. A flying trip to the tropics. A record of an ornithological visit to the United States of Colombia, South America and to the island of Curaçao, West Indies, in the year 1892 . ry back freight, butthe greater part brought down bales of hides or bags of coffee. We finally mounted and started off shortly after eleven, leavingthe baggage to follow on. Alice and I rode horses; the rest weremounted on mules. The saddle, bridle, etc., are spoken of collec-tively in Spanish as la montura. Our saddles had large horns,and were furnished with breast-straps as well as with both crupper 88 A FLYING TRIP


. A flying trip to the tropics. A record of an ornithological visit to the United States of Colombia, South America and to the island of Curaçao, West Indies, in the year 1892 . ry back freight, butthe greater part brought down bales of hides or bags of coffee. We finally mounted and started off shortly after eleven, leavingthe baggage to follow on. Alice and I rode horses; the rest weremounted on mules. The saddle, bridle, etc., are spoken of collec-tively in Spanish as la montura. Our saddles had large horns,and were furnished with breast-straps as well as with both crupper 88 A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS. and breeching. The bridles and bits were very heavy, the stirrupsof brass and shaped like a Turkish slipper. The men. when riding,wear enormous spurs and a kind of leggings called zamorras,something like the baggy rubber leggings used among us. Theyare made of canvas, rubber-cloth, or of leather, and are buckledtogether at the waist, thus forming a pair of trousers without aseat. Some that 1 saw were made of puma-skins. They are sovoluminous that they completely cover the riders feet, and whenhe dismounts thev look like an awkward skirt and interfere with. ADJUSTING LOAD ON PACK-MUHB. his walking. (See page 97.) or the first two miles the slowly, ran along* the river to the south over what wasonce the beginning of a railroad. The embankments had washedaway in many places, the cuts had caved in. and at one spot we THE MULE ROAD AND GUADUAS. 89 passed a dilapidated old locomotive rotting away, with weeds grow-ing over the hoiler. This road was to have reached Booota, butthe funds gave out with the first two miles. At the end of thiswe turned in abruptly to our left and began a steep ascent, zig-zagging in and out of the gulley-like ravines that ran down to theriver. When near the crest of the first ridge, the road ran overa rocky surface which seemed to me impassable. It sloped up atan angle of about forty-five degrees, but the feet of the mules ha


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Keywords: ., boo, bookcentury1800, booksubjectbirds, booksubjectnaturalhistory