204 A V O Y A G E T O Book 



people think them both fafe and ealy, they are fuch ad 

 an European ftranger would willingly avoid. 



Besides, the natural difficulty of all the roads 

 among the mountains is increafed by the negledt of 

 them, which is greater than could eaiily be conceived. 

 If a tree, for initance, happens to fall down aerofs the 

 roadj and ftop up the paffage, no perfon will be at the 

 pains to remove it ; and though all pafling that way 

 are put to no fmail difficulty by fuch an obftacle, it is 

 fuffered to continue ; neither the government, nor thofe 

 who frequent the road, taking any care to have it 

 drawn away. Some of thcfe trees are indeed fo 

 large, that their diameter is not lefs than a yard and 

 half, and confequently fill up the whole paffage in 

 which cafe, the Indians hew away part of the trunk, 

 and afTift the mules to leap over what remains *, but, 

 in order to this, they rnufb be unloaded and, after 

 prodigious labour, they at laftfurmount the difficulty; 

 though not without great iois of time, and damage to 

 the goods : when, pleafed v^ith having got over the 

 obilacle themfelves, they leave the tree in the condi- 

 tion they found it; fo that thofe who follow are 

 obliged to undergo the fame fatigue and trouble* 

 Thus the road, to the great detriment of trade, re- 

 mains encumbered till time has deftroyed the tree. 

 Nor is it only the roads over San Antonio, and other 

 mountains between Guayaquil and the Cordillera, that 

 are thus negledled ; the cafe is' general all over this 

 country, efpecially where they lead over mountains, 

 and throuo;h the forefts. 



On the iSth, at fix in the morning, thethermome* 

 ter at Cruz de Canos was at loio, and after travelling 

 along a road no better than the day before, we arrived 

 at a place, at the end of the acclivity of the moun- 

 tain, by the Indians called Pucara, which fignifies a 

 gate or narrow pafs of a mountain ; it alfo fignifies a 

 fortified place, and poffibly derived its name from its 

 r*arrovynefs5 and the natural llrength of its fituation. 



We 



