verlooking the river. The man, on
seeing me, raised a bugle to his lips and sounded a merry blast, which
was, answered by loud cheers further down. On arriving opposite the
lookout, I was informed that the Governor of Caceres and a party of
ladies and gentlemen were waiting for me at a short distance below, and
in a few moments I sighted the party and landed. I was warmly received
by a numerous gathering. The Governor informed me they had driven
across from Caceres the day before, to intercept me; that he had had a
message from King Alphonso to see that I wanted for nothing. He
pleasantly remarked to me in French, that it was an old Spanish custom
to say to a guest, 'my house is yours,' but he would change the
saying to 'my country is yours.'

"The place at which I landed was a ford or ferry. The Governor and his
party were sheltered under a large tent which had been erected for the
occasion, and were attended by a troop of servants and cooks. The latter
had prepared a regular banquet and oh, how I wished I was so
constituted that I could take enough food aboard to last me some days.
As it was, the bounteous feast deserted by the shepherds, had filled me
to repletion and I could do but scant justice to the load of luxuries
they spread before me. I spent the day pleasantly with them, however,
and parted that evening with many kind wishes and warnings. The
Governor's engineer, who was one of the party, told me all he knew about
the river and said I would soon reach the terrible rapids known as the
Salto del Gitano--the Gypsey's Leap.

"After leaving the delightful company, I bowled away on a flying current
and ere long heard a roar below warning me that I was approaching a
dangerous point. I prepared to take it, no matter what it was. The river
closed in between two natural walls, as narrow as a canal, and danced
away at a lively pace. The water dashed over the rocks that obstructed
its passage, and was churned into foam and spray that leaped high into
the air. As the roar below grew more terrible, I lost some courage and
endeavored to check up, fearing to encounter backwater. In attempting to
stop myself, I grasped a rock as I was being carried by; but did not
have strength enough to resist the force of the current, and so was
hurled along. The current ran about thirty kilometers an hour, and the
rocks were so high on either side that only a small strip of sky was
visible overhea