164 
GUATEMALA. 
from Agua had brought upon the town in 1541; but 
some of the buildings seemed to be partly resting on sub¬ 
structures of older date. Some of the slaves in uniform 
called soldiers told us we could not go into the presence 
of the comandante without taking off our spurs; so I 
haughtily declined to go in, or even dismount, and or¬ 
dered him to come out and receive the Jefe’s letter. He 
meekly obeyed, seeming to be a very decent fellow. 
Clouds covered both volcanoes, and our road led south¬ 
ward between them. We had a good enough road, down 
hill constantly, and winding into the valleys on the side 
of Fuego, — often crossing fine streams of clear cold 
water. The crater of the volcano was still smoking, — as 
it has been since 1880, when there was a slight eruption. 
We could see that the crater-wall was broken down to 
give issue to what looked more like scoriae than lava. 
Gases have acted extensively on the whole summit, 
which displays many colors, from the decomposition of 
the lavas. 
As the day closed, the road became bad and full of 
small stones. The foothills were capped with irregular 
masses of lava, which in the sunset looked not unlike the 
ruined castles on the Rhine. We were in the region of 
canefields, and we often caught a glimpse of the Pacific 
Ocean. At seven we rode into Escuintla and found the 
hotel comfortable enough; but all night there was a 
horrid noise, — drums, rockets, bombs, and shouts, ■ 
and we dreamed that the town was being captured by 
storm. 
We had entered the region of railroads again-; and 
our train started next morning at half-past six for San 
Jose, on the Pacific. The fare for the round trip was 
