356 DOTTINGS ON THE ROADSIDE. [Chap. XXL—B. P. 
plant is the “ achuca,” tlie same as that employed for 
solidifying the milk of the india-rubber-tree, but on 
this point I cannot be positive. Certain it is that 
the remedy is vegetable, and no doubt a careful search 
by a scientific traveller would reveal the secret and con¬ 
fer a lasting benefit, not only upon the inhabitants of 
tropical America, but upon those of every part of the 
globe where snakes do congregate; for, so far as is 
known at present, the poison of a snake in the old 
world does not materially differ from that of those in 
the new, but even on this point there is still much to 
be learned. 
But to return from this snake digression to the 
final voyaging of the ‘ Gorgon ’ on the Mosquito coast. 
After a short but very pleasant sojourn at Pirn’s 
Bay, we once more came-to before the “Bluff,” and 
after landing the King and wishing our friends good¬ 
bye, finally started on the homeward bound voyage, 
arriving at Portsmouth in due course. 
And now I must bid adieu to the friends and com¬ 
panions of my first visit to the Mosquito coast. The 
least I can say of them is that it would be hard for 
any captain to find a more excellent set of officers; 
from the senior to the junior it was the same, and 
although, according to the “ custom of the service,” 
we have since been widely separated, I maintain the 
most cordial feeling of esteem for them all, and trust 
they have kept a small space in their recollection for 
one who must ever take a warm interest in their 
welfare. 
