Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
tended to him as best we could and fortunately the wounds were not as bad as we had first
thought.Accordingtotheman,ithadtakenhimfourhourstodraghimselfthetwomilesfrom
the place of assault to the hut. I had travelled on the very same trail earlier in the evening, so
maybe I just escaped the same fate.
The country between Loja and Cuenca is exceedingly mountainous, and therefore riding is
rough and tiring, but the difficult journey was worthwhile for Cuenca is considerably larger
than Loja and superior in every respect, and, in addition, although the town has no railway
communication with the outside world, almost anything can be obtained, all goods being
transported to the spot on beasts of burden. The climate is exceedingly mild throughout the
year,andwhenoncetherailroadreachesthetownitislikelytobecomeoneofthefinestinthe
republic.Myboy,Victor,wasinhisglory,forneverhadheseenarealtownbefore.Everything
was new to him, and he was learning fast.
Asalfalfagrowsaroundthere,thehorseshadatreattheymustalmosthaveforgotten.Indi-
ans grow it on their little farms outside and bring it into town in small bundles which they sell
in the market.
The chief industry around Cuenca is the making of Panama hats. Workers can be seen sit-
tingoutsidetheirhuts,patientlytwistingthelong,finefibresintothedesiredshapeanddesign,
and in the marketplace stacks of them are bought by merchants who come to buy them up
wholesale. The edges of the hats are not trimmed off, the fibres being left to stick out, so that
the buyer may better be able to judge the quality, which entirely depends upon the fibre used.
Consumption is very common among the makers of these hats, probably due to the squatting
and stooping position they work in all day, beginning when they are mere children.
Some of the Indians who come into town wear sheepskin trousers over the ordinary ones,
much resembling the 'chaps' of the cowboys, or the chaparreras of the Mexican charros .
Leaving Cuenca we again followed a much-used trail where we passed numerous pack-
trainsontheirwaytoandfromtherailroad.Oneevening,whenwearrivedata posada (inn),I
foundsittingthereseveralmenwhohadobviouslybeendrinkingfreelytodrownthepainsand
sorrowsofthejourney,andwhenwehadattendedtothehorses,Victorandmyselfsatdownin
a corner to have something to eat. The conversation of the tipsy group kept me much amused,
and when many subjects had been discussed, rather more loudly than thoroughly, probably
owing to the great quantity of spirits consumed, spiritualism was brought up. Presently one of
the company, a tall, dark fellow, who claimed to be a Chilian, got up and told his listeners that
hecouldflyoutoftheroom'likeanangel'andlandoutsidethedoor,evenifthiswereclosed.
His only condition was that the lights be put out and that there should be complete silence.
Everybody stared at the man of such mysterious powers with awe and respect, and when
one proposed to see the miracle performed all the rest joined in. Some went to lock the door
whilst Victor sat with open mouth and his eyes nearly falling out of their sockets.
The lamp was extinguished; there was a moment of deadly silence, a rush, a crash, fol-
lowed by a shrill shriek of pain. Several matches were struck, and there was our magician
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