JOSÉ AGAIN 295 The cold was extreme, and there were no fires, so we prowled up and down in the comedor, or common-room, trying to keep warm. The food given us was practically untouchable, and the bottle of red, sour native wine that we purchased made us feel sick. We were thus pacing up and down, smoking our pipes and trying to keep up our fast-ebbing spirits, when José burst into the room, followed by his five companions. There was a long narrow table running down the centre of the room, and Vines and I remained on one side, whilst we informed the men that they would be acting wisely if they remained on the other side. José assumed a truculent air, and began to demand a large sum of money, far in excess of the wages due to him. I suggested mildly that if he did not keep silent we should be forced to clear him out of the room again in something after the same manner that Lightbody had followed. This cooled him for the moment, and I then worked out, upon a sheet of paper, the exact sum that was owing to him, and handed it to him in the presence of his friends. Further, I proceeded to give him my exact opinion of his conduct, which did not take very long. His friends seemed rather fired at this, and they all looked so threatening that we sharply ordered them out of the room. At the same moment Vines vaulted swiftly across the table into their midst, when they literally tumbled over each other in their efforts to get out of the door. Having disposed of these people in this manner we turned in, telling our men that they might sleep in the inn, as we gathered that José and his friends, being drunk, had assumed rather a menacing attitude towards them. Next morning we started early. The little inn was built in the shape of half a courtyard, and so much snow had fallen that we were able to walk quietly straight over the roof. We got away unmolested with our men, but had not proceeded more than a quarter of a mile when we saw some men start up from the inn and follow us. As Vines and I were, however, walking at a fairly brisk pace they soon gave up, and turned back. We gradually passed the men carrying the mail, who had started earlier than ourselves. They had shocking loads some of them amounting to as much as 120 lbs., and it was terrible to see how they suffered under these crushing weights. Their faces were almost green with cold and pain, and they were obliged to rest every few feet. Our passage up to the top of the Cumbre was not difficult, for the wind had kept the slopes more or less clear of snow, and the day was fine. By rapid walking we were able to reach the top of the pass in less than two hours from leaving Cuevas, and as the rise is some 2500 feet this was by no means bad going. It was on the other side that our trouble commenced, where we found the snow lying very deep. The route to be followed could be traced by great poles driven into the ground, the tops of which stuck out above the drifts, whilst here and there could be seen a lonely domeshaped casucha or refuge hut. We suffered considerably from thirst on this descent. The sun came out and shone brightly, and as we had on a great amount of clothing, in the expectation of perhaps encountering very cold weather, we felt the heat very much. The worst bit to cross was on the plains just before reaching Portillo. The snow was above our waists, and we had slowly to force our way foot by foot. When we reached the little inn we were nearly exhausted, and although we had intended to continue our way down to Juncal that night, we decided to wait until next morning. Louis, the host of the establishment, entertained us right hospitably. He gave us a most excellent supper, the best meal that we had tasted for many a long month. We sent Alfredo on to order a special train for us next day from Salto del Soldado, to carry us on our way to Los Andes, and also to have horses sent up for us, so that we could ride down the long valley. Vines was still rather weak after his illness, and I did not like to tire him more than was necessary. Early next morning we started down. We had not gone far before we both became very ill, and were obliged to turn back to the hotel. A wind was blowing with great violence, and snow was falling heavily at the time. We waited a few ARRIVAL IN CHILE 297 hours, and then succeeded in getting down to Juncal at about ten o'clock in the morning. As we had ordered our special train for nine o'clock that morning, and we were still fifteen miles from Salto, we were beginning to get anxious lest they should think that the weather had detained us, and that we should therefore be forced to remain for the night at Salto, where there was neither food nor lodging. We found no animals for us at Juncal, and the proprietor of the inn evidently wished to detain us there for several days. However, we at once started down on foot, and fortunately after about an hour's walk we met the horses being driven up. Our friend Alfredo had doubtless met many of his friends on his descent the day before, and had forgotten about the animals until the next morning. About three o'clock in the afternoon we arrived at Salto, and found our little special waiting for us. I speak of this as if it was a complete train, but, to be accurate, it merely consisted of a small steam trolly, with seats for two persons, which is used in the winter months to convey people up and down from Salto to Los Andes, the mail train going but once a week. We had a quick run down, covering the twenty miles in fifty-nine minutes. On the route we ran over a cock, and nearly dashed into a calf. This, I fear, would have been as fatal to ourselves as to the animal, for the little trolly had but small wheels and was very light. If it had struck anything as large as a calf it would have surely been derailed, and as we were rushing along at a rate of about twenty-five miles an hour, this trifling cause would have brought our doings to a full stop, just as well as any of the more imposing dangers we had luckily survived. At Los Andes we were in the heart of Chilian civilisation and luxury, so I may say that here ends our narrative of work in the Andes. It was, however, seven months before we reached England, and the reader may perhaps be interested to know of the misfortunes which overtook us in the meantime, for they were many and severe. WITH CHAPTER XXVII CONCLUSION ITH the heavy snows that fell in the early part of June, I considered my work in the Andes to be at an end. As the reader is already aware, my disappointment was very great at being so prematurely interrupted when I was convinced that I had at least three weeks before me in which to complete one or two points in the survey, and take duplicates of those photographs the result of which might be doubtful. From Los Andes we went to Valparaiso, where we were the guests of Mr. Ball for three weeks. During that time Lightbody and I developed many hundreds of the photographs taken, and roughly printed off the majority of them. The percentage of good results was very large, but, as will so often happen, some of the views which were particularly important to me had suffered in one way and another. We had dreaded more than anything trouble from the unsteadiness of the camera, caused by the wind, and injury to plates and films by dust. Our surmises were correct, for we found a great many plates and films spotted and scratched by sand, but as Lightbody had made his exposures as short as possible, without being instantaneous, the plates had suffered less from shaking than was expected, and the detail was in most cases clear and distinct. We had not anticipated, however, that our double-backs would have suffered so severely from the dryness of the climate and shaking by continual transport: in many cases where we had looked forward to good results our picture was scarred with white fog-marks. So much for the full-plate results: the views taken with the Lea Bridges camera were more for surveying purposes, and not feeling so anxious about them, I |