MULETEKRS. 



13 



leposy strips of hide noosed, which serve to 

 catch stragglers and to chastise the lazy or 



the approach of a troop of loaded mules ; 

 and sometimes their appearance was merely 

 preceded by that of a solitary one on the 

 brow of the hilly road ; in either case it was 

 necessary to provide instantly for personal 

 safety, as the whole troop was sure to come 

 rushing down the next moment, often in the 

 narrowest parts of the road, either between 

 two precipices, or with a tremendous abyss 

 on one side, and an almost perpendicular 

 wall of rock on the other. The muleteers 

 are fine athletic fellows, with the ruddy 

 glow of health in their dark faces ; they are 

 lightly clothed in trowsers and sandals, 

 wearing a shirt open at the neck, and ex- 

 posing their muscular bospms. 



On reaching the summit of the pass, I 

 observed the fog gradually clearing off fr^m^ 



refractory animals, occasionally announced 



i 



