procured, the traveller must take with him at least a month's provisions, as the sudden thaws and swellings of the mountain rivers, frequently render it impracticable to go forward or return.

But the greatest difficulty to be encountered on this journey, remains yet to be mentioned :In many parts of the mountain over which the road subsequently leads, the streams have hollowed out gullies from twenty to twenty-five feet in depth; the pathway which runs along most of those crevices is not above eighteen inches in breadth, and has the appearance of a gallery dug and left open to the sky. In some, also, the opening above is covered by the plants which grow out from both sides of the crevice, so that, as the travellers described it to Philips, they were forced to grope their way in darkness, along this singular passage. In this part of the journey, they had to dismiss their mules, which were here quite useless to them, and to engage a set of stout young men to carry them on their backs. This, no doubt, excites the reader's astonishment, but in crossing the high mountains called the Andes, the carriers who exercise this mode of livelihood are a numerous body, and will carry a man in a chair tied on their backs, for fifteen or twenty days together. One of the party disliking the idea of using a fellow-creature as a beast of burden, was forced to walk barefooted, which rendered the journey excessively fatiguing, as it was frequently ne

cessary to tread in a thick muddy clay, and to ford deep torrents of water. In one of these

galleries, which was a mile long, and so narrow, as has been mentioned, that two people could not walk abreast, they met a number of oxen which were conveying merchandize to the town they had left, and, as they first thought, had no way of avoiding them but by turning back. Their carriers, however, made them descend from their chairs, and climb up the earthen wall by laying hold of the branches which grew there, until the whole herd had passed by. What should a man do, thought Philips, who is not strong enough to go on foot through these difficult roads, and yet has an usuperable objection to this mode of conveyance, he must give up all thoughts of ever quitting the country. One of the carriers was a powerfully strong young man, and he told them, there was only one other beside himself, able to carry a very large man who had once travelled through the country; had both of us died, added he, on the journey, it would have been impossible for him ever to return home.

This appears to us a wretched mode of life, and yet there is no employment the young men like so well, although after a long journey, their backs are often quite raw. The travellers said, that on two or three occasions, they met them in files of fifty; and that some years ago, when it was in contemplation to cut a regular road

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through one of the most frequented passes, the carriers presented a petition to the Spanish government against a measure, which, they said, would hurt their means of support, and the design was in consequence dropped.

The usual load, of a carrier is from twelve to thirteeen stone weight, and this they will sup port for eight and nine hours a day, for thirty successive days; and yet they will not receive, or even expect more payment than about fifty shillings, for the fatigues and hardships they are obliged to undergo.

A just idea of the stupendous height of these mountains can only be had by viewing them from the lands along the sea coast, for when seen from the neighbouring hills, a great por tion of their elevation is lost. Over the valleys which lie between these mountains, bridges of rocks are sometimes to be met with, of which the most remarkable are the two which extend across the valley of Icononzo. Through this valley, there runs a deep and rapid torren', which would have been impassable, but for a large mass of rock, sixteen yards in length and fourteen in breadth, which seems as if it had fallen from the mountain above and rested low down in the valley, though still at a height of six hundred feet from the bottom; this reaches across from bank to bank of the stream, which rushes beneath, and on it has descended a second rock of the same form and dimensions, which

resting securely on the other, they form perhaps one of the most singular objects in nature.

Nor is the second bridge less extraordinary in its construction than this; it is situated sixty feet lower down in the valley, and consists of three enormous masses of rock, that have fallen down together so as to meet in their descent, and to form an arch, the middle rock serving as a key! stone, and the two end ones resting firmly on the bank at either side. In the centre of this bridge, there is a hole full eight yards square, through which is seen the deep gulf beneath, and numberless birds are observed hovering over the water, which flows through so dark a cavern that the sides cannot be distinguished. These bridges cannot be approached without much risk, as a narrow path alone leads to them along the brink of the precipice, so that they are only visited by the Indians and the few travellers whose curiosity induces them to venture into such desolate regions.

Such are the bridges formed by nature; but in parts where it is necessary to have recourse to artificial means for crossing the torrents, the people make use of a rude though very ingenious contrivance. Two strong cables, formed of the roots of plants twisted together to the thickness of a man's leg, are stretched across from bank to bank of the stream, at about four or five feet distance from each other; the ends on the one side of the river being made fast to