110 SECOND NIGHT IN THE CORDILLERA, 



could take us no further ; indeed, had this not 

 been the case, half of them would have been of 

 no further service ; for the labour they had gone 

 through for four successive days, with scarcely 

 any thing to eat, had knocked them up. Mine 

 was entirely done for, and could scarcely get 

 one leg before the other for the last two miles, 

 which I was obliged to walk, so we determined 

 upon leaving them and proceeding on foot. The 

 situation, we were now from necessity driven to 

 for the night, was wild and dreary in the extreme, 

 in a valley surrounded by snowy mountains, 

 with part of the gigantic Cordillera in our rear; 

 like a huge island of snow, its summits obscured 

 in the clouds. The wind had increased, and the 

 clouds began to hang heavily over the enormous 

 mountains around us, small passing showers of 

 snow came on, and it soon blew a gale of wind, 

 which cracked and roared among the cavities 

 and rents in the high rocks above us, resembling 

 close thunder, threatening to sweep us, beds, 

 luggage, and every thing before it. All the lug- 



