220 A V O Y A G E T O Book V, 



and as every night the hail and fnow which had 

 fallen formed a wall againfl the door^ it was the bu- 

 fmeis of one or two to come up early and remove this 

 obftruclion, that, when we pleafed, v/e might open the 

 door. For though our Negro fervants were lodged 

 in a little tent, their hands and feet were fo covered 

 with chilblains, that they would rather have fuffered 

 themfelves to have been killed than m.ove. The In- 

 dians therefore came conftantly up to difpatch this 

 work betwixt nine and ten in the morning ; but we 

 had not been there above four or five days, when we 

 were not a little alarmed to fee ten, eleven, and twelve 

 come, without any news of our labourers ; when we 

 were relieved by the honeft fervant mentioned above, 

 who had withllood the fedudion of his countrymen, 

 and informed us of the defertion of the four others*^ 

 After great difficulty, he opened a v/ay for us to come 

 out, when we ail fell to clearing our habitation frora 

 the maffes of fnow. We then fent the Indian to the 

 corregidor of Quito, with advice of our condition^, 

 who, with equal difpatch, fent others, threatening to 

 chaftife them feverely, if they were wanting in their 

 dutv. 



But the fear of punifhment was not fufHcient ta 

 induce them to fupport the rigour of our fituation ; 

 for within two days we miffed them. On this fecond 

 defertion the corregidor, to prevent other inconveni- 

 ences, fent four Indians under the care of an alcalde, 

 and gave orders for their being relieved every fourth 

 day. 



Twenty-three tedious days we fpenton this rock, 

 VIZ, to the 6th of September, and even without any 

 poffibility of finiihing our oblervations of the angles 

 for when it v/as fair and clear weather with us, the 

 others, on v/hofe fummits were erecled the fignals 

 which formed the triangles for meafuring the degrees 

 of the meridian, were hid in clouds i and when (as we 

 €onjed:ured, for we could never plainly difcern them) 



thofe 



