188 MEXICO. 
toward tlie opposite shore, and as much against the stream as possible; 
but with all his efforts he could make no lieadway, and was swept bodily 
down by the current toward a wreck of broken trees and branches that 
bent over the water from the bank we had quitted. I spurred, whipped, 
encouraged him, without avail. He made another effort ; but failing in 
that, kept his head above water and resigned himself to the tide. I 
felt my situation to be dangerous, especially as I was rapidly approach- 
ing the long and sharp branches, by which I knew that I should be severely 
injured. I resolved, therefore, .to leap off and swim for the bank, which 
was not more than a dozen paces distant. But, at that moment, Pedro 
galloped down to the point opposite which I was drifting, and, as I was 
about executing my purpose, I saw his lasso, flung with great accu- 
racy, settle around my animal's head. With the end wound round his 
saddle-bow, Pedro stood firmly on the shore, and, in a minute, the action 
of the current had swung my horse on soundings. Drenched as I was, 
I shall ever hereafter feel a debt of gratitude to a lasso — which is rarely 
felt for anything in the shape of a noose. 
My companion and myself continued our journey, both wet, (for he 
had fared not much better than myself,) but both gratified with our 
drenching, as it had the effect of a bath, while the evaporation of the water 
from our soaking clothes, cooled and refreshed us. 
Thus through valley and glade, (rarely meeting an Indian or passing 
one of their miserable houses,) and without intelligence of our party, we 
pushed onward until about six o'clock in the evening, when we reached 
a wide and cultivated plain, traversed by a considerable stream, resembling 
in its verdant banks and soft meadows set in a frame of lofty mountains, 
the scenery about the sources of our Potomac. We had not long jour- 
nied over this plain before we passed the hacienda of Miacatlan. At a 
short distance, to the right of it, appeared the village of Tetecala. As 
soon as a passing Indian mentioned the name, we recollected it to be that 
of our halting-place for the night. 
We speedily passed an Indian suburb, buried, as usual throughout the 
tierra caliente, in flowers and foliage, among which lounged the idle and 
contented population. Here we were met by a guide, who had been sent 
forward by our courteous entertainers, and we were soon under the shelter 
of their friendly roof. 
Our horses were quickly unsaddled and bounding over the wide corral ; 
and refreshed by a clean suit and a cigarrito, I had strolled over the 
tasteful village, and visited the market and the church (one of the neatest 
I have seen, especially in the simple and true taste of its architecture, 
and the arrangement of the altar and the pulpits,) before our companions 
made their appearance. It turned out, after all, that they — not we — had 
mistaken the road, and had wandered much out of their way under the 
direction of a guide. It is better sometimes to have none. 
In addition to all our antiquarian researches, to-day we have travelled 
nearly fifteen leagues, and although I have earned a right to a soft pillow 
