Page:Narrative of an Official Visit to Guatemala.djvu/398

378 nothing but the insignia of office, a bell round her neck, to attract and keep together her companions. The mules will distinguish the sound of this bell when inaudible by the human ear: having a dread of losing it, they voluntarily follow up at a sharp trot to put themselves in a commanding distance of it, when they will leisurely pursue their arduous course, as before. Considering the richness of the pasture, there was no excuse for the mule which had thus detained us, excepting that it was a young one, and being plenteously fed, might have wandered about for dainty morsels, or overslept itself in consequence of overeating: it was probably some such act of indiscretion, for the peons sorely punished the young delinquent for the trouble which it had given them; though, at the same time, they derived a real satisfaction in being able to assure me of the impossibility there would now be of proceeding any farther, that day, than to Encuentros, which was only five leagues distance.

The country for this space, was like