SANTA CRUZ. 



159 



The minister of state sent circular instructions to all the authorities on 

 my route, rubriconded by President Belzu, by which they ordered the 

 prefects and governors to facilitate the expedition. 



The President usually signs public documents with his peculiar mark 

 or flourish alone, without writing his name. No man's signature in the 

 country is valued without getting him to " rubricar" the document 

 also. The custom is a Spanish one. They have been known to use 

 their own blood or red ink, but the black ink does as well and is lawful. 

 Our receipt book is a most flourishing volume. After Jose signs his 

 name for his monthly wages, he straddles his legs, turns his head side- 

 ways, and gives a most gallant dash, occupying the remainder of the 

 page, often through the paper on to the next leaf, with the point of the 

 pen. We observe all along the route that the people generally dash 

 better than they write. The rule may have originated for the advantage 

 of those who could not write. 



Passing over a level road and through the small town of Sacaba, we 

 slung our hammock on the piazza of a hacienda at the foot of the ridge 

 of mountains. 'Mamore whipped the big house-dog and played with the 

 small ones, while the fleas retaliated upon us. The mule drivers laughed 

 among themselves when they saw us washing our faces in the morning, 

 while they were snugly wrapped up in tlfcir ponchos. The country girls 

 are quite pretty. The drovers we met on the road with horned cattle 

 for the Cochabamba market, said they came from Villa Grande, in the 

 department of Santa Cruz, to the southeast of us. The cattle come up 

 with the winds. They are of good size and condition. 



We turned to the northeast, rising up on the mountain. Leaving the 

 valley of Cochabamba, the road lies through a gorge in a range where 

 the Indians were digging potatoes and reaping barley. Descending 

 again, we encamped for the night by an Indian stone hut, amidst the 

 harvest fields. Don Cornell o, our head arriero, purchased a sheep in 

 partnership with us, and his men dressed it for the journey. One of 

 them, who suffered with chills, Cornello dosed with a solution of cin- 

 chona bark from a bottle he carried with his bread in his saddle 

 wallets. 



In this small mountain basin, the thermometer stands at 52°, at 6 p. 

 m., and wet' bulb, 53°, with heavy frost in the morning. From the 

 last ridge of mountains we see that the waters flowing towards the north- 

 east go directly to the river Mamore, and those which run to the south- 

 east are tributary to the same stream, winding around the i^g^ a ^ 

 the end of which is situated the city of Santa Cruz, which has a popula- 

 tion of six thousand souls. The department contains a population of 



