THE DESCENT OF PURGATORY. S3 



the moment when some star should be visible between 

 the clouds, near its passage over the meridian. He often 

 shivered with cold, though the thermometer only sank 

 to 60°. The instruments remained set up in the court 

 of the convent for several hours, yet he was almost 

 always disappointed in his expectations. 



From the valley of Caripe the travellers proceeded 

 across a ridge of hills, and over a vast savannah, to the 

 table-land of Gruardia de San Augustin. Beyond this 

 was a slope, extremely slippery and steep, to which the 

 missionaries had given the name of the Descent of Pur- 

 gatory. When they looked down from the top to the 

 bottom of the hill the road seemed inclined more than 

 60°. The mules in going down drew their hind legs 

 near to their fore legs, and lowering their cruppers, let 

 themselves slide at a venture. They soon entered a 

 thick forest, known by the name of the Montana de 

 Santa Maria, Here they descended without intermission 

 for seven hours. It was difficult to conceive a more 

 tremendous descent ; it was absolutely a road of steps, a 

 kind of ravine, in which, during the rainy season, im- 

 petuous torrents dashed from rock to rock. The steps 

 were from two to three feet high, and the beasts of bur- 

 den, after measuring with their eyes the space necessary 

 to let their load pass between the trunks of the trees, 

 leaped from one rock to another. Afraid of missing 

 their mark, the travellers saw them stop a few minutes 

 to scan the ground, and bring together their four feet 

 like wild goats. If the animal did not reach the nearest 

 block of stone, he sank half his depth into the soft 

 ochreous clay, that filled up the interstices of the rock. 

 When the blocks were wanting, enormous roots served 



