SOUTH AMERICAN TRAILS 



27 



way, as the slipping of a mule on the 

 steep incline might be fatal to hotli 

 rider and animal. 



At Sal-si-puede ("get out if \oii 

 can") — there were many places to 

 which this name was applicable — we 

 had to dig or cut out a track along the 

 face of a cliff where a slide had occurred, 

 to make room for the pack animals 

 to pass. This was not only 

 difficult to do on account of 

 the steep decline and pre- 

 carious footing; but also the 

 work had to be very well 

 done because if the pack of a 

 mule should catch against 

 the side of the cliff in transit 

 the animal would be tipped 

 over into the river Espirito 

 Santo a thousand feet below. 



From Sal-si-puede onward 

 the mules waded streams, 

 floundered through mud to 

 their middles and labored 

 over fallen logs, often on a 

 trail so narrow and so over- 

 grown that it was necessary 

 constantly to use the machete 

 to clear the path of hanging 

 vines and dense undergrowth. 

 On one occasion after eight 

 hours of scrambling and wad- 

 ing through mud and water, 

 Mr. Cherrie's mule slipped 

 in a deep pool of thin mud 

 and became tangled in the 

 roots at the bottom, pinning 

 the foot of the rider under it. 

 Mr. Cherrie was held here 

 deep in the mud until two 

 mule drivers could return to 

 extricate him. The advan- 

 tage of havang compact units 

 of baggage was made evident 

 in this locality. The jam- 

 ming of baggage between 



An accident 



saplmgs or in a washed-out Chaca trail.— 



gully would necessitate a halt and while 

 the load on the mule that had caused the 

 halt was being recinched, a dozen other 

 mules would start exploring the neigh- 

 boring thickets. Sometimes the whole 

 train would be thrown into confusion 

 and all the pack animals would have to 

 be rounded up and the packs readjusted. 

 It was in this section that we found 



to one of the pack mules of the expedition on the Inca- 

 Expedition beginDrog^ f ord of a mountain stream 



