CHAPTER IV.

Early adventures-Perilous voyage-On the island-Voyage resumedThe Nile-Across the bar-Attack on Fort Serapiqui-Make a 'prize '-Filibuster Walker-Adventures.

I OFTEN Wonder how it was I escaped with my life from the innumerable risks I ran in my youth among the Creoles and the Indians of the Mosquito Shore, in bathing and voyages in the rivers and lagoons, in capsizing at sea, or among the breakers of the beach or the river's mouth.

Once I had occasion to go from Blewfields to Greytown, a distance of 60 miles. We made the voyage in a small cranky canoe, in which were two mulatto boys of sixteen and nineteen years of age, and myself. In the canoe were an axe, a machete, an iron pot full of boiled turtle meat, a bunch of plantains, and a small demi-john of water, all securely lashed to the thwarts.

We sailed out of the lagoon with the early land-wind, and arriving at the bluff, we noticed that the sea was rough and there were occasional heavy breakers on the bar. We dodged them and got out to sea. The sea-breeze soon came down strong from the south, and we discussed the prudence of going back into the lagoon, but resolved to go on. As the wind was southerly and our course due south, we made a tack to sea until we were out of sight of land, but the wind and sea kept rising and the sky looked very bad to the south-east. We then tacked again, but by this time the wind was fresh

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and squally and the sea very rough. The canoe went tearing through the waves, and we sat on the weather gunwale when the puffs came, and suddenly dropped back into our seats as the puffs passed, luffing up to the wind when the canoe heeled over too much, and keeping away when possible. But these are ticklish manœuvres, and before long the canoe went bows under and upset. We soon righted her, baled out, and proceeded on our voyage; but the wind and sea were too much, so we took the sprit out of the sail, thus making a shoulder-of-mutton sail of it. Thus shortened of sail, the canoe would not keep up to the wind, and we saw that we could not make a course for Greytown.

Presently we saw through the clouds the mountains of Monkey Point, and we made for the shelter of the island which lies off it. In coming round between the point and the island, we found a rough and breaking sea. One breaker

took the canoe in the stern, buried the bow under water, and rolled us over and over. One after another the breakers rolled the canoe over and nearly drowned us, as we had to dive to avoid each breaker. At last we were washed through this tide-race into smooth water in the lee of the island, and gladly got into the canoe, baled out, and paddled to shore on the island. By this time it was blowing hard with squalls of rain, and dense clouds rolled over the mountains to the west of Monkey Point. Shivering with cold and drenched till our skin was wrinkled and white like soaked sheepskin, we took out the shot-bag, and to our delight found that the horn tinder-box was quite dry. Our axe and machete were safe, but the pot of meat had broken loose and was at the bottom of the sea, and our demi-john of water was gone. We soon had a good fire of driftwood and roasted our plantains, while the boys went round the rocks to see what was to be had, returning to the fire with hats full of large whelks, crabs, and mussels, which, roasted, made a good dinner with our plantains.

Taking advantage of the little daylight that remained, we cleared away the stones, hauled up the canoe, turned it bottom up, and lay naked in its shelter till our clothes were dry. Then we gathered round the fire to smoke, but finding that smoke increased our thirst, we had to give up that comfort. We slept well under our canoe, soothed by the roar of the breakers on the windward side of the island and the rustling of the wind among the trees. Towards morning the sea-breeze subsided, and the cold land-wind came off, but with it came millions of sandflies, which soon put us in a fever of irritation, and compelled us to rise and make up our fire to get into the smoke. These sandflies are the size of particles of very fine dust-that is, they are only just visible and it is a mystery how such a minute fly can have a bill long enough to penetrate through the coarse skin of a man or a horse, and reach the blood vessels below. They destroy all the pleasures of the seaside in the tropics, but fortunately they do not spread inland.

As soon as it was daylight, we went to look for water, and soon found enough in the little trickling gullies that descend from the higher parts of the island. Then we ascended a tree and had a good look out on the sea. The east looked windy, and the sea was rough, though better than yesterday. We made a hasty breakfast on roasted plantains, and set off with the land-wind-a beautiful fresh wind, laden with the sweet smell of flowers. For an hour or two the sky in the west cleared, and we had a glorious view of the rough, densely-wooded mountains, and to our astonishment we saw in the clear sky, above all the clouds, the vast summit of the volcano of Cartago, with a wisp of smoke rising out of it. This volcano is 12,000 feet high, and in the rainy atmosphere of this coast is rarely seen. We also saw on Monkey Point a straight path cleared in the woods from the water edge till lost in the mountains of the interior. This path, half a mile wide, was evidently the work of a waterspout.

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The coast from Monkey Point to Greytown forms a deep bay, and our course being straight across it, we were soon out of sight of land. About 8 a.m. the land-wind died away and left us becalmed under a roasting sun, and with no water to drink. We could see from the sky that the sea-breeze was not far off, so we did not care to heat our blood by paddling, but, pouring water over our heads, waited on Providence, assisting with much whistling to bring the wind. Here we were unnecessarily alarmed by an enormous jew-fish, a thing which none of us had ever seen before. It seemed to be 20 feet long and quite as broad, and kept at the surface, flapping its great wing-like sides, and causing waves in the sea which broke on its back as if it were a rock. Not knowing the character or functions of such a monster, we made haste to get away from it.

At last the hot, glassy sea was marked with the ruffling of coming gusts, and after a few of these had passed, with intervals of calm, the sea-breeze came down in earnest. The breeze was well to the north and behind us, so we carried on in great style, and tore through the water.

About two o'clock we saw a large ship at anchor right ahead, and the dim outline of the coast behind her. The nearer we got, the larger the ship appeared, and we wondered exceedingly. By this time the wind was very fresh, the sea running high, and we had all we could do to manage the wild career of our canoe, flying over the waves and threatening every moment to upset. As we came near we were lost in wonder and admiration. The ship was like a floating mountain. We had never seen anything like it. There were three decks of guns; the masts were like the largest trees in the forest, and at the stern were verandas and windows. The vessel was anchored 2 miles outside of Greytown bar; she was pitching heavily, and the seas were flying over her bows.

We sailed close by her, and numbers of people were looking

at us.

As we came near the bar of the harbour, we noticed with uneasiness the waves breaking heavily here and there, and before we knew what we were about, a green sea toppled up, roaring, and in an instant broke over us, upsetting the canoe and rolling it over. One of the boys jerked the mast out of the thwart, while we swam round to pick up our paddles; then one got in and baled out with a paddle as hard as he could, while we hung on to the gunwales. While in this position we heard a shrill whistle from the threedecker, and saw them lowering a boat in all haste, and soon they were pulling towards us to help us in our perilous position, for there is no harbour in the world so dangerous for sharks as Greytown. By the time the man-o'-war boat was within 300 yards of us we had baled out, put up sail, and sailed in over the bar without accident.

Inside the harbour were two English frigates and one American. The English, if I remember rightly, were the Spartan and Cossack, and the ship outside was the Nile, lineof-battle ship, commanded by Commodore Erskine. At this time the American Transit Company was running steamers from Greytown up to Lake Nicaragua, to the Pacific port of Rivas, where the Californian steamers met them. The company had a large settlement on the landspit which enclosed Greytown Harbour from the sea, and there I landed and put up at the house of one of the steamboat captains.

One day I was at dinner at Consul Green's, and the officers of the Nile were there also. They were talking about the gale, and one of them mentioned that the evening before it, while a heavy sea was running, a little canoe with a white boy and two Creole boys had passed close to them, and upset not far off; but before they could get to them in the boat, they had righted the canoe, put up sail, and were off. They were much astonished when I told them I was the white boy, and after that they took me on board the Nile, and were very kind to me.