AND AMERICAN RURAL SPORTS. 



19 



into this great clanger; these must be wicked men, or you 

 would not pass such judgment upon them; but what have I 

 done, that I should share the punishment due to their 

 crimes.' 



"The earnestness of this bigot, and his want of charity, 

 excited our laughter, — and it was some time before the 

 coward could be convinced that we had killed the animal, 

 or even get him to turn his face towards it. After his 

 fears had subsided, however, he assisted us in getting the 

 animal to our cave, where we skinned it, and threw the 

 carcase to be devoured by the vultures. We had thus en- 

 joyed one of the most splendid views on earth, and been 

 unexpectedly successful in destroying an animal, that not 

 unfrequently caused terror among some of the inhabitants 

 of the country, and were therefore anxious to preserve 

 the skin, as an evidence of our success, to be exhibited on 

 our return to our friends. 



" After drawing on our humble store of provisions, we 

 endeavoured to repose for the remainder of the night, pre- 

 paratory to a very early start the next morning for the 

 completion of our ascent of the mountain. We were dis- 

 turbed, about day-break, by our guide, who had just risen, 

 and, departing from the cave, left us altogether, and re- 

 turned home. This man was a native Indian, but had be- 

 come a proselyte to the Roman Church, and belonged to 

 one of the missionary establishments near Caraccas; in 

 consequence of which he had made some progress in the 

 knowledge of the Spanish language, and him, with those 

 of his fellows who had shared like advantages, were more 

 often chosen as guides than the other inhabitants; but, as 

 in the instance cited, they often proved faithless, and 

 sometimes treacherous. We suspected him of cowardice 

 several times, for on different occasions he warned us of 

 dangers and saw difficulties when neither were at hand; 

 but we dreamed not that he would forsake us or the pro- 

 tection we were able to afford him. In this unexpected di- 

 lemma, we were somewhat at a loss to decide, whether to 

 persevere in ascending the mountain, or finish our hunt- 

 ing, while we gradually approached the city. We however 

 decided on the former course, as a successful attempt was 

 a consummation which but few had experienced. We 

 therefore, shortly after day-break, started on our enterprise 

 of ascending the mountain, and continued our passage 

 slowly and steadily until ten o'clock. We had con- 

 sumed about six hours, and finding our difficulties increas- 

 ing so fast, we were convinced that we had mistaken the 

 proper -course, and resolved to retrace our steps. Al- 

 though the temperature was not above 50°, we had 

 laboured so hard during the last hour, that we perspired 

 profusely. We had now passed the boundary of vegeta- 

 tion;— all beyond were rocks and precipices, insurmount- 



able by human effort, — and the greatest exertion would 

 not convey us but a few hundred feet further up the 

 mountain; we therefore tarried about half an hour, to take 

 another view of the country before us, and then begin our 

 retrograde movements. We continued descending until 

 nearly one o'clock, and discovered at length that we had 

 also lost our backward track; this caused us to halt, and 

 endeavour to find the proper course, — but failing in this, 

 we proceeded on our way. 



"It was two o'clock, and the clouds, which for half an 

 hour had began to thicken about the mountain's brow, now 

 rolled furiously immediately over our heads, impelled by 

 a wind that prostrated the decayed trunks of trees, and 

 leafy branches, with the violence of a hurricane. We were 

 convinced a fearful storm of rain would follow, and we 

 lost no time in seeking refuge from it among the crevices 

 of the rocks. The rain soon began to fall in torrents, 

 which continued, with unabated vehemence, for nearly 

 two hours, and then gave way to a clear sunshine and a 

 cloudless sky, so that we renewed our descent. But new 

 difficulties presented themselves, that we did not calculate 

 would be so unpleasant. The fissures and ravines of the 

 mountain were now streams of water, which befoi-e were 

 dry and parched; places had become slippery and danger- 

 ous, on which before we could have placed our feet with 

 firmness and safety; and, worst of all, we had arrived on 

 the brink of a ravine, so broad and deep, and withal foam- 

 ing with cataracts and flood, that made the head giddy to 

 behold. This gulf was the receptacle of all the storm- 

 created streams that flowed down the northern side of the 

 mountain, and the concentration of these waters had form- 

 ed a terrible and angry deluge. We had no alternative 

 but to go up or down, along the edges of the frightful 

 precipice of this abyss, — so we determined on the former, 

 as most likely to reach the much desired path we had trod- 

 den while ascending the mountain, but we now encoun- 

 tered a new difficulty that was far more formidable than 

 any thing we had yet contended with. 



" It is a remarkable feature of that climate, especially 

 among the highlands, that mists and fogs arise suddenly 

 after storms, with a density that almost precludes belief; 

 but whether these are caused by the influence of a vertical 

 sun, assisted by the heat of the rocks over which these 

 waters flow, that produce a sudden evaporation, I cannot 

 decide; nor have I ever heard it satisfactorily accounted 

 for. But in one of these vapours my friend and self were 

 doomed to be involved, and one too, that was so imper- 

 vious to vision, as to preclude us from distinguishing anv 

 object more than a few feet distance. We had by this 

 time reached a platform of the rock, and thinking it ex- 

 ceedingly hazardous to, persevere in our efforts, I earnestly 



