ASCENT OF THE MOUNTAIN 25 



supply to last for the day. There were a good many 

 butterflies flitti,ng up and down over the pools formed 

 by the rivulet, while swarms of flies kept buzzing around 

 us, settling on our hands and faces, and even getting 

 into our eyes. 



The ascent of the slope leading to the peak was at 

 first gradual, but by degrees it became steeper. Low 

 down in the gorge and for some distance after leaving the 

 stream I saw but few rocks, a thick stratum of soil having 

 formed in the bed of the valley, and this supported a 

 vigorous vegetation similar to that we had passed through 

 before reaching the hills. From the tops of the tallest 

 trees came the call-notes of the bell-birds. Judging by 

 the frequency with which the metallic bang was uttered 

 and rephed to, this chatterer must be common in this 

 secluded valley. The Campajiero, ' the bellman,' as the 

 natives call the bird, is rarely met with in the neighbour- 

 hood of cultivated spots. The presence of man appears 

 distasteful to this lover of primeval forests, and if his 

 domain be encroached upon by human beings, he imme- 

 diately abandons it to retire to some distant recess, where 

 he can enjoy the solitude he loves so well. 



The higher we got the more rocks we met with, some 

 of them being of considerable size. I noticed that the 

 masses close to the cliffs were generally larger than those 

 lovt^er down, the blocks decreasing gradually in size in 

 proportion to their distance from the main mass. These 

 smaller rocks lower down in the valley had no doubt been 

 also giants many ages ago when they lay at the foot of 

 the cliffs which then formed the central mass of the 

 mountain covering the spot where we now stood. The 

 rains of ages had reduced their volume. Slowly but 

 surely the rains of the future would continue the work of 



