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ROUGH TRAVELLING. 341 j 



did not encourage us, for they seemed unable to 



carry themselves on their feet, much less us on ; 



their shoulders. However, we got them out of the ] 



room, and told them to get the coches ready. At j 



three o'clock we crawled into the vehicles, and in | 



the mean time our carriers had taken another drink. j 



It seemed foolhardy to trust ourselves to such men, \ 



particularly as we had to cross the sierra, the most \ 



dangerous road in the country ; but the alcaldes said t 



they were hombres de bien, men of good character j 



and conduct ; that they would be sober before the ] 



first league was passed; and with this encourage- 1 



ment we started. The sun was still scorching hot, ! 



and came in directly upon the back of my head. ^ 



My carriers set off on a full run, which they continued ) 



for perhaps a mile, when they moderated their pace, | 



and, talking and laughing all the time, toward even- I 



ing they set me down on the ground. I scrambled ; 



out of the coche; the freshness of the evening air 1 



was reviving, and we waited till Doctor Cabot came ; 



up. He had had a much worse time than I, his ^ 



carriers happening to be more intoxicated. ] 



It was nearly dark when we reached the foot of 

 the sierra, and, as we ascended, the clouds threaten- 



ed rain. Before, it had been an object to leave the j 



coche as open and airy as possible, on account of | 



the heat, but now it was a greater object to avoid j 



getting wet, and I had everything fastened down on { 



the sides. On the top of the sierra the rain came ' 



on, and the Indians hurried down as fast as the i 



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