IN THE ECUADOREAN ANDES 175 



known village of Bafios, and of the surrounding 

 mountains, with their more interesting botanical 

 features.] 



To Mr. George Bent ham 



BANGS, ECUADOR, Sept. i, 1857. 



The last part of the journey, namely, the over- 

 land part of it, was by far the worst. 



Road there is none, but only the merest sem- 

 blance of a track, such as the tapir makes to its 

 feeding- and drinking-places ; often carried along 

 the face of precipices, where had it not been for 

 projecting roots on which to lay hold, the passage 

 would have been impossible. No one ever opens 

 the road no fallen trees have been cleared away 

 -no overhanging branches cut off. From Canelos 

 the rains set in with greater severity than ever- 

 the dripping forest, through which I had to push 

 my way, soaking my garments so that towards 

 evening my arms and shoulders were quite be- 

 numbed and the mud, which even on the tops of 

 the hills was often over the knees made our 

 progress very slow and painful. 



The Indians were little accustomed to carry 

 burdens some of them had never been out before 

 and though I had made the loads as light as 

 possible, they grumbled much and often threatened 

 to leave me. I had brought from Tarapoto a trunk 

 full of paper for drying my plants, but when we 

 reached the Jibaro settlement, where unceasing 

 rains kept us three days, I found it absolutely 

 necessary to throw all the paper away if I did not 



