provided with a good horse to ride.

"You would soon have wished yourself mounted on your present steady,
sure-footed animal," observed my uncle; "the roads we shall have to
traverse are such as no horse could pass over in safety with a rider on
its back."

I soon found that he was right. The country we travelled over was wild
and rugged in the extreme. Dark rocks of varied forms rose in lofty
perpendicular walls on one hand, while torrents dashed down the
mountain-sides on the other. Frequently we had to ascend by a
succession of rough steps cut in the rock, and then to descend by a
similar description of path with a precipice on each side of it, down
which, had a mule made a false step, its rider would have been thrown
many hundred feet into the abyss below.

I soon got accustomed to the sagacious animal I rode; and taking my
uncle's advice, I left the bridle loose on its neck, allowing it to pick
its own way--which it did in a sensible manner, following most patiently
the windings of the paths. Our mules had been well-trained to ascend
and descend these precipitous mountains, and as they proceeded they
fixed their small feet with caution and firmness in the holes made in
the ground by the constant passing and repassing of other travellers.

For some distance we proceeded almost parallel with the river Magdalena,
of which, through openings in the rocks, we got fine views as it rushed
onwards, foaming and eddying amid the huge boulders in its course.
Then, leaving it on the right, we continued along the bed of a small
stream for a league or so, till we reached a shallow lake which runs in
and out amid the precipitous cliffs rising to an immense height above
it; while over its whole extent were scattered huge masses of rock,
which had been hurled down by the convulsions of Nature from the summit
of the mountains. Not a canoe floated on its bosom; no human being,
bird, or animal was visible. It was one of the wildest and most
desolate scenes I had ever beheld, and contrasted strongly with the
fertile region through which we had passed, teeming with human and
animal life. I was very glad, then, when, crossing another rugged
height, we reached a small valley.

But I must not stop to describe the various incidents of our journey, or
attempt to portray the scenery of the country we traversed. It varied
greatly; sometimes being grand and beautiful, at others monotonous.
Sometimes we slept at the cottages of the n