ARRIVAL AT THE PACIFIC. 



287 



olate, and sausages, and, after a ride of twenty-four 

 miles, made a glorious breakfast ; but we exhausted the 

 poor cow, and I was ashamed to look the calf in the 

 face. 



Resuming our journey, at a distance of nine miles we 

 reached the solitary hacienda of Overo. The whole of 

 this great plain was densely wooded and entirely um 

 cultivated, but the soil was rich, and capable of main- 

 taining, with very little labour, thousands of people. 

 Beyond Overo the country was open in places, and the 

 sun beat down with scorching force. At one o'clock 

 we crossed a rustic bridge, and through the opening in 

 the trees saw the river Michetoya. We followed along 

 its bank, and very soon heard breaking on the shore the 

 waves of the great Southern Ocean. The sound was 

 grand and solemn, giving a strong impression of the 

 immensity of those waters, which had been rolling from 

 the creation, for more than five thousand years, unknown 

 to civilized man. I was loth to disturb the impression, 

 and rode slowly through the woods, listening in pro- 

 found silence to the grandest music that ever fell upon 

 my ear. The road terminated on the bank of the river, 

 and I had crossed the Continent of America. 



On the opposite side was a long sandbar, with a 

 flagstaff, two huts built of poles and thatched with 

 leaves, and three sheds of the same rude construction ; 

 and over the bar were seen the masts of a ship, riding 

 on the Pacific. This was the port of Istapa. We 

 shouted above the roar of the waves, and a man came 

 down to the bank, and loosing a canoe, came over for 

 us. In the mean time, the interest of the scene was 

 somewhat broken by a severe assault of moschetoes and 

 sandflies. The mules suffered as much as we ; but I 

 could not take them across, and was obliged to tie them 



