the colonel himself. On New Year's Day we passed Point Antonio, the western extremity of Cuba, which immediately became the object of much ardent gazing through telescopes, and many wistful eyes were turned upon its wooded hills, and sighs drawn over the two last fruitless expeditions, while the chances of success of another were discussed, all tending to the one inevitable conclusion, that some day or other Uncle Sam "is bound to have Cuba." We glided prosperously over the smooth sea, no event of importance disturbing the even tenor of our voyage. On the fourth day we passed Big and Little Corn Island. These islands are inhabited chiefly by free negroes from Jamaica, who rear pigs, poultry, and grow corn, which they take to Greytown. The population of the largest is about five thousand; it is eight miles long by five broad, hilly, but fertile and well cultivated. In the calm moonlight evenings the men used to collect in groups forward to sing. In the German company there were some excellent voices, and their natural taste for music enabled them to sing beautifully in parts. On the opposite side of the deck a group of Americans were similarly engaged, and as some piece from Handel was being executed with exquisite taste and feeling by the Germans, the boisterous 66 right tooral lol looral," &c., so dear to the Anglo-Saxon, would strike harsly in, a characteristic indication of our mixed company. Upon such occasions the aspect of our crowded deck was highly suggestive. It was strange to look upon this handful of men, who, confident in their superior energy and courage, were about to throw themselves boldly into a foreign country, and, enrolling themselves under its banner, add to the small but determined force which now forms its army, and in which there is scarce a native of the country. They left New Orleans as emigrants for Nicaragua, they arrive there as soldiers in its army; and SO long as they continue to leave the United States in the former capacity, the Government cannot prevent them from doing so.

It was a significant indication of the age so to see this magnificent steamer, the product of a high state of civilisation, employed in conveying across those very seas, where Kidd and Morgan won immortal renown, men bent upon an enterprise in some respects not very dissimilar in character, but yet differing in this important feature that buccaneers sacked cities and robbed churches, and stored their plunder away for their own behoof in secluded islets, while filibusters have nobler and higher aspirations, and seeking to possess themselves, not of gold and silver ornaments, but of a magnificent and fertile country, they desire to replace the inefficient government, which left its resources undeveloped, by one which they would themselves supply, and, regenerating a neglected State, give prosperity to its inhabitants, and a profitable market to the world at large. Those are the motives by which these gentlemen declare themselves animated, and if the process is somewhat rude, the results are desirable. At all events, it is a mode of colonisation peculiar to the age, and as such, an interesting subject of contemplation.

Meantime we were drawing near Greytown, and speculations were rife as to whether the coffin-shaped boxes would have to be opened, or not That such a contingency might occur, we were led to expect, from the fact that a report had reached New Orleans before our departure, to the effect that Vanderbilt had sent one hundred and fifty men to Omoa, in Honduras, but that in all probability their real destination was Greytown, where they were intended to arrive before us, so as to obtain possession of the Point, upon which the buildings of the Transit Company were situated, and which were a subject of dispute between Vanderbilt and Morgan, the present proprietor of the line. In the event of this occupation having taken place, we were prepared forcibly to eject the intruders, who probably would not calculate upon our arriving thus thoroughly armed. Great, therefore, was the excitement, as we neared the mouth of the river San Juan, and saw the pilot coming skipping out to

us over the bar, in his little cockleshell of a boat, to hear the news, and greater still was our wonderment and dismay to learn that the Point was in the hands, not of the men sent by Vanderbilt from New York, but of the Costa Ricans, led, however, by a Captain Spencer, an agent of this same man, the most indefatigable enemy of Walker and Morgan. The San Juan river forms a sort of lagoon before entering the sea. On the northern shore is the town of Greytown, on the southern a flat spit of land runs out to the bar, and is called Point Arenas. Upon this are situated the Company's buildings, and thither were all glasses directed as we rounded the Point, and came slowly up to our anchorage in a state of extreme perplexity and indecision, for we could not see the Costa Ricans anywhere. At last we perceived a miserable bit of red bunting, said to be the Costa Rican flag, flying over a hut about two hundred yards off, in front of which was anchored a small river-steamer, and on board this craft, we were assured, was the redoubted Captain Spencer and his Costa Ricans. Immediately on this becoming certain, preparations were made for taking the said boat which was in fact the one by which we had been destined to pursue our own voyage up the river. The men, who from the moment of our crossing the bar, had not been allowed to show themselves on deck for fear of allowing the enemy to perceive the extent of our force, were now all drawn up on the lower deck. The coffin-shaped boxes were opened, arms and ammunition were served out to the men, who were now on the tip-toe of expectation. Indeed, we all looked forward to some excitement after the monotony of the voyage. While these preparations were in progress, and matters were beginning to assume a warlike aspect, Captain Cockburn, of H.M.S. Cossack, came on board to learn the state of affairs. He found a few peaceable-looking individuals strolling about the deck, and was assured that no violence would be resorted to. On the other hand, he expressed the utmost desire on the part of the British naval authorities to maintain a strict neutrality, in so far as the

rival claims in the property of the Transit Company were concerned, but at the same time wished it clearly to be understood that, in waters under British protection, no bloodshed, or destruction of life or property, would be allowed. As the capture of the steamer could scarcely be effected without a struggle, the partisans of Walker would have probably found themselves in a dilemma, had not the difficulty been solved by the prompt departure of Captain Spencer, who had simply waited to inspect our appearance, and not liking the proximity of a large steamer, which he had good reason to suspect contained a strong hostile force, he slipped quietly away up the shallow waters of the river, where it was impossible, without another river-steamer (which we did not possess), to follow him, and was no more seen. To add to the difficulty of the position, we found that all the river and lake steamers, to the number of seven, were in the possession of the gallant captain and his Costa Rican associates, and that all possibility, therefore, of proceeding up the river to join Walker, was at an end. The disastrous intelligence was communicated to us by various excited personages who had come down from Walker, and been present at one or other of the events of which they were the voluble narrators, and who now found themselves cut off from any possibility of return. Regrets for what might have been done were now idle. The curses heaped upon the head of the devoted Spencer but little affected that acute individual, who was now chuckling over his success, and strengthening the defences of the river; and while I shall leave my quondam friends to devise plans for forcing their way past these, it may be interesting to give some account of the manner in which an operation was effected, calculated so seriously to injure the prospects of General Walker, and to render the work of reopening a communication with him, from the Atlantic side, one of the utmost danger and difficulty. The following account, taken from the Boletin Official of San José, the capital of Costa Rica, is said to be derived from undoubted authority:

"It appears that the Costa Rica Government, in addition to the army it has sent to co-operate with the allied forces against Walker in Nicaragua, resolved upon organising an expeditionary force for the purpose of possessing itself of the river San Juan, wisely judging that the efforts made to dislodge Walker would be prolonged, if not rendered futile, as long as he possessed facilities for receiving supplies and reinforcements by every steamer from the United States, On the 10th of December this force set out, not by the Serapiqui river, as was publicly reported and believed, but by the San Carlos, another tributary of the San Juan which enters that river about half way between the lake and San Juan del Norte. This was done for the purpose of misleading a detachment of Walker's forces who were posted at Hipp's Point at the mouth of the Serapiqui.

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As this route is very little if ever used, the Costa Ricans experienced great difficulties in advancing, having to cut their way through the forest along a track where mules could not be used, and along which all the provisions and munitions of war had to be borne on men's shoulders. Six days were spent on the march, during which the rain fell almost incessantly. At last the embarcadero' was reached, and a few canoes were hastily constructed, and rafts made of trunks of trees rudely lashed together with vines and twigs.

"Thus these enterprising men, most of whom had never before beheld a boat on a navigable river, boldly embarked on the 16th December, to float down an unknown stream, to its confluence with the river San Juan, and thence to Greytown itself. It was indeed a perilous undertaking. Had these frail rafts, upon which 120 men had ventured, met one of Walker's steamers coming up or going down the river, the slightest contact would have been fatal to them.

"On the morning of the 23d, the expedition was hauled into a creek near Hipp's Point, to refresh the men, previous to attacking Walker's post of 50 men and 2 cannon. At that moment a steamer was heard coming down the river. The men were made to lie down on their rafts. It was a perilous moment. The steamer passed without any one on board having seen or suspected the lurking danger. A road or track was soon cut towards the flank and rear of Walker's post, which they silently reached. The signal (a single shot) was given. The Costa Ricans rushed with the bayonet with horrid yells upon their surprised foes, and in half a minute resistance was at

an end. A panic had seized them. Some were bayoneted-the rest sprung off the bank into the deep and rapid river. One brave officer (Captain Thompson) did all that mortal man could do to rally the men, but in vain-the onslaught was too sudden and overpowering to admit of a resistance. Captain Thompson only ceased his exertions after he received a second severe bayo net-wound. His very enemies, admiring his signal gallantry, liberated him subsequently at Greytown, where also they did all in their power to alleviate his sufferings. One man besides Captain T. was saved from the river, and five escaped into the forest. The rest are said to have perished.

"A sufficient force having been left to guard Hipp's Point, the rest of the adventurous band again committed their lives to the precarious chances of the river upon the same rafts, which had now become rickety and insecure. They arrived close to Greytown about 2 o'clock on the morning of the 24th. Here again fortune favoured them; for a steamer was just getting up her steam to ascend the river. She was immediately taken with three others. Had the expedition been delayed an hour later in its descent, it must have perished. It would indeed have been 'touch and go;' the slightest touch from the steamer would have separated the slightly-bound pieces of the rafts, and sent the Costa Ricans instantaneously to a watery grave.

"By dawn of day the steamers were taken, without loss, and the Costa Ri cans also in possession of Punta Castilla (or Punta Arenas), which they have always claimed as belonging to their country.

"At the same time, the inhabitants of Greytown became aware of the presence of this unexpected invasion. The place was soon in confusion and commotion, one party, the most numerous, threatening violence to the foreigners in the place (mostly Americans), under the cry of Viva Costa Rica! However, the officers commanding the expedition discountenanced any and every hostile attempt against the inhabitants of Greytown, and left the place next morning in the captured vessels.

"In the mean time, the U. S. consul made an application to the officer commanding the British squadron at Greytown, to protect the property of Captain Joseph N. Scott, agent for Messrs. Charles Morgan & Son, of New York, from a forcible seizure by a force of Costa Ricans under the command of Colonel Joaquin Fernandez.

"To this, Captain John C. Erskine, senior officer, replied from on board the Orion, dated 24th Dec., 1856, that he had taken steps, by landing a party of marines from one of Her Majesty's ships, to protect the persons and private property of Captain John Scott, his family, and all citizens of the United States of America; which the officer of the Costa Rica force, now at Punta Arenas, also assured him should be placed in no peril.' Then, as regards the capture of the steamers, Captain Erskine, in continuation, very judiciously expressed himself as follows:

"To prevent all misapprehension, I think it, however, right to state that the steamers and other property belonging to the Accessory Transit Company, being at this moment the subject of a dispute between two different companies, the representatives of which are on the spot, and one of them authorising the seizure, I do not feel justified in taking any steps which may effect the interests of either party.

"With respect to the participation of a force of Costa Ricans in the seizure and transfer of the steamers alluded to,

I must observe that these steamers, hav. ing been for some months past employed in embarking in this port and conveying to the parties with whom Costa Rica is now carrying on active hostilities, men and munitions of war; it appears that as a non-belligerent, I am prohibited by the law of nations from preventing the execution of such an operation by a belligerent party. I have the honour, &c.,

To B. S. COTTRELL, Esq., U. S. Consul at Greytown

Dec. 24, 1856.'

JOHN E. ERSKINE, Capt. and Sen. Officer.

"On ascending the river, when off the mouth of the river San Carlos, (which, as before stated, is a tributary of the river San Juan,) one of the steamers was despatched to ascertain if General Jose Joaquin Mora (brother to the President of Costa Rica) had arrived at the embarcadero with the main body of the expeditionary army; and if so, to report the success of the expedition to Grey town, so that measures might immediately be taken for carrying promptly into effect the second part of the plan of operations. On proceeding up the San Carlos, five men, placed on a raft as videttes, became so frightened by the noise and appearance of the approaching steamer (never having before seen or imagined the like), that they plunged into the river, and were drowned in the attempt to reach the bank. The steamer then landed two men to cut their way through

the forest to the embarcadero, in order that General Mora might receive timely notice that the steamer was no longer an enemy, so that the probability of his firing upon her might be removed. General Mora was found at his post, with 800 men, followed by a rear-guard of 300, who have since also arrived. In addition to these, two transport corps of 600 men are alternately employed in carrying provisions, ammunition, &c., from the interior to the embarcadero.

"Having now the four river-steamers at command, the Castillo Rapids and the steamers John Ogden and Ruth were soon taken by General Mora. He then moved up to Fort San Carlos, which, with the large steamer and detachment of men there, was also taken by stratagem. Then the two lake-steamers, San Carlos and Virgin, not aware of these occurrences, came across the lake with passengers from California, and were also taken by General Mora, who generously sent the passengers on to Greytown in the captured steamers."

Such is the Costa Rican account of this very cleverly executed enterprise, which we have no reason to rethere is no doubt about the truth of its gard as incorrect in its details, as results. It was just at the moment that Captain Spencer had finished politely landing the Californian passengers, to the number of four hundred, above alluded to, that we made our appearance in the Texas; when, as he had nothing to detain him except a laudable curiosity to inspect us, he vanished as soon as that was satisfied. As there are no means of communicating across Lake Nicaragua, now that the steamers hitherto used for the transit are in the hands of the enemy, Walker must have remained for many days in total ignorance of the occurrence, which cannot but seriously affect his position; while, in all probability, the first authentic intelligence which he received of its details were, some weeks after, from the lips of one of his most tried friends and followers, whom I accompanied as far as Panama on his way to rejoin Walker from the Pacific side, and who could not have arrived at headquarters for a month after the capture of the steamers by Spencer. It is easy to imagine the state of uncertainty and suspense in which General Walker has been kept by this unexpected, and to him unac