Page:Narrative of an Official Visit to Guatemala.djvu/381

CH. XXVI.]

The fields through which we passed were highly cultivated; the country was a mixture of rich plains and luxuriant forests, and having come to the verge of one of the latter, we found ourselves on the brink of a wide river. We could perceive the marks of cattle-feet on its edge, but could hardly venture to guess if it were only a watering place or the river's ford; for we had descended to it down a deep gully or ravine, and, on each side, the high banks were overgrown with lofty trees and a thick profusion of dwarf shrubs. We had no choice left us but to spend the night here, without bed or victuals, or to attempt the pass.