Photo by Paul Bestor 



THi: FERRY AT PASAJE) : APURIMAC VALLEY 



The Director crossing the Apurimac River on a raft at Pasaje. The Indian ferryman is 

 looking back in astonishment that a "gringo" should know how to use a paddle 



ered with snow and ice, and lifting its 

 head so magnificently thousands of feet 

 higher than anything else in the vicinity. 



Our own elevation at the time was a 

 little over 16,000 feet, and a conservative 

 estimate would place the top of the moun- 

 tain at least 5,000 feet above us. It was 

 a very great disappointment that we were 

 unable, owing to the bad weather, to get 

 the mountain triangulated, so that its 

 height still remains an unknown quantity. 



The American mining engineers at 

 Ferrobamba believe it to be the highest 

 peak in the Andes, and Mr. Stevens, the 

 superintendent of the mine, which is 

 nearly 100 miles away from the moun- 

 tain, told me that he had seen it from so 

 many distant points of the Andes that 

 he felt confident it must be the highest 

 mountain in South America. 



Just before getting to the top of the 

 pass we turned aside for a few moments 

 to see the remains of a hole in the 

 ground where it is said that there was 

 once an ancient gold mine. 



A few specimens of rock brought from 

 the talings appear to contain small quan- 

 tities of silver and copper, but the altitude 



is so great and the surroundings so 

 difficult that it is not likely that this mine 

 will ever be a profitable working propo- 

 sition. 



THE MULES STAMPEDE ON A SNOW SLOPE 



Our joy in the scarcity of snow on the 

 north side of the pass was instantly re- 

 duced to despair when we reached the 

 summit and looked down a precipitous 

 slope covered with snow for a distance 

 of at least 1,000 feet below us. 



The sandal-shod mountain Indians,! 

 whose occasional huts are the only signsl 

 of human habitation hereabouts, had! 

 made a zig-zag path in the snow byi 

 means of tramping down the upper crust 

 with roughly cut stumps of stunted 

 mountain trees. The path was about 

 eight inches wide. 



Our mules had never been in the snow 

 before. At first our Indian guide de- 

 clared he would not go down with us, as 

 he was afraid of snow blindness, but he 

 was persuaded to accompany us. 



Our mules took a few steps on the little 

 path, then decided that the white snow 

 field looked more inviting and left the 



542 



