A START UNDER DISADVANTAGES.
Frank obtained lodgings at the house of a German, the only European resident of the place. His bed was a pile of hides in a corner of a room full of merchandise, and the youth spent a considerable part of the night in deliberating as to whether the hides were harder or softer than the floor. Don Federico was anxious to start early in the morning, and Frank accommodated him; he was up before daybreak, and the whole party had breakfasted and were in the saddle by sunrise.
Provisions for crossing the Andes are limited in variety, but that they are adapted to the wants of travellers there can be no dispute. They consist of charqui, or jerked beef, reduced to a powder by pounding in a mortar or between two stones. It is baked or roasted before pulverization, and is therefore ready cooked. For preparing a repast of charqui, heat some water till it boils; throw in a few spoonfuls of the beef powder, one or two slices of onion, break in some bread or crackers, and let the whole simmer for ten minutes. Serve hot, and you have a dish that a king might envy.
"It would hardly answer for Delmonico's or other fashionable restaurants," wrote Frank in his note-book, "but with the appetite created by exercise and the air of the mountains I have never tasted anything more welcome than this simple preparation. It can be easily carried, is not readily spoiled, and, on the whole, is the very best thing one could have. I brought along some tins of preserved meats and vegetables; they proved acceptable, but were not at all necessary for our existence. In a bag slung at my saddle-bow I carried some crackers, and whenever hungry I proceeded to nibble one of them. Charqui soup, crackers, raisins, figs, and maté comprised my bill of fare on the journey after the first day out, with the addition of the flesh of a few birds and rabbits we killed on the way."
For the rest of the account of this trip over the Andes we will copy from Frank's journal.
"According to the geographers," wrote our young friend, "there are ten passes across the Andes between the Argentine Republic and Chili; they vary from six to fifteen thousand feet above the sea-level at their highest point, and each pass has its peculiarities. The pass of Los Patos (The Ducks) has the advantage of good pasturage all the way, and is much frequented by cattle-drivers, to whom time is no object, but the great length of the route renders it undesirable for travellers and merchandise trains. The Planchon Pass lies along the Claro and Teno rivers; it is only six thousand feet high, and has been selected as the route for the railway between the two countries.
PASS OF USPALLATA.
"The passes most used by travellers are Portillo and La Cumbre; the former is much travelled from the beginning of February to the end of April, and the latter from November to May. We are crossing by La Cumbre, which is also known as Uspallata Pass; it was one of the earliest routes known to the Spanish conquerors of Chili and the Argentine Republic, and is said to have been in use for centuries before their arrival.