Ch. VIIL] ASCEXT OF PEXA BLAXCA. 143 



flames and fire than anything else I have seen in the 

 floral world. 



The last ascent I made to the summit of Peiia Blanca 

 was in the middle of June, 1872, after we had had 

 about two weeks of continuously wet weather. At last, 

 on the 17th, the rain clouds cleared away, the sun 

 shone out, and only a few great fleecy cumuli sailed 

 across the blue sky, driven by the north-east trade 

 wind. I had on previous visits to the peak noticed the 

 elytra of many beetles lying on the bare top. They 

 were the remnants of insects caught by frogs, great 

 bulky fellows that excited one's curiosity to know how 

 ever they got there. Amongst the elytra were those of 

 beetles that I had never taken, and as they were night- 

 roaming species, I determined to go up some evening 

 and wait until dark, with a lanthorn, to see if I could 

 take any of them. We had one heavy shower of rain 

 in the afternoon, so that the forest was very wet, and 

 the hills slippery and difficult for the mule. The path 

 ascends the valley of Santo Domingo, then crosses a 

 range behind a mine called the " Consuelo/' enters the 

 forest, descending at first a steep slope to a clear brook ; 

 after crossing this, the ascent of the hill of Pena Blanca 

 begins, and is continuous for about a mile to the top of 

 the rock. The ground was damp, and the forest 

 gloomy, but here and there glimpses of sunshine glanced 

 through the trees, and enlivened the scene a little. I 

 startled a mountain hen (Ttnamus, sp.) } which whirred 

 off amongst the bushes like a grouse. The dry slopes 

 of hills are their favourite feeding- places, and around 

 Pena Blanca they are rather plentiful ; and so, also, in 

 their season, are the curassows and penelopes. In the 



