The root of a small
scrubby plant served as fuel, but it made a miserable fire, and the
wind was piercingly cold. Being quite tired with my days work, I
made up my bed as quickly as I could, and went to sleep. About
midnight I observed the sky became suddenly clouded: I awakened the
arriero to know if there was any danger of bad weather; but he said
that without thunder and lightning there was no risk of a heavy
snow-storm. The peril is imminent, and the difficulty of subsequent
escape great, to any one overtaken by bad weather between the two
ranges. A certain cave offers the only place of refuge: Mr.
Caldcleugh, who crossed on this same day of the month, was detained
there for some time by a heavy fall of snow. Casuchas, or houses of
refuge, have not been built in this pass as in that of Uspallata,
and therefore, during the autumn, the Portillo is little
frequented. I may here remark that within the main Cordillera rain
never falls, for during the summer the sky is cloudless, and in
winter snow-storms alone occur.
At the place where we slept water necessarily boiled, from the
diminished pressure of the atmosphere, at a lower temperature than
it does in a less lofty country; the case being the converse of
that of a Papin's digester.
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