82 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. iv. 



was not a time for scolding. I saw now why Louis had blundered 

 and floundered about during the descent. The poor man was in 

 a very bad way, and the first thing was to find some one who 

 understood the proper treatment for him, as his case was beyond 

 our abilities. 



It so happened that shortly after my arrival the proprietor 

 of Chuquipoquio came up from Riobamba, and from him we 

 learned that there was at the town of Ambato, about twenty- 

 two miles away, a medical man who had a good reputation ; 

 and on the 14th Perring was despatched to that place to pro- 

 cure lodgings and to bring back the means of transporting the 

 cripples — for there were two of us. I was also in need of a 

 doctor through having acquired in Ecuador a complaint which 

 rendered riding impossible, and obliged me to walk with cir- 

 cumspection. 



Senor Chiriboga, the proprietor of the tambo, was the son of 

 a gentleman of Riobamba, who was said to be the representative 

 of one of the oldest families in Ecuador, and would have been, 

 if titles had not been abolished. Marquis de Chimborazo. The 

 possible Marquis was a man of middle age, with an intelligent 

 head, and he came up ''to do us honour, to supply our needs, to 

 watch over and care for us^' — so he said. He fell on my neck 

 and kissed me, and begged that I would write an account of 

 our ascent, ''to enrich the Archives of Riobamba."" I took this 

 request seriously, but he became invisible until just before we 

 left his house, and I forgot his existence except when my eye 

 lighted upon the neglected document, which was to have enriched 

 the archives of his native town. 



Chuquipoquio is situated towards the eastern end of Chim- 

 borazo. There is no village. The establishment is partly tambo 

 and partly farm, and like most of the Haciendas in the interior 

 of Ecuador is surrounded by high walls, and has a half -fortified 

 appearance. The courtyard in front was entered through a massive 

 portal, with strong gates, which were generally kept locked and 



