118 THE MASAPA. Book I. 
mentioned in the last chapter as extending along the foot 
of the table-land of Chontales, Matagalpa, and New 
Segovia. During the rains, the communication with those 
higher regions of the country is almost entirely interrupted 
by this belt of marshes, and even during the dry season the 
soil of some portions becomes hard only at the surface, 
while other localities, where permanent springs exist, 
remain marshy throughout the year. We passed some of 
these places, which were frequented by numerous musk- 
ducks almost as large as geese. 
Towards the evening we arrived at the buildings of the 
hacienda of Masapa, where we intended to pass the night. 
They are situated on a broad and flat dome-shaped eleva- 
tion, between the higher mountains which commence in 
that neighbourhood. The rocks in this district have a 
trachytic and phonolitic character, either in a more homo- 
geneous or in a porphyritic state. A ridge of mountains 
begins here at the shore of the lake, continuing in a south- 
easterly direction, and terminating south of Acayopa. 
The situation of the hacienda is very fine, but the soil 
suffers from want of moisture during the dry season, 
though a never-failing little river is at a short distance. 
Absolutely nothing was to be found here to feed our horses, 
and we had to send them several miles off, to a patch 
of grass where they remained during the night. The 
hacienda, like all haciendas of Chontales, is a mere cattle 
farm, without any agricultural improvements. Before the 
commencement of the rains the dry grass is set on fire, 
and with the approaching darkness we saw the savanas of 
the neighbouring heights burning in several places. As 
the grass is generally of a thin growth on these rocky 
mountain sides, the fire can do little harm ; though, during 
that night, we were told it consumed a valuable stock 
