Pentland, is 12,454
feet. The road did not pass over any perpetual snow, although there
were patches of it on both hands. The wind on the summit was
exceedingly cold, but it was impossible not to stop for a few
minutes to admire, again and again, the colour of the heavens, and
the brilliant transparency of the atmosphere. The scenery was
grand: to the westward there was a fine chaos of mountains, divided
by profound ravines. Some snow generally falls before this period
of the season, and it has even happened that the Cordillera have
been finally closed by this time. But we were most fortunate. The
sky, by night and by day, was cloudless, excepting a few round
little masses of vapour, that floated over the highest pinnacles. I
have often seen these islets in the sky, marking the position of
the Cordillera, when the far-distant mountains have been hidden
beneath the horizon.
APRIL 6, 1835.
In the morning we found some thief had stolen one of our mules, and
the bell of the madrina. We therefore rode only two or three miles
down the valley, and stayed there the ensuing day in hopes of
recovering the mule, which the arriero thought had been hidden in
some ravine.
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