“No. It seemed to me we were the first human beings who had ever set foot there. In the midst of our perplexities my guide pointed silently to the sky. There were several small, thick, white clouds floating there. They did not look very terrible, but the guide said we would soon have a storm, and we must try to find shelter. Soon more white clouds floated into sight, and they increased until they hid the sun from us. We were now on smoother ground, and pressed forward as fast as we could, but there was no place of shelter to be seen, not even an overhanging rock. “Soon the wind came with a rush; and then the thunder and lightning. Our mules broke into a gallop. We enveloped ourselves in the folds of our great woolen wrappers, called _tapacaras_, lifting our heads once in a while to see where we were going. Next we were treated to a shower of hail-stones. Fortunately they were not very large, but we were rather severely thumped with them. The poor mules fared the worst. “And then came the snow. The arctic regions could not furnish a better example of a snow-storm than this tropical place! It fell so thick and fast we could not see twenty steps in advance. My heart failed me then. I thought we were lost, and would be buried in snow drifts. “But just then a dark object loomed up before us. ‘An Indian lodge!’ I cried in joy. “The guide said nothing, but rode on before me, and called to me to dismount. I was glad enough to do this, and he pointed to the open doorway of the building. It was so low I had to crawl through it, but I was thankful to get in, in any fashion.” “I wonder, father, that you were not afraid of finding something dreadful in there!” “I did not stop to think about the matter. And then I knew there was something dreadful _outside_. So, in I went, and found the place entirely empty. The guide followed me as soon as he had covered the mules, and made them as comfortable as he could.” “It was a deserted house, I suppose.” “No, it was a tomb.” “A tomb! Out in that lonely place!” “Yes, but then the place had not always been lonely. I found out afterwards that that region was once inhabited by a tribe of Indians. They all perished before their country was discovered by Europeans, but some of their dwellings, and many of their tombs remained. These tombs were large stone buildings, with one room, lighted by a single window. This room was capable of holding ten or twelve dead bodies, placed in a sitting posture. These bodies were first embalmed—made into what we call mummies. When the tomb was full the door was sealed up. The Europeans opened these sepulchres that had been sealed up for centuries; and carried the mummies away to put into museums. [Illustration: A REFUGE FROM THE STORM.]