198 
DOTTINGS ON THE ROADSIDE. [Chap. XII.-B. S. 
gua and its characteristic islands. What a capital sub¬ 
ject for a geographical paper an exploration of this dis¬ 
trict would afford ! It is truly virgin ground, where 
here and there you may meet a few families of In¬ 
dians ,— u Caribs ” the half-castes of Nicaragua call 
them, though they do not practise the flattening of the 
head and other customs deemed peculiar to that race. 
At my suggestion, a meeting was called at St. Do¬ 
mingo of all those who had either been from Chontales 
to Blewfields, or who were interested in opening up 
a direct road between them. A good many responded 
to the call, and I elicited much useful information, 
tending to show that it was practicable to cut a road 
from Javali to Quisalala (Kisalala), the navigable part 
of the Blewfields river. This induced me to urge 
the desirability of cutting a picket to the Blewfields 
Biver, which would shorten the distance between 
England and the mines by several days. The task 
was accordingly taken in hand by the Central Ame¬ 
rican Association, and the following report on the 
subject, addressed to me by Mr. Hermann Melzer, the 
Government Surveyor of Chontales, will show what 
progress has been made up to this moment:—-“On 
leaving Nicaragua the last time, you engaged at Leon 
a German, Mr. Hermann Grunnow, who last year 
began opening up the Picket from the Javali to the 
navigable parts of the Blewfields Eiver, and who, 
after a temporary interruption, some time ago resumed 
his work. The manager of the Javali not being able 
to inspect the Picket as far as it has now been cut, 
Mr. Fairburn and myself, accompanied by one of my 
