ng more than a thick, rope stretched across the
chasm, and made fast at both ends. On this rope was a strong piece of
wood, bent into the shape of the letter U, and fastened to a roller
which rested upon the rope, and moved along it when pulled by a cord
from either side. There were two cords, or ropes, attached to the
roller, one leading to each side of the chasm, and their object was to
drag the passenger across: of course, only one of us could be carried
over at a time. No wonder we were so long in making the crossing, when
there were over one hundred in all, with numerous articles of baggage.

"I shall never forget the sensations I experienced in making the passage
of the huaro. I had felt giddy enough in going over the `soga' bridges
and `barbacoas' common throughout Peru, but the passage of the huaro is
really a gymnastic feat of no easy accomplishment. I was first tied,
back downwards, with my back resting in the concavity of the bent wood;
my legs were then crossed over the main rope--the bridge itself--with
nothing to hold them there farther than my own muscular exertion. With
my hands I clutched the vertical side of the wooden yoke, and was told
to keep my head in as upright a position as possible. Without farther
ado I felt myself jerked out until I hung in empty air over a chasm that
opened at least two hundred feet beneath, and through the bottom of
which a white torrent was foaming over black rocks! My ankles slipped
along the rope, but the sensation was so strange, that I felt several
times on the point of letting them drop off. In that case my situation
would have been still more painful, as I should have depended mainly on
my arms for support. Indeed, I held on tightly with both hands, as I
fancied that the cord with which I had been tied to the yoke would every
minute give way.

"After a good deal of jerking and hauling, I found myself on the
opposite side, and once more on my feet!

"I was almost repaid for the fright I had gone through, by seeing the
great fat padre pulled over. It was certainly a ludicrous sight, and I
laughed the more, as I fancied the old fellow had taken occasion to
laugh at me. He took it all in good part, however, telling me that it
caused him no fear, as he had long been accustomed to those kind of
bridges.

"This slow and laborious method of crossing streams is not uncommon in
many parts of the Andes. It occurs in retired and thinly-populated
districts, where