Humbolt's travels and discoveries in South America . hest in the Andes; nor is itsele-vation so great as that of some of the inhabited table-lands. MEN CARRIERS. 253 passage, the muscular force required to tread in athick and muddy clay, the necessity of fording deeptorrents of icy water, render this journey extremelyfatiguing. It is not, however, accompanied by thedangers with which the credulity of the people alarmstravellers. The road is narrow, but the places whereit skirts precipices are very rare. Many persons however, being unable or unwillingto encounter the fatigue of this journey on
Humbolt's travels and discoveries in South America . hest in the Andes; nor is itsele-vation so great as that of some of the inhabited table-lands. MEN CARRIERS. 253 passage, the muscular force required to tread in athick and muddy clay, the necessity of fording deeptorrents of icy water, render this journey extremelyfatiguing. It is not, however, accompanied by thedangers with which the credulity of the people alarmstravellers. The road is narrow, but the places whereit skirts precipices are very rare. Many persons however, being unable or unwillingto encounter the fatigue of this journey on foot, andthe road being utterly impracticable for mules, re-course has been had to a singular mode of conveyance,—namely, in chairs tied to mens backs. The occu-pation of these porters, or cargueros, as they werecalled, formed a regular trade in the Cordilleras; andpeople there talked of going on a mans back, as na-turally as we talk of going on horseback. The tra-vellers in their route sometimes met a file of fifty orsixty of these Cargueros. 254 THE VIJAO-PLANT. In the foreground is a band of cargueros coming upthe mountain; there is represented the mode of fasten-ing on the shoulders the chair made of bamboo-wood,which is steadied by a head-stall similar to that wornby horses and oxen. The roll in the hand of the thirdcarguero is the roof, or rather moveable house, whichis generally used to shelter travellers who cross theforests of Quindiu. It is customary on reachingHague, where they prepare for the journey, to pluckin the adjoining mountains several hundred leaves ofthe vijao, a plant of the banana family. These leavesare about twenty inches in length, and fourteen inchesin breadth; they are membranous and silky, and theirlower surface is covered with a peculiar substance,—a sort of varnish, which enables them to resist therain for a long time. In gathering them an incisionis made in the middle rib, which is the continuationof the footstalk; and by this
Size: 1730px × 1445px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1840, bookpublisherlondo, bookyear1846
