the gates noiselessly and our small cavalcade hurried through the
pitch-black streets of the town. The soldier rode ahead, his rifle
across his saddle, and directly behind him rode the sub-prefect and
myself. The pack mules were in the rear. We had almost reached the
end of the street when a door opened suddenly and a shower of sparks
flew out ahead of us. Instantly the soldier struck spurs into his
mule and turned into a side street. The sub-prefect drew his horse
back savagely, and when the next shower of sparks flew out pushed
me against the wall and whispered, 'For God's sake, who is it?' Then
suddenly he shouted. 'Stop blowing! Stop blowing!' "

The cause of all the disturbance was a shabby, hard-working tailor
who had gotten up at this unearthly hour to start his day's work by
pressing clothes for some insistent customer. He had in his hand
an ancient smoothing-iron filled with live coals, on which he had
been vigorously blowing. Hence the sparks! That a penitent tailor
and his ancient goose should have been able to cause such terrific
excitement at that hour in the morning would have interested our own
Oliver Wendell Holmes, who was fond of referring to this picturesque
apparatus and who might have written an appropriate essay on The Goose
that Startled the Soldier of Cotahuasi; with Particular Reference to
His Being a Possible Namesake of the Geese that Aroused the Soldiers
of Ancient Rome.

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FIGURE

The sub-perfect of Cotahuasi, his military aide, and Messrs. Tucker,
Hendriksen, Bowman, and Bingham inspecting the local rug-weaving
industry.
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The most unusual industry of Cotahuasi is the weaving of rugs and
carpets on vertical hand looms. The local carpet weavers make the warp
and woof of woolen yarn in which loops of alpaca wool, black, gray,
or white, are inserted to form the desired pattern. The loops are cut
so as to form a deep pile. The result is a delightfully thick, warm,
gray rug. Ordinarily the native Peruvian rug has no pile. Probably the
industry was brought from Europe by some Spaniard centuries ago. It
seems to be restricted to this remote region. The rug makers are a
small group of Indians who live outside the town but who carry their
hand looms from house to house, as required. It is the custom for the
person who desires a rug to buy the wool, supply the pattern, furnish
the weaver with board, lodging, coca, tobacco and wine, and watch the
rug grow from day to day under t