was attracted to an
unsightly group of palm-thatched huts, looking more like huge beehives
than the abode of human beings. A formidable fence of palm-trunks
surrounded the premises and several acres of ground beyond. These were
the _corrals_, or enclosures where the training of the fierce herds
was practised by the hardy dwellers of the Llanos; but no signs of
cultivation, or aught else connected with the rural occupations of the
farmer, were visible in the neighborhood. Presently the cavalcade
stopped before the gate, and all the individuals composing it dismounted
and began to unsaddle their horses, amidst the barking of a legion of
dogs and the braying of all the donkeys in the vicinity.

This was the _hato_, or cattle-farm, of San Pablo we were in quest of,
famous in the annals of the civil wars in Venezuela as the occasional
head-quarters of the constitutional armies, commanded by the owner of
this farm. Our leader was received at the entrance of his estate by a
grave and elderly negro slave, who acted as overseer, and had under
his control all the men and property attached to it. Kneeling upon
the stony court-yard, he kissed the hand extended to him in friendly
greeting, after which he proceeded to unsaddle his master's horse, which
he led to a pond within the enclosure, where the horses were watered.

We purposed remaining a few days at San Pablo, with the object of
incorporating some fresh relays of mules and horses from the abundant
stock of this estate; so we of the staff installed ourselves under
the palm-roof of our rustic mansion, while the rank and file of the
expedition found accommodation in the open barracoons adjoining it,
although none of the party had reason to boast of being better off than
his neighbor.

"It is sad when pleasing first impressions are obliterated," remarks a
sentimental writer; "always painful to become _desenchante_ on a more
intimate acquaintance with either people or places." I soon found that
I was not in the fairy-land I had imagined, abounding in grottos and
refreshed by sparkling fountains, but in the region of the Llanos, where
the French adage, _Chacun pour soi et Dieu_ _pour tous_, is verified to
its fullest extent. San Pablo, with its vaunted prestige, and in spite
of its proximity to several important marts, was no better provided with
accommodations than the untidy _douar_ of the wandering Arab of the
desert. A rickety table standing against the wall for fear of tumbl