10 



THE ANDES. 



They were about two inches long, of a 

 shining mahogany colour, and in other respects 

 like grasshoppers. When we rode near a shrub, 

 those which had settled upon it all rose eti 

 masse^ flying against our horses^ heads, and our 

 own faces, so as to give us great annoyance. 

 The mules were outrageous, striking out before 

 and behind at them in the air, at every step. 

 We soon beheld the result of their voracious 

 appetites in the appearance of the trees shorn 

 of their leaves, as if they had already been long 

 struck by a deadening blight. I could easily 

 comprehend how great a plague a visitation of 

 locusts must have been in a corn country like 

 Egypt. Here they could do little damage, for 

 there was no cultivation in their way. Their 

 direction appeared to be with the wind, 

 towards Mendoza. 



When we were released from this annoyance. 



