34 



condor's wings. 



A party of Indians came silently up the ridge ; on a journey they are 

 quiet ; when at home they play upon wind instruments and drums* 

 The girls often sing, but I never heard any whistling ; they are not 

 great talkers, except when excited, and then the women's tongues are 

 remarkably fast. Nor do I believe they, are active thinkers. Their 

 eyes are constantly moving, for they are sharp-sighted, and notice every 

 thing near them by a quick, sly glance. Their hearing is very good ; 

 so is their knowledge of the manners, habits, and peculiarities of animals, 

 being constantly on the watch for game, which they trap, as they are 

 not practised in the use of fire-arms ; nor do these Indians use the bow 

 and arrow. A boy in the party had a pair of condor's wings ; one of 

 them four feet five inches from the body joint to the tip end. The 

 bone and joints remind one of heavy iron door hinges. The boy had 

 caught the condor in a trap, and the bird being too much for a load, he 

 cut off the wings and seemed to be troubled with the weight of them 

 on his back. The condor is often seen along the sea-shore, feeding 

 upon cast-up dead fish ; but it is among the lofty peaks of the mountain 

 this wild bird builds its nest. The most daring and experienced climb- 

 ers among the boys are unable to reach their young, or rob their eggs. 

 We looked for the nest and longed to see the extraordinary bird rise 

 from the valley, bearing in beak and claws a young lamb to its little 

 ones ; or flying from one mountain to another with a young vicuna. 

 The Indians are fond of baiting condors ; they sometimes hide close 

 enough to the bait to lasso them, and have been known to conceal 

 themselves under the bait and catch them by the legs. 



Huancarama, a small Indian town situated in a valley, with a little 

 old church, and Indian population. We met the priest on the road re- 

 turning to town ; he was followed by a number of persons, to whom he 

 read aloud as he rode along up hill. Our baggage mules met him in a 

 very narrow pass; all came to a stand-still, and the not over-cleanly 

 padre was addressing the arriero in a loud and excited voice. Jose 

 assured him it was up-hill work for his party to back out ; if he would 

 be kind enough to stand on one side, we would pass on, which was done. 

 As we cleared each other, after some chafing of baggage, the extreme 

 politeness of the padre was more becoming. Sometimes arrieros en- 

 gage in dreadful fights with stones, followed up with knives ; on such 

 occasions the weaker party are forced to give way to the strong. It is 

 generally considered proper for those coming up, to halt on one side to 

 give their mules a rest. Those standing with heavy loads, head down 

 hill, suffer, and are anxious to push on. Noises made in the valley re- 

 sound through the mountains ; an uproar on the summit causes little 



