JOURNEY ACROSS THE ANDES.
Tom Arms and Equips for his Journey—His Mule—Sliding down the Mountains—Mule Escapes—Singular Bridges—How he subsisted—Diamonds and Gold.
Tom Arms and Equips for his Journey—His Mule—Sliding down the Mountains—Mule Escapes—Singular Bridges—How he subsisted—Diamonds and Gold.
I had formed the strange resolution of crossing over the continent of South America alone, and on foot! I had read Humbolt’sPersonal Narrative, and I longed to see the wonders which he speaks of. Some excuse may be made for me perhaps, when it is considered that I had a natural fondness for a wandering life and for the wonders of nature; besides, I could meet with no ship on this western side of the continent, bound for my native country. The French captain, with whom I came from Guayaquil, thought me a little deranged; still I believe the good man was glad to get rid of me. He gave me thirty francs; a gun, and some gunpowder, saying with a shrug of his shoulder, as he bade me farewell, “You are very courageous; but remember you must eat; and this gun will be of great use to you.”
Mule and rider
I provided myself with a wallet, in which to put my shoes, stockings, gloves and a shirt; then inquiring the road to Zita, I set out before sunrise, towards the Andes. I was five months in crossing the desolate northern extremities of those giants of the earth. I bought—nay, I did not buy, I found a mule that was browsing on some prickly shrub, (I forget its name,) in a wild pass of the mountains. She was saddled and bridled, and had evidently lost her master. I looked in vain for some hours, but could find no trace of any traveller, so I felt justified in taking possession of her; and it was well I did, for the sure-footed beast took me safely over dangerous passes that I never could have crossed without her assistance. Many times has the creature, with a sagacity that was astonishing, stood on the summit of a peak like a sugar loaf, looking from side to side; then slowly taking aim, has slid down with me on her back, for thirty, forty, or fifty feet![1]
One night, however, she played truant, and slipped her bridle, which I always wound round my arm whileI slept, and disappeared, leaving me on the borders of a trackless forest.
At one time, I crossed a mighty torrent that was boiling along, at the depth of a hundred feet below me, through, a narrow ravine;—and what sort of a bridge do you think I ventured upon? Two large fragments of rocks, one from each side, had fallen together, as I supposed, during some earthquake, and had formed a natural bridge, quite firm and safe over which I crossed.
Another time I passed a chasm of prodigious depth, near an ancient village, the ingenious inhabitants of which had constructed a bridge of rushes, in the following manner. Two strong posts were fixed in the rock on each side, and to these were fastened ropes of rushes; the path upon them being made of the same material, platted together. On each side was also a rope for the passenger to steady himself by.
These bridges, in fact, are the origin of our chain or suspension bridges, but the elastic and light nature of the rushes makes the motion of the bridge very unpleasant. Indeed when I had one day gone about half way across one of them, my head began to swim, and I was obliged to sit down to recover myself; for I reallythought I should never reach the opposite side. I sat there for some time, swinging in a most perilous yet ridiculous situation I assure you.
I wished much to see the interior of one of the mines, but they were too far off. The quicksilver mines of Huancavelica is particularly curious, having a complete town and its cathedral deep in the bowels of the earth.
I shall not attempt to tell you half the dangers, difficulties, and troubles I have met with. I made the sun my guide by day, and the stars by night. I roosted in trees, like the birds, and ate fruit and herbs like the beast. I explored mountain torrents, which no human beings, probably, had never seen before; found diamonds in their beds, which had been dried up; collected gold from the mud of the rivers, and a great many curiosities, which I was obliged to throw away, for want of convenience to carry them. I met with tribes of Indians who had never heard of the name of England, or seen an Englishman.
FOOTNOTES:[1]This part of the story may seem a little unnatural, but many travellers make similar statements.
[1]This part of the story may seem a little unnatural, but many travellers make similar statements.
[1]This part of the story may seem a little unnatural, but many travellers make similar statements.