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C. U. C. p. ALUMNI JOURNAL 



February, 1918 



for the market place and he is a slave to his habit. He would rather go there and 

 engage in his usual barter than obtain a larger price by abandoning his journey. 



Very often the traveller who rides will be accompanied by a servant on foot 

 who carries a small trunk or valise, weighing up to sixty or seventy pounds. 



The experiences of the stranger who traverses these desert or mountain 

 trails upon horse or mule, is varied and interesting but is usually highly uncom- 

 fortable or even painful. The lands through which we pass are of varied char- 

 acter. In a single day we may pass through swamp lands, reeking with stag- 

 nant water, and filling the air with annoying and noxious insects, rising thence to 



A COLOMBIAN OX-CART 



cross a long, waterless, sandy or rocky plain, where the sun beats down upon us 

 until we reel in our saddles, and where our mouths will be parched and our tongues 

 swollen between the supplies of water. Most of the water in these regions is 

 dangerous to be drunk without boiling, and much of it cannot be drunk at all be- 

 cause of its offensive appearance, odor and taste. Passing through the cattle 

 region, we find that in the dry season the animals are crowded in the vicinity of 

 the streams, the water of which is thus badly polluted. One of the most import- 

 ant cautions that the traveler can observe is that of carrying an ample supply of 

 strong tightly stoppered water cans, provided on the outside with a thick layer 

 of canvas which, by being kept wet, cools the contents through evaporation. Oc- 

 casionally we will cross a mountain spur or even a range. Here we will usually 

 find our best water supplies, but on the other hand, we shall meet with difficul- 

 ties, sometimes very exhausting, in overcoming the steep ascents and descents. 

 The traveller has two courses open to him. He may carry his own food, tent 



