SEVERITY OF THE COLD. 



141 



isted in a cave^ skreened from the winds ; and 

 fed on the flesh of the horses that perished 

 there with the troops/^ ^ 



Many instances occur of the peons losing their 

 toes and fingers in the Cordillera : one of ours 

 had lost two of his toes^ and the arreiro the first 

 joint of one of his fingers. The peon who car- 

 ried the news of the battle of Ayacucha from 

 Chili to Buenos Ayres in the extraordinary time 

 of eight dayS;, was in the following winter caught 

 in a snow storm and nearly perished : he lost 

 all his toes. As it was so extraordinary a journey 

 to be performed in so short a space of time, 

 (when he arrived at Buenos Ayres,) they thought 

 him an impostor, and put him in prison ; but he 

 was soon released, and most handsomely re- 

 warded. During my stay at Santiago, I went 

 to see him, when he described his toes as 

 having dropped off without feeling. I regret 



* Extract from Moseley's Work on " Tropical Climates." 



