290 THE FOREST AND THE FIELD, 



feet, where we left the mules, and shouldering the 

 provisions, made our way on foot up an ascent 

 called the " Malpas," which looked like a torrent 

 of black stones. In all my desert travelling I 

 never saw a spot that appeared so unlikely to con- 

 tain water as this, for the whole mountain side 

 seemed formed by blocks of lava, loose stones, 

 and volcanic debris^ that ages ago had rolled over the 

 edge of the crater, yet here we suddenly came 

 across the entrance of the celebrated ice-cavern, 

 " il Cueva de Yelo," which is one of the greatest 

 god-sends to the ho7is vivants of Teneriffe ; for the 

 snow, frozen and hardened into the consistency of 

 ice, remains unmelted all the year round, and large 

 quantities are brought down to Santa Cruz on 

 mules, distance 30 miles. 



This natural ice-house, which is said to be 

 11,050 feet above the sea, looks like a deep pit, 

 having an entrance scarcely four feet wide, but 

 with the aid of a rope I scrambled down to the 

 bottom, and found a pool of delightfully cool and 

 limpid water, with heaps of hard snow. I got 

 rather wet with the water dripping from the 



