FROM SAN JUAN TO RE ALE JO. 
167 
liis master, and escaped. This led to a spirited footrace, and 
as u Carlo” dodged, the monarch slipped, his head coming in 
contact with the root of a tree. He seemed discouraged , and 
made no effort to regain his feet. The Englishman felt that he 
had committed a faux pas in allowing him free access to the 
demijohn, and resolved to defer negotiations until the following 
day. He immediately repaired to the shore, and hoisted a 
signal for the ship’s boat. 
On the following morning, the boat was again sent ashore, 
with an invitation for the monarch to visit Her Majesty’s ship. 
Feeling as individuals will feel next day , he graciously accepted 
the invitation. A detail of what transpired on board has never 
been made public, reporters having been excluded. In the after¬ 
part of the day an unusual demonstration was made, flags were 
displayed, cannon fired, and as the band struck up “ Hail to 
the Chief,” an individual was seen descending the side of the 
ship, with a tin crown on his head, and a pair of red flannel 
pantaloons under his arm. On reaching the boat he took his 
position astride a barrel of rum, and moved toward the shore in 
triumph, having been crowned “ King of the Mosquito Coast.” 
All hail, Jamaca I.!! ! It is well known that Great Britain 
immediately recognized the government, and assumed the pro¬ 
tectorate ; hence the presence of the “ red cross ” at San Juan. 
The distance from San Juan to Bealejo is about three hundred 
miles. Passengers going the Nicaragua route now take a steam¬ 
boat at San Juan, which runs up to the Castilian Bapids; then, 
after a portage of half a mile, another steamboat takes them 
up the river to San Carlos; thence across Lake Nicaragua to 
Virgin Bay. Then by pack-mules they are taken to San Juan 
del Sud, on the Pacific. The distances on the river and lake 
are about equal, being about seventy-five miles each, and from 
twelve to fifteen miles by land. There is every facility for 
crossing here, there being several steamboats plying on the 
river and lake. Steamships enter the mouth of the San Juan 
Biver, and the river boats come along side, consequently pas¬ 
sengers incur no expense in the transfer, and are not obliged to 
land, as the small steamboats take them immediately up the 
river. This route has the advantage, in distance, over the Pana¬ 
ma route, of about one thousand miles ; still, the passage from 
