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THB OOLOaiBT 



ture dropped way down chilling me 

 thoroughly and soaking my clothes so 

 that I emerged dripping on the other 

 side. 



In the pass itself, were quantities 

 of tiny wooden crosses made from 

 twigs and bits of wood. They lined 

 both sides of the trail in hundreds 

 where they had been placed by the 

 superstitious pack drivers and native 

 travellers when starting over the more 

 dangerous trails which I was yet to 

 encounter. 



On both sides of the pass I noted 

 numbers of humming birds, one a 

 species of lesbia, with a tail five 

 inches long and beautiful topaz throat. 

 There were also many Andean White- 

 throated sparrows, big dusky robins 

 and a species of finch or sparrow new 

 to me. 



Descending to 9000 feet I found my- 

 self in Chipaque, a tiny town set in a 

 huge valley. Here signs of prosperity 

 were in evidence. Great numbers of 

 cultivated fields and vegetable gardens 

 marked the landscape. I reached the 

 town at 2 p. m. and put up for the 

 night in a. very dirty house, but the 

 best I could find. My room was very 

 dirty and stuffy and the matting over 

 the earthen floor sheltered numerous 

 fieas which jumped merrily upon my 

 legs as I entered. I spent the after- 

 noon sleeping and turned in for the 

 night about seven o'clock after a 

 coarse meal and a chat with my 

 hospitable but filthy hosts. 



March 9th. After a better night 

 than I had anticipated and a break- 

 fast of scrambled eggs and coffee, I 

 hit the trail again at eight o'clock. 

 At first the trail led off into a fine hill 

 country, consisting of rolling fields of 

 emerald vegetation, each marked off 

 by a well built stone wall. There were 

 brooks lined with delicate green wil- 

 lows, and here and there a stony 

 pasture dotted with large willows, re- 



minding me of a New England land- 

 scape. I soon left this country how- 

 ever and found myself in an arid land 

 of gigantic hills and valleys. Here 

 the vegetation changed also. Great 

 numbers of century plants and cacti 

 were growing all along the trail and 

 on the hill-sides were big round-leaved 

 trees bearing deep red, bell-shaped 

 blossoms which proved attractive to 

 countless numbers of humming birds 

 and butterfiies. 



My little horse has proved himself 

 a fine companion with a good comfort- 

 able gait and amiable disposition. 

 Yesterday's ride started a bad sore 

 under the saddle so that I had to 

 grease it well with resinol and place 

 a pad over the wound. This the little 

 animal seemed to recognize as a kind- 

 ly act, as he is in fine spirits today 

 and ever ready to gallop and give me 

 the full joy of horseback riding in this 

 wonderful country. 



About eleven in the morning I came 

 into the quaint little town of Cacueza 

 at about 6000 feet. Here I met two 

 very pretty Colombian maidens with 

 flowing hair and big dark eyes, who 

 soon had me eating a very good meal 

 at their posada. I must admit that I 

 was loathe to leave, but nevertheless 

 I was soon on the trail again in order 

 to join the others as soon as possible. 

 In half an hour's time I came into the 

 most inspiring country that I have 

 ever seen. The trail led along the 

 very edge of tremendous cliffs which 

 dropped almost perpendicularly for 

 two thousand feet to the valley, where 

 the Reo Negro churned to a white 

 foam rushes on to join the Orinoco. 

 In places the trail was less than four 

 feet wide with a sheer drop on one 

 side and a sheer rise on the other of 

 a thousand feet each. It was an arid 

 country, almost bare of vegetation 

 with hills made up of clays varying 

 through all shades of orange and yel- 



