THE ANDES. 



a 



so much so as to make it difficult to believe it 

 a delusion. One false step would have been 

 fatal ; nothing then could have prevented both 

 horse and rider from being carried away by the 

 violence of the torrent^ and dashed against the 

 rocks in the channel. Every now and then 

 we heard the crash of loose stones^ which the 

 force of the waters had rolled from their bed ; 

 and one of these^ had it come in contact with 

 our horses^ l^gs, must have produced a most 

 deplorable result. 



At this point the river is not less than a 

 quarter of a mile wide; rapid and turbulent 

 every where but varying much in depth. 

 We were full half an hour in fording it^ 

 using the utmost caution during this opera- 

 tion. The two peons went firsts trying the 

 ground as they proceeded. This passage is 

 very alarming if the head is not accustomed to 

 B 2 



