82 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA 



as mules are unable to carry packs beyond this point, and 

 was assisted in my mission by the schoolmaster, who took 

 a sympathetic interest in our undertaking. He was a pa- 

 thetic example of a man who might have accomplished 

 great deeds had the opportunity presented itself. One of 

 his most highly cherished possessions was an old magazine 

 containing illustrations of an aeroplane and an article on 

 wireless telegraphy. 



With a great deal of difficulty I succeeded in arranging 

 with a dozen Indians to carry our luggage across the Cor- 

 dillera the following week. They were of splendid phy- 

 sique and as fine a looking lot as I had ever seen. The 

 price agreed upon was about seventy-five cents per arroba 

 of twenty-five pounds, each man carrying from two to four 

 arrobas. The journey would require five days, and each 

 man was to carry his own food for the trip in addition to 

 the pack. The charge was high, judged by local standards, 

 but on account of the rainy season the trail was all but im- 

 passable; also, it was the Semana Santa, one of the greatest 

 fiestas of the year, when all good Indians should roam the 

 streets, dulling their senses with an excessive use of coca 

 leaves and guarapo, and fighting, while the women spent 

 the greater part of the days in church acquiring grace for 

 themselves and their delinquent husbands. A small ad- 

 vance was made to each man to enable him to purchase a 

 supply of ground corn, cane-sugar, and coca. Acceptance 

 of this advance is considered equal to signing a contract, 

 and they rarely, if ever, go back on the deal. 



On Wednesday, April 3, the day set for our departure, 

 the men appeared, each provided with a board and strong 

 cords. The packs, consisting of boxes, steamer trunks, 

 and bags, were tied to the boards which fitted the men's 

 backs; a broad band was passed over the forehead and two 

 bands across the chest. Each man carried in his hand a 

 forked stick, or "mula," as a means of aiding him in going 

 up and down the slippery inclines and in walking the logs 

 that crossed the streams. 



