our stay the Indians killed a pig, and
before the creature was fairly dead dry grass was heaped upon it and set
on fire. This is the ordinary method of removing the bristles.

Still ascending, we lose sight of the valley of the Chimbo, and find
ourselves in a wilderness of crags and treeless mountains clothed with
the long, dreary-looking paramo grass called _paja_. But we are face to
face with "the monarch of the Andes," and we shall have its company the
rest of the day. The snowy dome is flooded with the golden light of
heaven; delicate clouds of softest hues float around its breast; while,
far below, its feet are wrapped in the baser mists of earth. We attained
the summit of the pass at 11 A.M. All travelers strive to reach it early
in the morning, for in the afternoon it is swept by violent winds which
render it uncomfortable, if not dangerous. This part of the road is
called the "Arenal," from the sand and gravel which cover it. It is
about a league in length, and crosses the side of Chimborazo at an
elevation of more than fourteen thousand feet. Chimborazo stands on the
left of the traveler. How tantalizing its summit! It appears so easy of
access; and yet many a valiant philosopher, from Humboldt down, has
panted for the glory and failed. The depth of the snow and numerous
precipices are the chief obstacles; but the excessively rarefied air is
another hinderance. Even in crossing the Arenal, a native of the
lowlands complains of violent headache, a propensity to vomit, and a
difficulty of breathing. The Arenal is often swept by snow-storms; and
history has it that some of the Spanish conquerors were here frozen to
death. The pale yellow gravel is considered by some geologists as the
moraine of a glacier. It is spread out like a broad gravel walk, so
that, without exaggeration, one of the best roads in Ecuador has been
made by Nature's hand on the crest of the Andes.

It was interesting to trace the different hypsometrical zones by the
change of vegetation from Bodegas to this lofty spot. The laws of the
decrease of heat are plainly written on the rapid slopes of the
Cordilleras. On the hot, steaming lowlands of the coast reign bananas
and palms. As these thin out, tree-ferns take their place. Losing these,
we found the cinchona bedewed by the cool clouds of Guaranda; and last
of all, among the trees, the polylepis. The twisted, gnarled trunk of
this tree, as well as its size and silvery foliage, reminded us of t