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We informed our alguazils that we had mules coming, and wanted sacate for them. To which they responded, "No hay." "Then let us have some maize." "Tampoco." "What! no maize? What do you make your tortillas of?" "We have no tortillas." "How, then, do you live?" "We don't live." "But we must have something for our animals; they can't be allowed to starve."
He hurried his pace, but the alcalde's cane followed close, and with vigorous application, half-way across the plaza. And when the alcalde returned, out of breath, but full of apologies, he received a welcome such as could be inspired only by a profound faith in his ability and willingness to secure for us not merely sacate and maize, but everything else that we might desire.
To which our alguazil made no reply, but looked at us vacantly. "Do you hear? we must have some sacate or some maize for the animals." Still no reply, only the same vacuous look, now more stolid, if possible, than before. I had observed that the Teniente's wrath was rising, and that an explosion was imminent.
We concurred with him, and regretted that he had not a wider and more elevated official sphere, and gave him, withal, a trago of brandy, which he seemed greatly to relish, and then again approached the subject of sacate for our mules. To our astonishment, the alcalde suddenly grew grave, and interrupted me with "Pero, no hay, Señor." "Well, maize will answer." "Tampoco." "What! no maize?
At the end of an hour, the ascent becoming every moment more abrupt, we had passed the belt of trees and bushes, and reached the smooth and scoriaceous cone, which, during the rainy season, appears from the bay to be covered with a velvety mantle of green. It was now black and forbidding, from the recent burning of the dry grass or sacate, and so steep as to render direct ascent impossible.
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