41 8 ulloa's voyage to south America. 



after all their labour, which muft be done in hafte, and when thofe people think thens' 

 both fafe and eafy, they are fuch as an European ftranger would willingly avoid. 



Befides,^ the natural difficulty of all t'he roads among the mountains is inereafed by 

 the negleft of them, which is greater than could eafily be conceived. If a tree, for 

 inftance, happens to fall down acrofs the road, and flop up the pafTage, no perfon will 

 be at the pains to remove it ; and though all paffing that way are put to no fmall diffi- 

 culty by fuch an obftacle, it is fuffered to continue ; neither the government, nor thofe 

 who frequent the road, taking any care to have it drawn away. Some of thefe trees 

 are indeed fo large, that their diameter is not lefs than a yard and a half, and, confe- 

 quently, fill up the whole pafTage ; in which cafe, the Indians hew away part of the 

 trunk, and affift the mules to leap over what remains ; but, in order to this, they muft 

 be unloaded ; and, after prodigious labour, they at lafl furmount the difficulty ; though 

 not without great lofs of time, and damage to the goods : when, pleafed with having 

 got over the obftacle themfelves, they leave the tree in the condition they found it ; fo 

 that thofe who follow are obliged to undergo the fame fatigue and trouble. Thus the 

 road, to the great detriment of trade, remains encumbered till time has deftroyed the 

 tree. Nor is it only the roads over San Antonio, and other mountains between Guaya- 

 quil and the Cordillera, that are thus negleded ; the cafe is general all over this coun- 

 try, efpecially where they lead over mountains, and through the forefts. 



On the 1 8th, at fix in the morning, the thermometer at Cruz de Canos was at loio, 

 and after travelling along a road no better than the day before, we arrived at a place, 

 at the end of the acclivity of the mountain, by the Indians called Pucara, which figni- 

 fies a gate or narrow pafs of a mountain ; it alfo fignifies a fortified place, and poffibly 

 derived its name from its narrownefs and the natural ftrength of its fituation. We 

 now began to defcend with more eafe towards the province of Chimbo, though the 

 road wa§ not much better than the former. Here we were met by the corregidor of 

 Guaranda or Chimbo, attended by the provincial alcalde, and the moft eminent per- 

 fons of the town. After complimenting us in the moft cordial manner on our arrival,, 

 we proceeded together, and within a league of the town were met by the prieft, a Do- 

 minican, accompanied by feveral of his order, and a great number of the inhabitants, 

 who alfo left the town on the fame friendly occafion ; and, to heighten the ceremony, 

 had brought with them a troop of cholos, or Indian boys. 



Thefe cholos were dreffed in blue, girded round their wafte with fafhes, on their 

 heads a kind of turban, and in their hands they carried flags. This little corps was- 

 divided into two or three companies, and went before us dancing, and finging fome 

 words in their language, which, as we were told, expreffed the pleafure they received 

 from the fight of fuch perfons arrived fafe in their country. In this manner our caval- 

 cade entered the town, on which all the bells in the place were rung, and every houfe 

 refounded with the noife of trumpets, tabors, and pipes. 



On expreffing to the corregidor our furprife at this reception, as a compliment far 

 above our rank, he informed us, that it was not at all fmgular, it being no more than 

 what was commonly pradifed when perfons of any appearance enter the town ; and 

 that there was no fmall emulation between the feveral towns, in paying thefe congra- 

 tulations. 



After we had paffed the mountains beyond Pacara, the whole country, within the 

 reach of the eye, during a pafTage of two leagues, was a level and open plain, without 

 trees or mountains, covered with fields of wheat, barley, maize, and other grain, 

 whofe verdure, different from that of the mountain, naturally gave us great pleafure ; 

 our fight for near a twelvemonth having been converfant only with the produAs of hot 



II and 



