126 



INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 



their hands. We had the choice of cot or ham- 

 mock for the night, and at breakfast a group of In- 

 dian musicians were seated under the corridor, who 

 continued making a noise, which they called la mu- 

 sica, till we mounted to depart. 



The cura accompanied us, mounted on one of the 

 best horses we had seen in the country; and as it 

 was a rare thing for him to absent himself a day 

 from his parochial duties, he set out as for a holy- 

 day excursion, worrying our poor nags, as well as 

 ourselves, to keep up with him. 



The road upon which we entered turned off ab- 

 ruptly from the camino real. This royal road itself, 

 like most of the others which bore that name, would 

 not be considered, in other countries, as indicating a 

 very advanced state of internal improvement, but the 

 one into which we now struck was much rougher 

 and more stony, entirely new, and in some places 

 still unfinished. It had been but lately opened, and 

 the reason of its being opened at all illustrates one 

 striking feature in the character of the Indians. The 

 village to which it leads was under the pastoral 

 charge of our friendly companion, and was former- 

 ly reached by a road, or rather path, so circuitous 

 and difficult that, on account of his other duties, he 

 was obUged to give notice that he would be compel- 

 led to give it up. To prevent this calamity, all the 

 Indians, in a body, turned out and made this new 

 road, being a straight cut through the woods, two 

 leagues in length. 



