filled with water by accumulations 

 of snow and rain. There never was any eruption of wa- 

 ter, but one of the sides gave way, and the immense body 

 of fluid rushed out with horrific force, carrying with it 

 rocks and trees, inundating and destroying all that op- 

 posed its progress. The immense barranca or ravine 

 by which it descended was still fearfully visible on the 

 side of the mountain. The height of this mountain has 

 been ascertained by barometrical observation to be four- 

 teen thousand four hundred and fifty feet above the level 

 of the sea. The edge of the crater commands a beau- 

 tiful view of the old city of Guatimala, thirty-two sur- 

 rounding villages, and the Pacific Ocean ; at least so 

 I am told, but I saw nothing of it. Nevertheless, I did 

 not regret my labour; and though drenched with rain 

 and plastered with mud, I promised myself in the month 

 of February, when the weather is fine, to ascend again, 

 prepared for the purpose, and pass two or three days in 

 the crater. 



At one o'clock we began our descent. It was rapid, and 

 sometimes dangerous, from the excessive steepness and 

 slipperiness, and the chance of pitching head foremost 

 against the trunk of a tree. At two o'clock we reach- 

 ed the cross ; and I mention, as a hint for others, that, 

 from the pressure of heavy water-proof boots upon the 

 doigts du pied, I was obliged to stop frequently; and, 

 after changing the pressure by descending sidewise 

 and backward, catching at the branches of trees, I was 

 obliged to pull off my boots and go down barefooted, 

 ankle deep in mud. My feet were severely bruised by 

 the stones, and I could hardly walk at all, when I met 

 one of the Indians pulling my horse up the mountain 



