246 



INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 



ried their water-jars by silken cords. Giving our mules 

 to Santiago, we entered the open door of the church. 

 The altar was thrown down, the roof lay in broken 

 masses on the ground, and the whole area was a forest 

 of trees. At the foot of the church, and connected with 

 it, was a convent. There was no roof, but the apart- 

 ments were entire as when a good padre stood to wel- 

 come a traveller. In front of the church, on each side, 

 was a staircase leading up to a belfry in the centre of 

 the facade. We ascended to the top. The bells which 

 had called to matin and vesper prayers were gone ; the 

 crosspiece was broken from the cross. The stone of 

 the belfry was solid masses of petrified shells, worms, 

 leaves, and insects. On one side we looked down into 

 the roofless area, and on the other over a region of 

 waste. One man had written his name there : 



Joaquim Ruderigos, 

 Conata, Mayo 1°, 1836. 



We wrote our names under his and descended, 

 mounted, rode over a stony and desolate country, 

 crossed a river, and saw before us a range of hills, and 

 beyond a range of mountains. Then we came upon a 

 bleak stony table, and after riding four hours and a 

 half, saw the road leading across a barren mountain on 

 our right, and, afraid we had missed our way, halted 

 under a low spreading tree to wait for our men. We 

 turned the mules loose, and after waiting some time, 

 sent Santiago back to look for them. The wind 

 was sweeping over the plain, and while Mr. Cather- 

 wood was cutting wood, Pawling and I descended 

 to a ravine to look for water. The bed was entirely 

 dry, and one took his course up and the other down. 

 Pawling found a muddy hole in a rock, which, even 

 to thirsty men, was not tempting. We returned, and 



