CH. xix IN THE ECUADOREAN ANDES 195 



intense kind. Its approach is indicated by the 

 wind beginning to whistle shrilly in the distance 

 among the dead grass-stalks. When he hears that 

 ominous sound, the horseman takes a pull at his 

 flask, draws his wraps close around him, and his 

 hat down over his eyes ; and his horse too seems 

 to nerve himself for the encounter of the withering 

 blast carries his head low, and throws forward 

 his shaggy mane. 1 It seems to be the first shock 

 of the cold blast that kills. If a man can sustain 

 it unscathed, he generally escapes with his life. 

 Horses are much more rarely frozen to death than 

 men. Indeed, the amount of cold and wet these 

 mountain horses will bear is surprising ; but they 

 are to the manner born, and have never known 

 the luxury of sleeping under cover. 



The descent from the southern side of the 

 paramo of Sanancajas is along a ravine, worn deep 

 into the black turfy soil and subjacent volcanic 

 alluvium by the rains and melting snows from 

 Chimborazo. One of my two horses carried my 

 trunks, and got along so slowly that night closed 

 over us as we reached San Andres, a village nearly 

 9 miles from Riobamba. We would fain have 

 remained there for the night, but there had been a 

 bull-fight that day in the plaza, and the houses were 

 so thronged with noisy, drunken men, that we saw 



1 I have been reminded l>y this sound on the p.iramos of the Audi--- of our 

 bleak Yorkshire, moors and moor-paMiire*, \\here the \\intiy \\ind whistles 

 through the "\vindlestra\vs" the dead flo\\ er-Malk> of lient-gravs and Dog's- 

 tail grass {Agrostis niniiia and Cynosurus cristatus). In the Pyre'ne'es, the 



strings of Kolus's harp are the slendn talks and rigid pungrni leaves of 

 /\s/n,-,i Eskia the " Ksc|iiisse '' of the shepherds which grows on bleak 

 mountain -ides at great elevations. In the Andes the whistling gi 

 chiefly I'\-xtnca Tolnccnsis and .SW/V /.rrwrw. whose thread-like leaves ami 

 stalks are nio-,t apt for the \\ind to play upon. 



