THE GREAT CORDILLERA. 



169 



constant travelling of these animals, but the wall of 

 snow on each side obliged the rider to put his feet 

 on the mule's ears; besides this, as they always 

 tread on the same spot, every step was into a hole 

 which was often above their knees. On the snow 

 there was a great deal of blood from mules which 

 had gone before, and it was only astonishing that 

 they could proceed at all. 



What a magnificent view !" said I to one of 

 my companions, whose honest heart and thoughts 

 were always faithful to old England. " What 

 thing can be more beautiful?'' I added. After 

 smiling for some seconds, he replied, " Them things, 

 sir, that do wear caps and aprons." 



After descending about a mile with great trouble 

 and difficulty, we came to another of the huts, which 

 was in the same state as all the rest, but surrounded 

 by about twelve feet of snow ; for on the Chili side 

 of the Andes there is always much more snow than 

 on the other. After passing this house we resolved 

 to quit the path, which was getting more bloody 

 and more difficult, and we attempted to take a 

 nearer cut by riding over the snow, which was 

 everywhere very deep. It bore us very well for 



