16 



ROMPING GAMES. 



bed time. This was decidedly a merry way of bringing families together, 

 and pleasing to see old folk's romping, like children, with the young 

 people. On one such occasion, a corpulent gentleman had his thumb 

 put out of joint ; a pretty girl held the end of it, while others pulled it 

 in place again — by his coat-tails. One of the games is somewhat like 

 " hunt the slipper." All the players stand up in the middle of the room* 

 and cany on to the music of a guitar, violin, or flute. The houses are 

 tolerably well furnished and carpeted. The Indians act the part of 

 servants. They are taken when young, grow up with the children, and 

 frequently remain all their lives in the family ; others run away when 

 they become of age, or whenever they are dissatisfied. The Indian 

 girls are often very much attached to their employers, and make cooks 

 and house servants ; remarkably neat in their dress, which is not unlike 

 the bloomer style. People wear thick cloth here, even in the house ; 

 it is unusual to see ladies without shawls, or gentlemen without cloaks 

 or overcoats. The only fuel known is mountain grass, and dried drop- 

 pings of llama, like what our hunters call " Buffalo chips." 



The Prefect of the department was very. kind and attentive. He gave 

 me passports for all the lieutenants of police in South Peru, and called 

 upon them as good citizens to assist me ; besides, he offered me private 

 letters of introduction to his friends on my route. He expressed the 

 opinion that Mr. Gibbon was probably going to Carabaya, for the pur- 

 pose of ascertaining whether the gold there was not " the other end of 

 the California vein." I paid off Francisco and his little son Ignacio, 

 when they returned home. Here we take regular post mules and new 

 arrieros, or mule drivers. Jose's saddle wallets were replenished with 



bread and cheese. An Indian girl came up in time for Don 's 



pretty little wife to purchase part of a lamb for us, and we marched on, 

 feeling quite an attachment to the town, for though the climate and 

 soil be inhospitable, the kind-hearted people are not. 



Dog-killers were rushing through the streets with short clubs, and as a 

 wounded dog came running for protection among our baggage mules, 

 the arriero's fat wife clung to her own pet dog until the killers were 

 out of sight. The women generally accompany the arrieros some dis- 

 tance on the road, carrying provisions, which are eaten and drank on 

 the road side just before parting. Ascending a rough, rocky road, 

 over deeply washed ravines, we gain the smooth grass capped moun- 

 tains. Between peaks of perpendicular strata, flocks of llama are 

 pasturing. Yonder is a lake of clear snow-water, and there stands five 

 beautiful vicuna, looking intently at us. What pretty animals, and 

 how wild they look. They come here to pasture with their kinsfolk, 



