isposition of our
horses; and, according to our previous plan, to avoid the long journey
back through the interior we determined to send Dimas with them to
Valladolid, and thence to the port of Silan, a journey of two hundred
and fifty miles, while we should, on our return, continue down the
coast with the canoa, and meet him there.

At nine o'clock we were taken off, one at a time, in a small dug-out,
and put on board our canoa. We had no leave-takings. The only persons
who took any interest in our movements were Dimas, who wanted to go
with us, the woman whom we had dispossessed of the house, and the agent
of the canoa, who had no desire to see us again.

Our canoa was known in the port of Yalahao by the name of El Sol, or
the Sun. It was thirty-five feet long and six feet wide, at the top,
but curving toward the bottom. It carried two large sails, with the
peaks held up by heavy poles secured at the masts; had a space of eight
or ten feet clear in the stern, and all the rest was filled with
luggage, provisions, and water-casks. We had not been on board till the
moment of embarcation, and prospects seemed rather unpromising for a
month's cruise. There was no wind; the sails were flapping against
the mast; the sun beat down upon us and we had no mat or awning of
any kind, although the agent had promised one. Our captain was a
middle-aged Mestizo, a fisherman, hired for the occasion.

Under these circumstances we set out on our voyage. It was one which we
had determined upon before leaving home, and to which we had always
looked forward with interest; and the precise object we had in view
was, in following the track of the Spaniards along this coast, to
discover vestiges or remains of the great buildings of lime and stone
which, according to the historical accounts, surprised and astonished
them.

At eleven o'clock the breeze set in. At twelve the patron asked if he
should ran ashore for us to dine, and at half past one the breeze was
so strong against as that we were obliged to come to anchor under the
lee of Point Moscheto. This was an island about two leagues distant
from Yalahao, with a projecting point, which we had to double. We could
have walked round it in an hour, but, after the experience of a few
hours' navigation in El Sol, it seemed to stand out like Cape Horn. Our
bark had no keel, and could do nothing against the wind. We went ashore
on a barren, sandy beach, bathed, shot, and picked up shells. Toward