208 
CAVE AND CLIFF DWELLERS. 
the trail would lead past dizzy heights or 
cliffs, where one could look sheer down 
far enough to be dead before he reached 
the bottom should he fall, and every few 
feet along the trail of not over a foot in 
width it would tumble in a foot or so and 
again take up the original inclination of 
the mountain, or about that of the lean¬ 
ing tower of Pisa. Here the mule would 
always be sure to stick one foot over and 
stumble a little bit, but regain its equi¬ 
librium at the next step, having clearly 
done it intentionally, and for no other 
purpose than pure maliciousness. One 
can imagine the cool Alpine zephyr that 
is wafted up the vertebrse with sufficient 
force to blow the hair straight up on end. 
If you have touched the beast within the 
last three or four days with the whip, or 
dug into its sides with the spurs when it 
