Anything which
we required from the Diplomatic Service had to be obtained through the
medium of the British Minister resident in Lima, in Peru. This may now
be altered, but I am not aware of the fact. I remained several months in
La Paz in the employment of a Bolivian magnate, but the remuneration not
being commensurate with my ambitions, I eventually arranged to accompany
the proprietor of a very large rubber forest on a trip to his properties
on the higher reaches of the River Amazon, and hence my privilege of
being able to offer you a perusal of my experiences across the inner
ranges of the Cordillera mountains. His daughter also accompanied him,
and, although the journey is a most uncomfortable one in more ways than
one, she stood the fatigue of many days' riding on mule-back, over
trails which did not deserve the name of roads, just about as well as
any of the rest of us.
For a trip of this kind many provisions have to be made, as very little
indeed can be procured on the journey in the way of good food or
lodging. We accordingly had to carry our beds and bedding, and in fact
everything we could think of in the form of clothes, food, firearms,
and, of course, the necessary accompaniment in liquid form. Most of our
baggage and what we might not require at a moment's notice we sent on
ahead with a day's anticipation, and eventually on the 20th May, 1901,
our caravan departed from the then capital of Bolivia, at 8 a.
Pages:
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174