A MULE-BACK JOURNEY 339 



wild life away; both the black-fronted blue and the green- 

 and-yellow species mingled in the same flocks. 



One day we rode to the top of the next ridge, the Herra- 

 dura, which is six thousand feet high. The trail winds up 

 along the face of the slope and is very poor in places; a 

 row of wonderful crags and cathedral-shaped mountains 

 stands like the ruins of a city on the opposite side of the 

 ravine. On the face of one of the cliffs we saw what seems 

 to be a gigantic serpent carved in the red sandstone directly 

 above two massive stones that stand as if forming a gate- 

 way. The people say this is the entrance to a secret 

 hiding-place used by the Indians many years ago; or per- 

 haps it might have been a prehistoric shrine. ^The outline 

 of the supposed snake can be discerned with ease, and the 

 body is marked with transverse black bands. It seems that 

 the natives have never taken the trouble to visit the spot, 

 owing to the difficulty of crossing the wild gorge. 



We continued to the crest of the ridge; from this point 

 of vantage it was possible to secure a good view of the coun- 

 try to the east, but as it did not differ from that we had 

 just left, there was no reason for going farther. 



The vicinity of Vermejo had been headquarters of a band 

 of brigands that preyed upon travellers and caravans going 

 to and from Santa Cruz. They had had their rendezvous in 

 one of the numerous caves, and for a long time conducted 

 their nefarious occupation with impunity. Eventually, 

 however, their depredations became so bold and wide-spread, 

 that a body of soldiers was sent against them. The bandits, 

 brought to bay among the hills, found it impossible to with- 

 stand the onslaught of their assailants, and surrendered. 

 It was said that a great many horses and other property 

 were recovered, and of the men captured a number were 

 taken to Santa Cruz, and others to Cochabamba and exe- 

 cuted. After that, thieving stopped for a while, but a new 

 band was beginning operations at the time of our visit. 



The amount of traffic along the trail was surprising. 

 Most of the caravans were from Cochabamba; they took 



