on. There were the shrieks and groans of human beings in their
mortal agony, and the suppressed roar and hissing snarl of the fierce
puma and the sanguinary ounce, as they disputed over their prey. Many
Indians, I guessed too surely, had crawled, desperately wounded, into
the crevices of the rocks, where they lay concealed as the Spanish
troops passed by, and escaped instant death to suffer a lingering and
more terrible fate at the last. All night long those melancholy sounds
continued, and though they might have been heard by my companions, they
did not appear to disturb their repose. I scarcely knew whether to envy
or commiserate their apathy.

The night at last passed away. The soldiers started to their feet at
the sound of the bugle's call, a hasty meal was taken, baggage mules
were laden, the men fell into their ranks, and the order to march was
given. Pedro and I mounted our faithful little beasts, and rode by the
side of Don Eduardo, who, after he had got the troops into order, called
us to him.

We descended the side of the hill, and took a direction towards the
west, very much to my satisfaction, for I was afraid that we should have
again to pass through the gorge; and my heart sickened at the thought of
the sad spectacle we should there have to witness. There was no road,
and the ground was very uneven; but the men and animals seemed
accustomed to it, and managed to scramble along at the rate of about two
miles-an-hour. We marched for about five hours, when we reached the
bank of a river, where a halt was called, and the men were ordered to
pile arms and cook their dinners, scouts being sent out to give notice
of the approach of any Indians. The river ran through a broad valley,
having on either side high cliffs, and below them grassy land sprinkled
with trees. On the top of the cliffs was a wide belt of forest, beyond
which, stretched out to the south, a vast extent of sandy desert. As we
passed over it, I observed the remains of numerous small canals, which
Pedro informed me served in the days of the Incas to irrigate it, when
what was now a barren plain was covered with fertile fields.

The spot where we had approached the river was at the mouth of a narrow
stream, which wound its way down from the mountains, its course marked
by a line of trees, which it served to nourish. While the troops were
resting, the colonel summoned Pedro and me into his presence, to make
more inquiries about us. I m