OCR Text |
Show CI I. IPIW li II Ml I III ' I IWW fc On Muleback in Bolivia .. f '"""ri-rryw-"-r--r- . -,. , , , J 4 C. J. Post, who la traveling through "unknown South Amorlca" for Harper's Har-per's Magazine, writes in tho March number of a dangerous rldo through the mountains of Bolivia: "Wo kept on ascending betweon winding walls," ho says, "at length emerging on a narrow table land tho top of tho cliffs' wo had scon from tho decks of tho-Limarl. A short distance over tho lovol ground, and then from tho farther edgo wo looked down on tho flat, Btony bottom of tho Vltor Valley Val-ley a ragged gorgo that wound a tortuous tor-tuous courso through tho desert A narrow trail with short, sharp anglos zigzagged down a steep gully to tho bottom. Tho mules carefully picked their way down among tho loose stones, halting inquiringly at times to ;- mhwm B chooso porhaps a shorter cut. If It aoemod to tholr Instinct feasible, they I gathered tholr hind legs under them, I their front hoofs sticking stiffly out In I front, and slid down on tholr bellies, in a cloud of dust, and carrying with them a small avalancho of loose shalo as they landed In a section of tho trail below. You sit back In your saddle all saddles In theso parts have crup-pors crup-pors and brenstplatos to provont your Bhdlng ovor tho animal's oars as you go down or slipping off behind as you go up a mountain path and as you watch tho tossing line of packB below, tho speculation, forces itself ns tho consequences o'f a mulo's misstep. That it Ib not all ldlo speculation is. shown by tho scattered skeletons bo-low bo-low In tho valley, bleached to varying degrees of dull whlto." |