NATURAL HISTORY OF COSTA RICA — RIDGWAY. 319 



congenial home, and was very tame; for several minutes I watched 

 a pair perched in a tree close by, and could easily have shot them 

 but did not — they were too beautiful and confiding. 



The ascent of the cinder-cone of Turrialba, although fatiguing, 

 on account of the steepness of the slope and rough character of the 

 surface, was well worth the exertion. The larger growth about the 

 hacienda almost suddenly gave way to a dense and tangled chaparral, 

 which gradually became more open and composed of smaller bushes, 

 among which were many vacciniums or related ericaceous shrubs — 

 the first plants of unmistakable northern type that were recog- 

 nized — and scattered herbaceous plants, among the latter a scarlet- 

 flowered Salvia, much frequented by a small humming bird (Sela- 

 spkorus flammula) ; even this scanty growth finally ceased, the 

 whole surface consisting of rocks, scoria and sand. The crater is a 

 comparatively narrow but profoundly deep fissure, only a few hun- 

 dred yards across but several times that length, with perpendicular 

 walls some 2,000 feet in depth. Crawling to the edge of this chasm 

 and peering cautiously into its depths, no evidence of present activity 

 was visible within ; but above the northern wall, near the very highest 

 point (11,100 feet above sea level), black smoke was continuously 

 oozing from the sandy cap. Only one bird, a junco (J. vulcani) 

 was seen near the summit. The ascent, on foot, occupied 3 hours 

 and 10 minutes, the descent being made in 2 hours. From the 

 summit of Turrialba, as well as from that of Irazu (11,900 feet), 

 both oceans can be plainly seen if the weather be favorable ; usually, 

 however, the Atlantic (or rather the Caribbean) is hidden by the 

 sea of clouds which extends eastward from beneath the mountain 

 tops across the entire land. 



Most travelers in tropical countries refer to the nocturnal din 

 produced by the combined voices of the numerous insects, frogs, 

 toads, and other animals. As to this I must confess to disappoint- 

 ment. The most notable, and to one who has never heard it before 

 the most startling, sound is that produced by the so-called howling 

 monkey. This is also heard during cloudy days, and is really a 

 most fearful noise, somewhat like the roar of a lion but much louder 

 and more prolonged. It is usually produced by several animals in 

 concert, and is plainly audible at a distance of several miles. 15 At 

 Bonilla (2,600 feet) two batrachians serenaded us nightly. One, 

 an enormous toad, many times larger than our common species, gave 

 concerts which at a distance reminded one of the sino-ine: at a nesro 

 camp meeting, though of course without the melody of the latter. 

 The other was a very small tree frog, colored a brilliant scarlet or 



15 Aptly described by Harry A. Franck as " like tbe roar of a far-off riot, like some great 

 but distant crowd furious with anger." (Working North from Patagonia, p. 545.) 



