78 
NOTES OF A BOTANIST 
three previous days were all silent. Two men ran 
by my house to hide in the sugar-canes on the hill- 
side, but so terrified were they that they could not 
reply a word to my inquiries. I got my breakfast, 
and about noon walked into the town to see if I 
could make out what had happened. The hot sun 
beat down into the streets, in which no living thing 
was to be seen save a few lazy dogs and pigs lying 
under the projecting eaves, and the houses were 
all closed as if some inmate had died. I walked 
on and on till I came to the house of Don Ignacio 
Morey, who I knew had gone down to the Amazon 
some weeks previously ; but I found his wife and 
trembling children, naturally full of anxiety. From 
them, however, I learnt that it was probably no 
recruiting force, but a revolutionary one, that had 
arrived. I returned to my house, and shortly after- 
wards news was brought me that the insurgents 
had sacked the Commandant's house, not leaving 
therein so much as a cup, and that they were pre- 
paring to sack other houses. I loaded my six- 
shooter and my double-barrelled ''Nock," and 
prepared to defend my house ; but at this junc- 
ture a report reached the insurgents that a mes- 
senger had arrived from Colonel Ortiz, to warn the 
local authorities of what had occurred ; and, armed 
with bayonets, they proceeded to search the houses 
where they supposed he might be hidden, but with- 
out finding him. Then, fearing on the one hand 
the arrival of Colonel Ortiz in their pursuit, and on 
the other that news of their uprising should reach 
Moyobamba before them, they began to prepare 
for departing, and at nightfall started for Moyo- 
bamba — five days' journey away at the least — where 
