224 CEOSSIN® THE ANDES. 



come withered and scorched thvox;gh rapid evapora- 

 tion. The aloe, as we have remarked, furnislies an ad- 

 mirable substitute to the native for needle and thread. 

 One day our blanket imfortunately became unrolled, and 

 fell beneath our mule, which very carelessly put his foot 

 through it, making a serious rent. We deplored the acci- 

 dent the more because the hole would just correspond 

 with the slit in our poncho when both were wrapped 

 about us at night. But one of our Indians, stepping to 

 an aloe, broke off a spine, drawing out the attached thread, 

 and then sat down and quickly repaired the damage. 



While passing up the valley, we were, at times, the 

 recipients of Indian hospitality. We never had a greater 

 effort made to contribute to our comfort than at one of 

 their huts, where we chanced while suffering from an at- 

 tack of the fever, which still clung to us. A bed was im- 

 mediately provided, which, although only a blanket spread 

 upon the ground, with a piece of pumice-stone for a pillow, 

 was still their best. A fire Avas kindled, but, the fuel be- 

 ing ill-cured grass, it imparted little heat, but puffed out 

 clouds of smoke, until we Avere almost suffocated. Then 

 an attempt was made to administer, for our fever, a cala- 

 bash of fiery aguardiente. Afterward soup, the constitu- 

 ents of which we could never divine, was furnished ; and 

 sympathetically the dishevelled Indian and her little naked 

 ones stood by while we were partaking. It was kind in 

 them, but we confess that their proximity to our soup was 

 any thing but appetizing. We survived their kindness, 

 and have often since recalled, with gratitude, alike their 

 good intentions and our escape. 



The second day from Ambato we reached Latacunga, 

 a town of fifteen thousand inhabitants, situated fifteen 

 miles south of Cotopaxi. Half the city lies piled in ruins 

 by the terrible earthquakes which have frequently visited 

 it. Pumice-stone, tossed out by Cotopaxi, forms the prin- 



