180 The Andes and the Amazon. 



intervening valleys, all covered with one thick, unbroken 

 mass of foliage. A tiny brook, the child of everlasting- 

 snows still higher np, murmured at our feet, as if to tell 

 us that we were on the Atlantic slope, and then dashed 

 into the great forest, to lose itself in the mighty Amazon, 

 and be buried mth it in the same ocean grave. The trade- 

 wind, too, came rushing by us fresh fi'om that sea of com- 

 merce which laves the shores of two worlds. Guamani 

 gave us also our finest view of Antisana, its snow-white 

 dome rising out of a wilderness of mountains, and present- 

 ing on the north side a profile of the human face divine. 



And now we rapidly descended by a steep, narrow path, 

 and over paramo and bog, to a little tambo, where we had 

 the luxury of sleeping on a bed of straw. Here we made 

 the acquaintance of two Indians from the Napo, who were 

 on the way to Quito with the mail — probably half a dozen 

 letters. A strip of cloth around the loins, and a short cape 

 just covering the shoulders, were all their habiliments. We 

 noticed that they never sat down, though a bench was close 

 by them ; they would squat for an hom^ at a time. The 

 day following we took our last horseback ride in South 

 America. It was short, but horrible. Through quagmire 

 and swamp, and down a fiight of rocky stairs, in striking- 

 imitation of General Putnam's famous ride — over rocks, 

 too, made wondrously slippery by a pitiless rain, but which 

 our unshod Indian horses descended with great dexterity, 

 only one beast and his rider taking a somerset — thus we 

 traveled two hours, reaching Papallacta at 11 a.m. 



We put up at the governor's. This edifice, the best in 

 town, had sides of upright poles stuccoed with mud, a 

 thatched roof, and ground floor, on which, between three 

 stones, a fire was built for cookery and comfort. Three 

 or four earthen kettles, and as many calabashes and wood- 

 en spoons, were the sum total of kitchen utensils. A large 



