No doubt there are many parts in which, if the mule should stumble, the rider would be hurled down a great precipice; but of this there is little chance.

I daresay, in the spring, the "laderas," or roads, which each year are formed anew across the piles of fallen detritus, are very bad; but from what I saw, I suspect the real danger is nothing.

With cargo-mules the case is rather different, for the loads project so far, that the animals, occasionally running against each other, or against a point of rock, lose their balance, and are thrown down the precipices.

In crossing the rivers I can well believe that the difficulty may be very great: at this season there was little trouble, but in the summer they must be very hazardous.

I can quite imagine, as Sir F.
Head describes, the different expressions of those who HAVE passed the gulf, and those who ARE passing.