CROSSING THE BOLIVIAN HIGHLANDS 285 



is to enter the dense cover, sit quietly, and imitate the 

 clear, ringing call in the hope of attracting the birds; some- 

 times this requires hours of patient work, and more often 

 than not the effort is futile. 



Coatimondis. or raccoons, roamed in the woods in small 

 bands, sniffing in the damp mould and searching for in- 

 sects; while feeding they uttered deep grunts, but when 

 frightened they gave a succession of rapid bird-like chirps. 

 These animals spend a good deal of their time in the trees, 

 but are almost invariably found on the ground in the day- 

 time; when pursued they are very pugnacious and it takes 

 an exceptionally agile dog indeed to avoid being severely 

 torn by the sharp teeth and claws. In captivity they be- 

 come very tame, and make nice little pets, although their 

 mischievous disposition often gets them into trouble. 



From Incachaca to Locotal is a distance of only eight 

 miles, but the scenery along a part of the route is as im- 

 pressive as any to be found in the entire Andean chain; 

 perhaps the gorge of the Urubamba, in Peru, alone equals 

 it in grandeur and awe-inspiring magnificence. The bare, 

 shattered, and split crags reach many hundred feet above 

 the trail, and stand in a leaning position so that the tops 

 actually hang over the narrow passageway as if threaten- 

 ing to topple over at any moment; below, the steep slope is 

 covered with huge boulders which have fallen from the 

 towering masses above. 



At Locotal there are but half a dozen houses, occupied 

 by Quechua families who subsist mainly on the profits de- 

 rived from the sale of chicha. We stopped a few days in a 

 hut owned by a kind-hearted old woman who gave us per- 

 mission to use it; next day we found that we were occupy- 

 ing the schoolroom, and the teacher followed by his half- 

 dozen ragged scholars came to take possession. He tried 

 to show us how important it was to have the place at once, 

 but we saw no reason why he could not conduct his class 

 out under the trees just as well as under the shelter; this 

 suggestion offended him very much, so greatly to the delight 



