182 ARRIEROS AND 



It is truly remarkable to observe with Avhat 

 dexterity and skill the Arrieros, or muleteers, 

 harness and adjust the packs of merchandise 

 upon their beasts. Half a dozen usually suffice 

 for forty or fifty mules. Two men are always 

 engaged at a time in the dispatch of each ani- 

 mal, and rarely occupy five minutes in the 

 complete adjustment of his aparejo and carga. 

 In this operation they frequently demonstrate a 

 wonderful degree of skill in the applicafion of 

 their strength. A single man will often seize 

 a package which, on a ' dead hft,' he could 

 hardly have raised from the ground, and mak- 

 ing a fulcrum of his knees and a lever of his 

 arms and body, throw it upon the mule's 

 back with as much apparent ease as if the 

 effort cost him but httle exertion. At stop- 

 ping-places the task of unpacking is exe- 

 cuted with still greater expedition. The pack- 

 ages are piled in a row upon the ground, and 

 in case of rain the aparejos are laid upon tlicm, 

 over which is stretched a covering of mantas 

 de guangoclie (sheets of sea-grass texture), 

 which protects the goods against the severest 

 storms ; a ditch also being cut around the pile, 

 to prevent the water from running under- 

 neath. In this way freights are carried from 

 point to point, and over the most rugged moun- 

 tain passes at a much cheaper rate than for- 

 eigners can transport their merchandise in 

 wagons, even through a level countiy. The 

 cheapness of this mode of transportation 

 arises from the very low wages paid to the 

 am^ros, and the httle expense incurred to feed 



