ACROSS THE CONTINENT, WESTWARD TO COBAN. 79 
on the road, but sent with our mozo Santiago, — which 
might be an excuse for him. 
There is no posada in Pansos; and after getting our 
breakfast at noon in a little shop which was papered with 
pictures from “ Harper’s Weekly ” and “ Puck,” we decided 
to spend the night at Teleman. After some difficulty in 
getting permission for our guide to leave town, — the 
comandante being still drunk, 1 — at two o’clock, mounted 
tolerably, Frank and I, with our boy Roberto, left Pansos. 
The pleasure of being again on horseback after the dull 
inaction of our canoa voyage was so great that I was 
willing to overlook any deficiencies in my mount. As 
Roberto stopped a short distance from the town to make 
a slight addition to his wardrobe, we went on alone for 
a while ; the road could hardly be missed, it is so worn 
by the bullock-carts used to bring coffee from the 
plantations of Alta Verapaz. The beautiful vegetation, 
healthy and luxuriant, drew our attention from the 
muddy road, which became worse as we got farther into 
the forest. Many fine clear brooks crossed our path, 
and as we came out of the woods the valley of the Boca- 
nueva lay before us. Two piers of masonry stand on 
opposite banks of this river ; but the iron bridge lies on 
the shore at Livingston, and there seems to be no very 
strong attraction between the iron and the masonry. 
The absence of a bridge was no great hardship, for not 
only was the river shallow and easily fordable, but there 
was a most curious vine-bridge, built of vejucos, perhaps 
a hundred and fifty feet long, hung from two convenient 
trees and approached by ladders. It was old, and one 
1 I may add that soon after our arrival in Coban the Jefe politico deposed 
this unworthy comandante, punishing him with various indignities. 
