38 



INTRODUCTORY. 



Arrieros, wlien they supply as many mules as I had engaged, always 

 furnish a peon, or assistant, to help load and unload, and take care of 

 the mules. Mine, taking advantage of my ignorance in these matters, 

 said to me that his peon was " desanimado" (disheartened,) was afraid 

 of the " Piedra Parada" or upright rock, where we were to cross the 

 Cordillera, and had backed out ; but that he himself could very well 

 attend to the mules if I would be good enough to let him have the 

 occasional assistance of my Indian servant. I unwarily promised, which 

 was the cause of a good deal of difficulty ; but when the old rascal 

 complained of over-work and sickness on the road, I had an answer for 

 him which always silenced him — that is, that it was his own cupidity 

 and dishonesty which caused it, and that if he did not work and behave 

 himself, I would discharge him without pay, and send back to Lima 

 for another. 



I directed him to bring the mules to the hotel door on the 20th ; 

 but, upon his finding that this was Tuesday, he demurred, saying that 

 it was an unlucky day, and that no arriero was willing to start on that 

 day, but that Monday was lucky, and begged that I would be ready by 

 then. This I could not do; so that on Wednesday, the 21st of May, 

 we loaded up, though I had to cajole, and finally to bribe the old 

 fellow, to take on all the baggage, which he represented to be too much 

 for his beasts. 



I did wrong to start, for the party was short of a servant allowed 

 by my instructions. (I had not been able to get one in Lima, except at 

 an unreasonable price, and depended upon getting one in some of the 

 towns of the Sierra.) The arriero needed a peon, and the mules were 

 overloaded. I would strongly advise all travellers in these parts to 

 imitate the conduct of the Jesuits, whose first day's journey is to load 

 their burden mules, saddle and mount their riding-mules ; go twice 

 round the patio or square, on the inside of their dwelling, to see that 

 everything is prepared and fits properly ; and then unload and wait for 

 the morning. However, I foresaw a longer delay by unloading again 

 than I was willing to make ; and after a hard morning's work in drum- 

 ming up the Peruvian part of the expedition, (these people have not 

 the slightest idea that a man will start on a journey on the day he 

 proposes,) the party, consisting of myself, Mr. Gibbon, Mr. Richards, 

 Mr. Ijurra, Mauricio, an Indian of Chamicuros, (a village on the 

 Huallaga,) and the arriero, Pablo Luis Arredondo, with seven burden- 

 mules, defiled out by the Gate of Marvels, (Puerto, de Maravillas) and 

 took the broad and beaten road that ascends the left bank of the 

 Rimac. 



