Ch. II. SOUTH AMERICA. 225 



labyrinth of confufion with regard to the nature of 

 bur defign. And the more they refledVed on it, the 

 greater was their perplexity, being unable to difcover 

 any thing proportionate to the pains and hard (hips 

 we underwent. And even when we informed them 

 - of the real motive of this expedition, which caufed 

 fo much aftonifhment, their ignorance of its import- 

 ance would not fuffer them to give credit to what 

 we faid ; fufpec^ing that we concealed, under the 

 veil of ah incomprehenfibie chimera, our real prac- 

 tices, of which, as I have already obferved, they had 

 no good opinion. 



Among feveral pleafant adventures which this oc- 

 cafioned, 1 fhall only mention two, both which are 

 flill frefh in my memory ; and may ferve to illuftrate 

 the ftrange ideas thefe ignorant people formed of us* 

 While we were at the fignal of Vengotafin, ereded 

 On a defert at no great diftance from the town of 

 Latacunga^ about a league from the place where we 

 had pitched our field- tent, was a cow-houfe, where 

 v;e conftantly pafled the night; for the afcent not 

 being remarkably difRcuk, we could every morning, 

 in fair weather, return foon enouo-h to the tent to be- 

 gm our obfervations. One morning, as we were paf- 

 fing to the fignal, we faw at a diftance three or four 

 Indians, in appearance on their knees; and we found 

 indeed, on our approaching nearer, that this 

 their real poflure ; we alfo obferved, that their hands 

 Were joined, and that they uttered words in their lan- 

 guage with the greatelt fervour and the moft fup- 

 plicant accent ; but, by the pofition of their eyes, it 

 was evident that we were the perfons whom they 

 thus addreiled. We feveral times made figns for 

 them to rife, but they ftill kept, their pofcure till we 

 were got at a confiderable diftance. We had fcarce 

 begun to prepare our inftruments within the tent, 

 when we were alarmed with a repetition of the fame 

 lupplicant vociferations. On going out to know the 



Voh. L ^ cauie. 



