90 
DOTTINGS ON THE ROADSIDE. [Chap. YL—B. S. 
forming the watershed between the lakes and the At¬ 
lantic. On the summit of one of the hills they had a 
magnificent view—Omotepec away to the S.S.W., at 
least eighty miles distant; Mombacho, quite distinct; 
while inland the peak of Pena Blanca, about fifteen 
miles, pointed out the exact position of the mines. 
The surrounding country was found to be very bare 
of trees, and the many dry river-beds and barren¬ 
looking hills again recalled California most forcibly. 
After crossing this dividing ridge, they descended on 
savana lands, similar to those ridden over on the 
other side of Acoyapa. It was seven o’clock, quite 
dark, before they arrived at Libertad, a small, though 
thriving mining town, built on the Mico, a branch of 
the Blewfields river, as yet in its infancy, and num¬ 
bering about one thousand inhabitants, thirty-five of 
whom are foreigners—French, Germans, Americans, 
and English. They had thus occupied about eight 
hours on the journey, a distance of about twenty miles 
between Libertad and Acoyapa, but then their ani¬ 
mals had scarcely ever gone faster than a walk. 
From Libertad they made various excursions then 
and subsequently, from which the following informa¬ 
tion is gleaned. Boughly speaking, the left bank of 
the Mico, for at least eight miles on its course from 
Libertad, may be taken as defining the edge of the 
primeval forest in the midst of which the mines are 
situated. Crossing the Mico, at a ford about five 
miles below Libertad, the forest is entered by a nar¬ 
row track or path, made by clearing away the trees 
and undergrowth, the stumps in many cases sticking 
