THE ISTHMUS. 



225 



enabled these animals to arrive in safety at 

 the end of the journey, but not before the 

 strength of the traveller is exhausted by 

 fatigue. They manage in general neither to 

 injure themselves, or their burdens ; but they 

 can only accomplish the task by great care and 

 patience. In some places the path is so narrow, 

 as well as deep, that there is scarcely room 

 for the rider to sit on his horse astride; his 

 legs are exposed to be crushed by the rocks on 

 either side; and in others we ascended or 

 descended flights of rough steps, formed by 

 an uneven pavement of natural rocks, which 

 it would puzzle any body, unaccustomed to the 

 business, to find his way up and down even on 

 foot, without a tumble. And all this through 

 a thick mass of wood which, scarcely admitting 

 light enough to make the track visible, increases 

 the danger. 



Here and there some space has been cleared 

 by negro settlers, and a hut or two, surrounded 

 by cultivated ground, is to be seen, where 

 L 3 



