I daresay, in the spring, the
"laderas," or roads, which each year are formed anew across the
piles of fallen detritus, are very bad; but from what I saw, I
suspect the real danger is nothing. With cargo-mules the case is
rather different, for the loads project so far, that the animals,
occasionally running against each other, or against a point of
rock, lose their balance, and are thrown down the precipices. In
crossing the rivers I can well believe that the difficulty may be
very great: at this season there was little trouble, but in the
summer they must be very hazardous. I can quite imagine, as Sir F.
Head describes, the different expressions of those who HAVE passed
the gulf, and those who ARE passing. I never heard of any man being
drowned, but with loaded mules it frequently happens. The arriero
tells you to show your mule the best line, and then allow her to
cross as she likes: the cargo-mule takes a bad line, and is often
lost.
APRIL 4, 1835.
From the Rio de las Vacas to the Puente del Incas, half a day's
journey. As there was pasture for the mules, and geology for me, we
bivouacked here for the night. When one hears of a natural Bridge,
one pictures to oneself some deep and narrow ravine, across which a
bold mass of rock has fallen; or a great arch hollowed out like the
vault of a cavern.
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