120 Travels and Adventures 



marca, passing on the way some twelve small towns 

 and villages, one or two Indian, the others of the old 

 Spanish style, many of them being extremely pretty in 

 situation and construction. Several of the villages are 

 celebrated for the desperate conflicts which took place 

 between the Spaniards and the natives of Colombia in 

 the terrible War of Independence. 



I will only particularise one or two of the principal 

 towns ; to enumerate more would only be to weary 

 the reader with repetitions. After a long, toilsome 

 day's journey over the rocky heights of the Andes, I 

 arrived at the town called Sanjil — a town of some 

 14,000 inhabitants, beautifully situated on the banks 

 of the River Fonce. It was originally peopled by the 

 Guave Indians, and dates from the year 1620. It is 

 notable for its well-built edifices, mostly of stone of 

 excellent Spanish workmanship. A cave is shown 

 full of human skeletons, probably all that now re- 

 mains of its early Indian owners. Another day's 

 journey over the same mountain heights brought us 

 to the town called El Socorro. This is nearly four 

 thousand feet above the level of the sea, with a lovely 

 climate, built on the banks of a river ; it has four 

 churches and a convent, besides many very excellent 

 buildings, and perhaps the best suspension bridge in 

 Colombia, which is very ancient in appearance. This 

 town is notable as being one of the principal places in 



