Adieu to Quito. 177 



CHAPTEE XII. 



Departure from Quito. — Itulcachi. — A Night in a Bread-tray. — Crossing the 

 Cordillera.— Guamani.—rapallacta.— Domiciled at the Governor's.— An 

 Indian Aristides.— Our Peon Train.— In the Wilderness. 



Forty miles east-southeast of Quito, on the eastern slope 

 of the Eastern Cordillera, and on the western edge of the 

 great forest, is the Indian \dllage of Papallacta. From the 

 capital to this point there is a path just passable for horses; 

 but thence to the l^apo travelers must take to their feet. 

 Through the intervention of the curate of Papallacta, who 

 has great influence over his wild people, but who has wit 

 enough to reside in Quito instead of his parish, we engaged 

 the Indian governor to send over thirteen beasts and three 

 peons to carry our party and baggage to Papallacta. 

 Wednesday morning the quadrupeds were at the door of 

 our hotel, five of them hestias de silla. These horses, 

 judging by size, color, shape, and bony prominences, were 

 of five different species. The saddles, likewise, differed 

 fi'om one another, and from any thing we had ever seen 

 or desired to see. One of them was so narrow and deep 

 none of us could get into it ; so, filling up the cavity with 

 blankets, we took .arns in riding on the summit. By noon, 

 October 30th, we had seen our Andean collections in the 

 hands of arrieros bound for Guayaquil, whence they were 

 to be shipped by way of Panama to Washington, and our 

 baggage train for Xapo headed toward the rising sun. So, 

 mounting our jades, we defiled across the Grand Plaza and 

 through the street of St. Augustine, and down the Carnice- 

 ria to the Alameda, amid the vivas and adeos of oiu* Qui- 



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