We left Chanandaigua early in the morning, for we had a long march
before us, and desired to avoid the intense heat of midday as
far as possible. The road led most of the way through an almost
unbroken forest, interrupted at long intervals by a patch of corn or
sugar-cane, with a footpath winding off to some invisible and isolated
farmhouse. Except in the towns and villages, I do not remember seeing
more than one building during our whole march;--the country seemed
uninhabited, and the fat and fertile soil suffered for want of hands
to trim its waste luxuriance. Among the strange trees of the forest,
the mahogany seemed like an old acquaintance. Those that we saw were
about the size of our largest oaks, and closely resembled them in the
size and formation of the branches.
We passed this day through one or two small towns, the inhabitants
of which came running to the doors to feast their eyes on so
unusual a spectacle. Everywhere we were received with shouts of
welcome;--even the little children joining in the cry of "los buenos
Americanos!" Yet it must be confessed that our appearance was by
no means prepossessing;--we looked more like a band of robbers or
ragamuffins than the peaceful representatives of the greatest country
in the known world, and perhaps owed more to our reals and revolvers
than our vanity would have been willing to allow. But whatever may
have been the reason, we had no cause to complain of incivility,
and the only serious annoyance was the everlasting "poco tiempo."
In the mouth of a Spaniard or an Indian these words possess the
most perplexing significance. They are a sufficient answer to all
complaint or expostulation. They are expected to feed the hungry,
to quiet the impatient, and to satisfy the inquisitive. They afford
the best possible refuge for indolence and stupidity, and there is
reason to fear that as long as the Spaniard retains these words in his
vocabulary he will continue to be distinguished for both those vices.
It was by a strange misnomer that we called our driver hombre. He
had, to be sure, the outward semblance of a man, but he had no right
to such a distinctive title. Curiosity, not that of the monkey, but
of the philosopher, is man's most striking characteristic. Instead
of defining him as a laughing animal or a cooking animal, I would
define him as a curious animal. From this definition our hombre
would certainly have been excluded. Of curiosity of any sort he had
not, apparently, a single particle, and his intelligence was of the
most contracted order. This was just the character for poco tiempo.
He understood the uses of the phrase to perfection. If he delayed
starting in the morning long after the last of our companions had
disappeared, poco tiempo was his ready answer. If he loitered on the
road without any assignable reason, when twilight was already stealing
upon us, it was still poco tiempo. There was no use in getting into
a passion,--in the first place he did not understand English, and
if he had he would only have shrugged his shoulders a little more
expressively, without losing a jot of his abiding complacency. We at
length gave up the contest in despair, and submitted to a fate we
could not resist, consoling ourselves with the reflection that an
animal, who lived on cheese and sour Indian bread of the consistency
of a bullet, must needs be of a very heavy, phlegmatic temper.
At several places by the roadside we found women and children with
little tables covered with oranges, coarse brown sugar, lemonade, and
bottles of milk. As bottles were apparently difficult to obtain,
they were seldom willing to part with them; but rather than lose the
sale of the milk, they would follow the cart a long distance, eagerly
watching the bottle the whole time, as it rose from a horizontal to
an upright position, as if fearful that that too would be swallowed
by the voracious Americano. In spite of the intense heat we drank
but little water on our journey, preferring to quench our thirst
with oranges, of which I sometimes ate, or rather drank, twenty in a
single day. They were not only far superior to any ever seen in the
States, but surpassed, in almost the same degree, those we had eaten
at Rio and Havana, the intensest heat of the tropics being required
to bring this fruit to perfection. Of the pineapples I can only say,
they seemed more fit to be the food of angels than of men; and if, as
some suppose, our character be really affected by the nature of our
food, then those who live on the pineapples of the equator must be of
all men the most subtilized and ethereal. I am quite satisfied in my
own mind the amiable Elia must, some time in his life, have visited
Central America, or he never could have written with such feeling and
unction on a subject that can be appreciated only by those who have
been fortunate enough to enjoy similar opportunities. We travelled
this day thirty-six miles, and came late in the evening to Leon. Our
clumsy caravan, that seemed sufficiently rude and primitive in the
depths of the forest, harmonized still less with the paved streets
of a great and splendid city. It was like the relic of a barbarous
age, and I could not help thinking that the inhabitants of Leon would
regard it with as much curiosity as I had done myself. Yet it produced
no greater sensation than a market wagon in Boston or New York,--our
hombre drove carelessly along, past long blocks of lofty houses, and
under magnificent cathedrals, without a thought of the ludicrous
contrast we presented. He stopped at length before a hotel, where
a crowd of our companions were already assembled. Some of them had
been here several hours; they had eaten their supper, and were now
grumbling in good set terms at the imposition that had been practised
upon them. In the first place the supper was detestable, and in the
second place there was not half enough of it. Putting these two
together, and sagely concluding that the case could not be much worse,
we determined to try our fortunes in another direction. An American,
who had been residing several months in Leon, directed us to a private
house, where he said we should be sure to obtain an excellent supper.
This house stood on one corner of the plaza, directly opposite
the great cathedral. It presented the same appearance of squalid
magnificence to which I have already alluded;--the walls were of
stone, and the apartments lofty and spacious, but there were no
carpets, no sofas, no mirrors, and no sign of comfort except a netted
hammock of twisted grass swung between the corners of what must be
called the parlour.
After a long delay, which Ohio bore with provoking good nature, supper
was brought in by a fat señora, assisted by a peeping señorita, and
displayed upon the rickety little table. The plates were of different
patterns,--the cups were without saucers,--the knives without
forks,--and, for want of a more convenient seat, Texas was fain to
trust himself to the hammock;--but, as Ohio declared, with his mouth
full of chicken, and eggs, and frijoles, it was a supper fit for a
king; but then, unfortunately, we were no king, but four half-starved
Californians. When our chicken, who had doubtless been the lean and
hungry Cassius to some Cæsar of the dunghill, had disappeared almost
bodily down our throats,--and when the eggs and beans had followed,
without at all diminishing our ardour,--we, all at once, turned upon
our hostess a look of inquiry mingled with the utmost complacency and
benevolence. It was as much as to say, "So far good,--you have made,
my dear señora! a very tolerable commencement,--after this little
skirmish, we feel ready for the more important engagement that is to
follow."
But the señora, looking coldly and ungratefully upon our enthusiasm,
replies, that what we have just eaten is really and absolutely our
supper, that there is, in fact, not another morsel of food in the
house. Slowly and reluctantly we dropped our four reals into the
skinny hands of the withered old beldame, and walked back to our hotel
a sadder and wiser man.
Having slept very comfortably on the dirty floor of the dining-room,
we walked out next morning to see the city. There can hardly be a
greater contrast than that between the towns and cities of Central
America and those of our own country. The latter are emphatically
of to-day,--they have nothing to do with the past, and hardly any
thing more to do with the future. If our buildings do not tumble
down in the progress of erection, they are almost sure to be removed
in a few years to give place to others. But the buildings of Leon
seemed to have locked up in them the story of a thousand years, and
as if they might live to tell of a thousand years to come. There are
no unfinished houses, no piles of stone or lumber blocking up the
streets, no sound of the saw, or pleasant tinkling of the mason's
hammer. These things may have been some centuries ago, but one would
rather suppose the whole city had suddenly sprung from the ground,
like Minerva full grown from the head of Jupiter. Yet it has nothing
of the warmth, and brilliancy, and fantastic variety of tropical
vegetation;--instead of the gaudy kiosk and slender minaret, like
bundles of sunbeams converted into stone, which harmonize so well with
the glowing regions of the sun, there is nothing but a heavy, cubic
monotony, better suited to the snows of Siberia, or Dickens' London
fog.
The cathedral is a vast, ungainly structure, built entirely of stone,
and with no pretensions to beauty; but being advantageously situated
on one side of the great square, with several massive towers, it
presents a very imposing and commanding appearance. Ascending to the
top by a narrow, winding stairway, in the thickness of the wall, we
obtained a grand and extensive prospect. From this elevated island of
brick, and stone, and mortar, we overlooked an immense sea of foliage
which closed around us on every side, dotted, here and there, with
smaller islands, and watched over by the cloud-girdled, pyramidal
mountain we had seen in ascending the Realejo, seemingly thrown
forward, like a solitary sentinel, in advance of the mighty host
behind. We stood on a building, and in the midst of a city belonging
to the civilization of the old world, while all around lay the untamed
barbarism of the new. The inhabitants of Leon are not Americans, but
Europeans, and such as Europe saw two hundred years ago. They have
gained nothing of new life and vigour by being transplanted on to this
virgin soil, but seem rather to have lost what little they possessed.
This country has not proved to them the harsh stepmother that New
England was to our Puritan ancestors; but, like a foolish grandam, has
spoilt them by her foolish indulgence. The result is that they can
do nothing for themselves,--England supplies them with manufactures,
and the United States furnish their flour. Their cities, without good
roads to connect them with the country and with each other, languish
and go out like scattered embers.
Yet the country is rich almost beyond compare. The forests abound in
the most valuable timber, the soil is of inexhaustible fertility, and
the year is a constant harvest. The sugar-cane, which in our Southern
States requires to be renewed every three years, here continues to
yield a sufficient return for ten, growing fifteen or twenty feet
high, and as thick as a man's arm. Native labour can be obtained for a
real a day. As far as our experience extends, the climate is extremely
healthy. We were three weeks in the country, at the commencement of
the rainy season, and especially liable to sickness from our long
confinement, yet we lost only one man by disease, and he was attacked
before we left the ship. Government holds out great inducement to
actual settlers, and the finest land in the world can be obtained at
a merely nominal value.
While we were at Leon, an offer was made to Ohio of so liberal a
nature as almost induced him to stop short on his homeward journey,
and forego the anticipated pleasure of seeing his wife and children
for another year. He was to receive one hundred dollars a month,
besides board and lodging; a shop and tools were promised at the
expense of Government, and the privilege of working a third of the
time on his own account was superadded.
Other artisans were also eagerly sought after. Thousands of muskets
lay useless in the armories, because not a workman could be found who
understood the mysteries of a lock--not the permutation, combination
lock of Brahmah or Hobbs, but a simple gun-lock, the construction of
which is known to every boy of twelve in the United States. But it
is time to leave Leon and its helpless inhabitants. They reminded me
constantly of the snail in the shell of a lobster, and of a little boy
dressed in his father's clothes, and playing that he was a man.
We passed through Central America at the time of the civil war, and
many of the streets of Leon were barricaded and guarded with mounted
cannon. After leaving that city, we were told that we should enter the
territory occupied by the hostile faction; and, to avoid all danger of
ill-treatment, we were advised to keep as close together as possible.
But nothing occurred to justify these apprehensions, or even to show
that any war was raging. We met one day, in the thickest part of the
wood, a dozen or twenty scarecrows, mounted on sorry horses, and armed
with light lances and muskets; but, if these were a fair specimen of
the Granadian chivalry, we should have had little to fear from their
whole array. However, we were all of us desirous to avoid a collision,
for it would certainly seem very ridiculous, after spending one or two
years in earning perhaps as many thousands, to get killed just as we
were ready to enjoy the fruits of our labour. This feeling, I have no
doubt, moderated the ardour of more than one of our number who might
otherwise have had no objection to the excitement of a skrimmage, or
to take up arms in one or the other of the contending parties.
We left Leon about the 10th, A. M., and making only a short
journey, stopped for the night at a little Indian village called
Nigaroti--I am not responsible for the spelling--the population of
which could not much have exceeded the number of our own caravan.
It consisted of a small collection of houses or huts built of rude
basket-work, daubed in some cases with clay, and covered with a shaggy
thatch. Each house stood in an enclosure, formed by a hedge of most
magnificent proportions. A species of cactus, planted in a single row,
furnished a green marble wall of lofty columns, standing so close
together that no animal larger than a squirrel could pass between.
These walls were now in a dilapidated condition, reminding the
spectator of the ruins of an ancient temple. Some of the columns were
at least thirty feet in height, while others had been broken off at
a few feet from the ground, and the fragments were still lying where
they had fallen. They were all about eight inches in diameter from top
to bottom, with small rings at regular intervals resembling the joints
of the cane.
As there was no hotel, we quartered ourselves upon the inhabitants,
who received us with the warmest demonstrations of friendship, and
instantly set to work to prepare for us the best supper their limited
means would allow. I here first witnessed the operation of making the
tortilla, the favourite, and, as far as I could learn, the only form
in which bread is eaten by the lower classes. At Acapulco and other
cities we had seen them offered for sale in piles six inches high,
and presenting a very tempting appearance. The natives ate them with
great apparent relish, rolling them up into a cylinder, and plugging
the opening with a small stopper of cheese. As we had hitherto,
however, been able to obtain wheaten bread, I had only just tasted
them out of curiosity, when I found they were far from being as good
as they looked. But in this little village flour was, perhaps, never
heard of, and in every house one or more occupants were now busy in
preparing the hot and almost crispy tortilla. I watched the movements
of our dusky maiden with great interest. She first crushed the corn,
previously softened by boiling, into a uniform paste, by means of a
common rolling-pin, then with great dexterity formed it into round
balls or biscuits, one of which she placed on the bottom of a shallow
earthen pan resting on a few embers. With the back of her clenched
hand she spread it out over the dish, till it assumed the form of a
buckwheat cake, though instead of the dimples that come and go on
the surface of the latter, it was all over indented with the print
of her knuckles. When one side was browned the cake was turned, and
as the whole process required but a few minutes we soon had a high
tower of tortillas smoking on our little table. There was the usual
accompaniment of fried eggs and chicken. The tortillas served for
plates as well as napkins, and the whole family stood ready to wait on
us, and watching our every movement with the most ludicrous interest
and delight.
There was the grandfather, still hale and vigorous; the young mother,
with her infant in her arms, and half a dozen others scarce big enough
to go alone. When we asked about her family, she laughed and blushed
and pouted with true feminine coquetry, and quite vanquished the stout
heart of our gallant Ohio. Perceiving that I had some difficulty in
dissecting the joints of the chicken, she took up a fragment, and
tearing it to pieces with her fingers, laid them before me, one after
another, with an approving smile, and an exclamation of bueno at
every mouthful. I had no doubt, from this proof of her hospitality,
that she would have fed me with her fingers if I had desired. And,
presently, another incident showed still more strongly her lofty
disregard of what we, in our self-complacent wisdom, have styled the
laws of decorum. As there was a want of plates, one of our party had
cunningly appropriated to his own use that containing our scanty
supply of eggs. Snatching the dish from his hands, the young señora,
with the end of her forefinger, and with most amazing dexterity,
divided the only remaining egg in the middle, and slid half of it on
to Ohio's empty tortilla. "Bueno, bueno!" she exclaimed; and "Bueno!"
faintly echoed Ohio, as he fell back on his seat, and surveyed with
admiration the egg that had been so ruthlessly dissevered. The simple,
unsophisticated beings around us mistook the nature of the mirth
that followed this performance, and supposing it to arise from the
satisfaction produced by so good a supper, joined in it with hearty
good-will. But we had not yet learned all those uses of fingers which
nature designed, but which civilization has discarded. A favourite
beverage, with us as well as with the natives, was lemonade. To
sweeten this delectable compound, they used the coarse black sugar of
the country, which, to avoid the necessity of weighing, is commonly
cast in small oblong cakes, as maple-sugar is often seen at home.
Biting off a lump of the proper size, our hostess dropped it from her
mouth into one of the little gourds that served for tumblers, and
having stirred it with her finger, presented it to me with a simple
grace that Hebe might have tried in vain to equal. After the scenes I
had witnessed in the mines, and the far more disgusting exhibitions of
life at sea, I must plead guilty of affectation in refusing anything
from the hand of a woman. I courteously passed the gourd to my next
neighbour, who, either not having witnessed the mode of preparation or
proud of such an opportunity of displaying his gallantry, swallowed
the whole at a single draught.
We rose from table in high good humour with ourselves and our
entertainers, but our enthusiasm was not a little dampened by the
eagerness they manifested to obtain immediate possession of our money.
"Quatro reales," cried the grandfather, holding out his hand; "Quatro
reales," simpered the young mother; "Quatro reales," screamed all the
children in concert, and standing on tiptoe; while the sucking baby,
on its mother's breast, almost threw itself into convulsions in trying
to master the mysterious syllables.
As we intended to lodge and take breakfast with them, this impatience
might seem to imply some doubt of our honesty. We attributed it,
however, to a natural curiosity to feast their eyes on a larger sum
of money than they had probably ever possessed. Though they had all
their simple wants required, and might have been considered wealthy by
their poorer neighbours, yet I have no doubt that fifty dollars would
have been an ample equivalent for all their worldly possessions. A
single glance showed us the inventory of all their household goods.
Under a small open shed in one corner of the enclosure stood a rude
forge--our entertainer was the village smith--with a few clumsy tools
scattered around it. Their whole supply of crockery was displayed
upon our little table. Gourds, of different sizes, served them for
tea-cups, for coffee-pots, and for milk-pails. Their simple cookery
was performed in a few vessels of earthenware. A few steps from the
blacksmith's shop, stood the huge wicker basket containing their
sleeping apartments. This consisted of two rooms, the first of which
would undoubtedly have been the very smallest room in the world, if
the second had not been still smaller. The larger one contained a rude
bedstead, and a hammock was slung cornerwise across the other. There
was no other furniture, and no window, but the open door and numerous
cracks in the walls admitted sufficient light. As it was evident that,
under ordinary circumstances, the greater part of the family would
have to sleep out of doors, we had no hesitation in taking undivided
possession.
We were roused by the old man two hours before day; and, going out
into the yard, found the table set for breakfast, and the whole family
eagerly awaiting our appearance. Secretly envying the hens and turkeys
that were just settling themselves for their morning nap upon the
branches of the high tree above, we sat down to breakfast by the light
of the stars and an envious tallow candle. In addition to what we
had for supper, they had, according to promise, provided each of us
with a small gourd containing half a pint of milk--a luxury we seldom
succeeded in obtaining except in the morning, either because, as Texas
suggested, the heat of the day dried up the cows, or because the
natives were too indolent to take the trouble.
After breakfast, the same scene was repeated as on the previous
evening. Having obtained their quatro reales, and a medio apiece for
lodging, we saw them huddling together round the forge, and counting
their gains with an immense deal of jabbering and gesticulation. All
of our companions were aroused at the same unseasonable hour, and,
like ourselves, devoured with curiosity to learn the cause of so
strange a phenomenon, but our ignorance of Spanish defeated all our
efforts, and the subject yet remains in all its original obscurity.