Page:Guatimala or the United Provinces of Central America in 1827-8.pdf/309

Rh which here forms most beautiful rapids; immense pieces of rock seem by the giant hand of nature to have been cast in the most fantastic forms, over which a very large body of water passes with a tremendous current, forming in the space of about 200 yards, twelve to fifteen falls, varying in depth and direction.

A little beyond this is the village of San Pedro Martyr, a collection of miserable huts. We tied our horses to a tree, and entered the estanco or spirit shop to get some refreshment, but a scene of misery presented itself too great to be endured. In the middle of the hut was a large fire, on which was boiling a cauldron of fermented sugar. The heat at this time was 85° in the shade;—three or four dirty children were sitting on the ground, and two women nearly naked, stretched on a mat, were singing, or rather howling in an advanced state of madness. Leaving this wretched group, we sought shelter under an orange tree, at a little distance, and having procured a guide set out for what is termed here the great fall of San Pedro Martyr.

Penetrating through the woods for about a league, and passing a smaller fall, we arrived at the great cataract, which in fact consists of three, the river being divided at the summit by granitie stones, and in a great measure concealed by hanging bushes; over this rock a powerful body