pation; for he
found that the task was likely to be a very difficult one; in
consequence of which he had been provided with a squadron of the Guias
cavalry, together with a couple of field-pieces, which Simpson had told
him he would find very necessary. He quickly packed up his slender
baggage, and, after saying good-bye to his comrades, had himself rowed
ashore. There his first move was made to the establishment of a
military tailor, where he procured his new uniform and weapons; then he
paid a visit to the cavalry barracks, selected a charger for himself,
inspected his troop, and gave orders for them to be ready for an early
start on the morrow. They were a fine-looking lot of men, and Jim felt
that they were just the sort of fellows for an expedition of this kind.

The following morning at seven o'clock Douglas rode into the parade
ground, and found his men already drawn up, together with the two field-
pieces; and half an hour later the little army clattered out of the
barrack-yard into the streets, past the _plaza_, out of the north gate,
and swung into the road which led north-eastward toward Lake Titicaca,
reaching La Paz four days after leaving Arica. They stayed here one
day, leaving on the following morning, and by nightfall the force was at
the foot of the mountains which they would have to traverse before
reaching Sorata. Here they camped for the night, pushing forward the
next day right into the heart of the mountains, which, at this altitude,
were clothed with thick pine forests, and cut up by mountain torrents
spanned by narrow and frail bridges, across which it was a very
difficult and supremely dangerous task to transport the horses and the
guns.

They had been among the mountains a week, and were approaching fairly
close to Coroico; Jim therefore took the precaution to throw out scouts
in all directions round his little force, in order to prevent surprise;
and one evening, just before darkness began to settle down, one of the
men came riding in to say that he had caught sight of a small body of
Bolivians hovering among the hills about a mile to the right of the main
body. "Evidently," thought the young commander, "the guerillas are
expecting some such expedition as this, and have thrown out their
outposts; there will therefore be little hope of taking them by
surprise." However, as there was no further alarm, and as darkness was
fast closing down, orders were given for the camp to be pitched fo