POPAYAN AND THE CERRO MUXCHIQUE 29 



followed, chanting prayers. The remainder knelt in the 

 streets with bowed, uncovered heads as the procession passed. 

 All the buildings, even the trees, were gayly decorated with 

 banners, a mixture of the papal and national insignia. Co- 

 lombia is perhaps the only remaining country in the New 

 World in which religion still dominates the government. 



If we examine a map of Colombia we will find that the 

 Cerro Munchique, the highest of the mountains in the 

 Western Range, lies directly west of Popayan. There is 

 an exceedingly difficult pass across the Cordillera at this 

 point, leading to a place called the Cocal, still far distant 

 from the coast. A trail was also being opened a short dis- 

 tance to the south leading to the Rio Micai. When this 

 is completed it will require a four days' journey on mules 

 to the river; then two days in canoes on the Micai, said 

 to contain many rapids and to flow through country in- 

 habited by savage tribes, before the coast is reached. 



A day's ride from Popayan took us to El Tambo, and at 

 noon the following day we were in the Indian village of 

 Chapa at the very base of Munchique. A heavy electri- 

 cal storm delayed our departure until noon the next day. 

 There were but a dozen or fifteen adobe huts in the village, 

 and during the height of the tempest one of these suddenly 

 collapsed into a heap of mud and straw; the occupants 

 barely escaped by fleeing into the deluge when the buck- 

 ling walls apprised them of their danger. 



After the agitation had subsided the people erected an 

 altar in the plaza for the celebration of a mass of thanks- 

 giving. Each one brought some trinket — a few paper 

 flowers, a picture, a bit of tinsel, or a candle — with which 

 to embellish the sacred structure. Then they all knelt, 

 with bared heads, and in deepest devotion assisted at the 

 religious service; that is, all but a plump Indian woman 

 who boiled chontaduros, or palm-nuts, in a huge kettle, in 

 back of one of the huts and sold them to the worshippers 

 the moment devotions were over. 



It required fully a half-day longer to reach the end of 



