Tom Arms and Equips for his Journey—His Mule—Sliding down the Mountains—Mule Escapes—Singular Bridges—How he subsisted—Diamonds and Gold. I had formed the strange resolution of crossing over the continent of South America alone, and on foot! I had read Humbolt’s _Personal Narrative_, and I longed to see the wonders which he speaks of. Some excuse may be made for me perhaps, when it is considered that I had a natural fondness for a wandering life and for the wonders of nature; besides, I could meet with no ship on this western side of the continent, bound for my native country. The French captain, with whom I came from Guayaquil, thought me a little deranged; still I believe the good man was glad to get rid of me. He gave me thirty francs; a gun, and some gunpowder, saying with a shrug of his shoulder, as he bade me farewell, “You are very courageous; but remember you must eat; and this gun will be of great use to you.” [Illustration: Mule and rider] I provided myself with a wallet, in which to put my shoes, stockings, gloves and a shirt; then inquiring the road to Zita, I set out before sunrise, towards the Andes. I was five months in crossing the desolate northern extremities of those giants of the earth. I bought—nay, I did not buy, I found a mule that was browsing on some prickly shrub, (I forget its name,) in a wild pass of the mountains. She was saddled and bridled, and had evidently lost her master. I looked in vain for some hours, but could find no trace of any traveller, so I felt justified in taking possession of her; and it was well I did, for the sure-footed beast took me safely over dangerous passes that I never could have crossed without her assistance. Many times has the creature, with a sagacity that was astonishing, stood on the summit of a peak like a sugar loaf, looking from side to side; then slowly taking aim, has slid down with me on her back, for thirty, forty, or fifty feet![1] One night, however, she played truant, and slipped her bridle, which I always wound round my arm while I slept, and disappeared, leaving me on the borders of a trackless forest. At one time, I crossed a mighty torrent that was boiling along, at the depth of a hundred feet below me, through, a narrow ravine;—and what sort of a bridge do you think I ventured upon? Two large fragments of rocks, one from each side, had fallen together, as I supposed, during some earthquake, and had formed a natural bridge, quite firm and safe over which I crossed. Another time I passed a chasm of prodigious depth, near an ancient village, the ingenious inhabitants of which had constructed a bridge of rushes, in the following manner. Two strong posts were fixed in the rock on each side, and to these were fastened ropes of rushes; the path upon them being made of the same material, platted together. On each side was also a rope for the passenger to steady himself by.