s used by
caravans, the mules had cut regular transverse grooves in the ground all
along, in which successively they all placed their hoofs. Each groove was
filled with slushy water, and was separated from the next by a mud wall
from one to three feet high. The mules were constantly stumbling and
falling. After you had travelled a short distance you were in a filthy
condition, the torrential rain washing down the splashes of mud and
spreading them all over you.

After leaving Yessup we crossed first the Sinchhuaqui river, then the
Aguachini. We began to ascend two kilometres after we had left Yessup,
and marched steadily the entire day among gigantic _aguaso_ trees and
wonderful ferns of great height, until we reached the Miriatiriami
_tambo_, 27 kil. from Yessup.

On January 19th we followed the River Azupizu along a narrow trail from
300 to 400 ft. above the level of the river, with an almost vertical drop
by the side of us. Huge palms and ferns of indescribable beauty were to
be seen all along, while waterfalls and streamlets constantly crossed the
trail.

We encountered that day deep mud all the way, the mules sinking up to
their bellies in the slush. The trail along the mountain side was cut in
the soft earth, and actually formed a deep groove only about two feet
wide, the mud and slush being held by the solid transverse barriers which
succeeded one another at short intervals.

[Illustration: Cuzco.]

[Illustration: Llamas in foreground.]

At Piriatingalini and Puchalini we found light cable suspension bridges,
very shaky, which swung to and fro as you rode over them. Most of them
were not more than four feet wide and had no parapet at all. I cannot say
that I felt particularly happy when my mule--sure-footed, I grant--took
me across, the bridge swinging, quivering, and squeaking with our weight
on it, especially when we were in the middle. The rivers were extremely
picturesque, with high mountains on either side, among which they wound
their way in a snake-like fashion over a rocky bed, forming a series of
cascades. We went that day 25 kil., and arrived at the _tambo_ of
Azupizu, which was in charge of a deserter from the French navy. He was
an extraordinary character. He had forgotten French, and had neither
learnt Spanish nor the local language of the Campas Indians.

A tribe of those Indians was to be found near there--very handsome
people, the men solidly built and muscular, with intelligent but brutal