224 



DESCRIPTION OF 



By six o'clock we were on the move_, thermo- 

 meter 52"". Our ascent commenced very rapidly ; 

 we passed many beautiful waterfalls^ skipping and 

 leaping down the mountains from an enormous 

 height^ and fell in with many mules from Mendoza, 

 which showed an animated scene, widely different 

 from when I crossed before. After crossing over 

 a bridge made of the trunks of trees, we opened 

 the Alto del Soldado, or Soldier's Leap,'^ 

 spoken of in the former part of my journal. Hav- 

 ing an opportunity this time, I was determined to 

 inspect it ; the gap is most extraordinary, at 

 least twenty feet wide, but the edges are so 

 ragged that it is impossible to get close to them 

 on either side, and a torrent was foaming through 

 it; the gap almost closes at the end, making a 

 distance of a hundred yards or more in length. 

 At this distance it becomes a mere rent in the 



Indians and Monteneros at all times ; these a traveller can 

 never guard against;, and must always run the chance of ; 

 but at other times they may be travelled with much greater 

 security than the same distance in England. 



