as in the warm Sierra valleys. Throughout the whole year the
_Ceja de la Montana_ is overshadowed by thick mists, rising from the
rivers in the valleys. In the dry season these mists are absorbed by
the sun's rays, but in winter they float in thick clouds over the
hills, and discharge themselves in endless torrents of rain. The damp
vapors have an injurious effect on the health of the inhabitants of
these districts, which are, however, very thinly populated, as the
constant moisture unfits the soil for the cultivation of anything
except potatoes. The pure alpine air of the Puna is preferred by the
Indians to the vapory atmosphere of the Ceja.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 76: The Indians apply the designation _Misti_, meaning
_Mestizo_, to all persons except Indians or Negroes, whether they be
Europeans or White Creoles.]

[Footnote 77: The distance from one station to another varies from six
to twelve miles.]

[Footnote 78: _Repartimientos_ (literally, distributions) were the
compulsory sale of articles by the provincial authorities.]

CHAPTER XIV.

Road to the Primeval Forests--Barbacoas, or Indian Suspension
Bridges--Vegetation--Hollow Passes--Zoology--the
Montana--Plantations--Inhabitants--Trade in Peruvian Bark--Wandering
Indians--Wild Indians or Indios Bravos--Languages, Manners, and
Customs of the Indios Bravos--Dress--Warlike Weapons and Hunting
Arms--Dwellings--Religion--Physical formation of the Wild Indian
Tribes--Animals of the Aboriginal Forests--Mammalia--Hunting the
Ounce--Birds--Amphibia--Poisonous Serpents--Huaco--Insects--Plants.

Leaving Ceja de la Montana, we will trace the route to the Aboriginal
forests, which extend eastwardly from the bases of the Andes. The whole
plain is overspread by a thick veil of mist, which does not disperse
until about noon, and then an undulating dark green canopy clouds the
vapory atmosphere. A European, whose heart throbs at the bare idea of
one of those vast virgin forests, gazes anxiously forward on the
boundless distance, and finds the pace of his cautious mule too tardy
for his impatient hopes and wishes. He beholds in perspective the goal
of his long journey. Nature, in all her virginal freshness and grandeur,
opens to his astonished eyes, and he feels a sensation of delight he
never before experienced. Regardless of present toil and danger, he sees
only the pleasure to come. But he is soon drawn back to cool reality,
and is forcibly reminded of the tru