f from the lake. The bushes had hidden us until absolutely
face to face, and he came by me with his teeth grinning and tail half
cocked, in the most unamiable frame of mind I ever saw in one of his
tribe. Without intending it, I had very nearly cut him off from his
native element; and though naturally a cowardly brute, feeling himself
to a certain degree cornered, he had evidently made up his mind to
fight. Not being prepared, with only small shot in my gun, for a duel
with the reptile, I stopped short and gave him right of way, and, as he
cleared me at about two yards, let him have both barrels behind the
shoulder to expedite his movements, and had the satisfaction of seeing
him give a jump into the water that would have done credit to a
performer for the Grand National.

They are cowardly brutes, and though I have been frequently in parts of
the world they inhabit, I have never yet heard of an instance of a man
being attacked by one on land. In the water it is different. A boy had,
while bathing, been taken down some months since close to this very
spot; and from what I saw of the lagoon next morning, I would not have
ventured a swim there for untold gold. Had I been a little quicker, and
unintentionally barred this fellow's way to the lake, I am quite certain
he would have attacked me, as he must have passed somehow. These
creatures never take to the jungle, and, like a rat driven into a
corner, he would have been obliged to fight.

On returning to the village we found our dinner nearly ready; bread and
liquor we had brought with us, but the hunted fowl, new-laid eggs, and
hot tortillas formed no bad meal for travellers sharp set by a mountain
ride. After feeding, we visited some of the principal houses in the
village, chaffed some of the good-humored and pretty little Indian
girls, and arranged about a canoe for the following morning. We then
slung our grass hammocks among the miscellaneous company and wooed the
drowsy god of slumber, our guide slinging his hammock up between us,
and sleeping with his machete buckled around him, ready for attack or
defence at a moment's notice.

The machete is the invariable companion of the poorer and middle classes
of Mexicans, and the multiplicity of uses to which it is dedicated are
something wonderful to the uninitiated. With it he clears the tangled
paths in the forest; it helps to build his hut, to cut his firewood, and
eat his dinner; he uses it for purposes of warfare, an