of an Orchid Hunter 



I 2 



salt crystals which make one believe one has entered 

 some gem palace or diamond caves. These mines 

 are the property of, and worked by, the Government 

 of Colombia ; and although the system of working is 

 somewhat primitive, the salt taken from these hills 

 produces something like one million dollars paper- 

 money yearly. 



The town of Cipaquira is a distance of thirty 

 miles from Bogota. In the dry season the road 

 is very good, and stage-coaches run every two days. 

 The scenery along the road is most picturesque. For 

 ten miles a line of willows have been planted, and 

 these form a perfect avenue, besides making an 

 agreeable shade, and on each side of the immense 

 plain the continued chain of the Andes rises high and 

 breaks into frowning precipices, giving an increased 

 charm to the surroundings of Bogota. After a 

 delightful ride, I arrived at about two o'clock in the 

 afternoon at one of the suburban villages, called 

 Chapinero. A tramway has lately been constructed 

 from here to Bogota, and the strange mixture of traffic 

 along this road is most curious. The dusky Indian 

 with his old-fashioned pack-mule, donkey-riders and 

 elegant horsemen, tram-cars and carriages, all jostle 

 each other along the dusty road. The entrance to the 

 village is especially pretty ; and even along the road 

 the rich Colombians have built beautiful villas, with 



