The dust and heat made the day's journey very wearisome, but the prospect of seeing the wonderful valley made all hardships of little consequence.

Quite a large party were waiting to mount their donkeys and mules when we arrived.

One of the attendants, a man about as thin as a stair rod, asked me if I was the lady who had ordered a strong horse; I being the stoutest of the party, he readily arrived at that conclusion, so my steed was promptly produced.

But I knew enough of horses and riding to see at a glance that he was a failure, with his low withers and high haunches, for descending steep mountains.

In addition to his forward pitch, his back was immensely broad.