After a detention of two hours, we were again under way, passing through a most delightful country, with highly cultivated plantations, watered by rivulets running from the mountains. We passed along on the margin of the stream which connects Lake Leon with Lake Nicaragua, running in the direction of the latter. After a fatiguing day’s march night overtook us, and our driver very considerately got the cart fast in another mud-hole. We encamped, and soon had the satisfaction of hearing the rumbling of distant thunder, and soon were wet to the skin. In the morning at sunrise we were at Nindaree; soon after leaving this town we came to what appeared the ruins of
a volcano. It had consumed itself to its very base, and the surrounding country was strewn with lava, which, in color and form, much resembled blooms or pigs of iron. We moved on, and soon saw indications of the city of Massaya.
I had two companions who were mounted on donkeys. (See Plate). Our long friend was obliged to hold up his feet to keep them from dragging on the ground; he wore spurs, but they were, at first, of no use to him; when he would raise his feet to apply them, they would be so far aft they would not touch the animal; he, however, with Yankee ingenuity, put them on just below the knee; this had a perceptible influence, enabling him to lead the party.
We were disposed to make as favorable an impression upon our entrée as possible. My other companion had hoisted his umbrella, and got his donkey well waked up; I had been leading our horse all the morning, wishing to make my advent on a fresh animal. As we were about to ascend the hill I mounted; my horse at this moment was seized with a most voracious appetite. I applied my spurs, which only seemed to give him a keener relish for the grass. I pulled upon the bridle—it seemed to open his mouth the wider, but go he would not. My companions had left me, and even the cart had passed; and now a party of females, laden with corn for the market, walked leisurely by, not, however, without giving a mischievous wink at my perplexity. This was too much; I dismounted, cut a heavy stick, and again mounted. Under the influence of this, he seemed to devour small brush with the greatest avidity. I must confess I felt cornered; what to do I did not know. I hailed a native lad who was passing, and requested him to go behind and push; this the horse seemed to think derogatory to his standing, and raising one of his hoofs, he struck the lad about midships; the precise number of summersets he turned, I am not prepared to say. He soon gained his feet, and, in a most musical mood, took the longest kind of steps in the direction of a rancho, where, no doubt, his mother lived.
One of the horse’s legs having got in motion, I applied, most vigorously, spurs and cudgel, and soon the other three started, and I was under way at a rapid pace. I soon gained the summit of the hill, when my horse raised his head, pricked up his ears, and with his nostrils distended looked a very Bucephalus. Never did I make a more auspicious entrée into a city than on this occasion; the natives stood all agog, and even the Bloomer-clad señoras, that had looked upon me sneeringly but a few moments before, now courtesied with veneration. Apropos of Bloomerism—this is the prevailing fashion in Central America; it has become so deeply rooted that it will be difficult to eradicate it. I would recommend this as a favorable retreat for ladies of the North who wish to dispense with the long robe.
Chapter Twenty-sixth.
MASSAYA—THE CARNIVAL—FEMALE LABORS—GOURDS—MAIDENS CONSIGNED TO A VOLCANO—A DONKEY “NON EST”—OX versus DONKEY—SAME MEDICINE PRESCRIBED—LAKE NICARAGUA—GRENADA—A “PRIEST” IN A CONVENT—“OUR” HORSE—A GROUP OF ISLANDS—CROSS THE LAKE—MR. DERBYSHIRE’S PLANTATION—BREAKFAST—BULLOCKS STEPPING ON BOARD—SAIL FOR SAN CARLOS—MAGNIFICENT SCENE—A HYMN OF THANKS—A MOUNTAIN CITY—GOLD MINES—ARRIVAL AT SAN CARLOS—CUSTOM-HOUSE REGULATIONS REPUDIATED.
After breakfast we strolled about to see the town; the location is commanding, being on the bank of a lake of the same name. The town is large, well laid out, with an open plaza in the centre, which serves as a market-place. At this time everything wore a business-like appearance. Extensive preparations were being made for the carnival, which was to come off in a few days. Here are many fine buildings, including churches, monasteries, and convents, all elaborately ornamented, and decorated with paintings.