WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA 197 



putrid, and salted the rest. I could never get him 

 to face a snake ; the horror he betrayed on seeing 

 one was beyond description; I asked him why 

 he was so terribly alarmed ; he said it was by see- 

 ing so many dogs, from time to time, killed by 

 them. 



Here I had a fine opportunity of examining 

 several species of the caprimulgus. I am fully 

 persuaded that these innocent little birds never 

 suck the herds; for when they approach them, 

 and jump up at their udders, it is to catch the 

 flies and insects there. When the moon shone 

 bright, I would frequently go and stand within 

 three yards of a cow, and distinctly see the capri- 

 mulgus catch the flies on its udder. On looking 

 for them in the forest, during the day, I either 

 found them on the ground, or else invariably sit- 

 ting longitudinally on the branch of a tree, not 

 crosswise like all other birds. 



The Wasps, or Maribuntas, are great plagues 

 in these forests, and require the naturalist to be 

 cautious as he wanders up and down. Some make 

 their nests pendent from the branches; others 

 have them fixed to the underside of a leaf. Now 

 in passing on, if you happen to disturb one of 

 these, they sally forth and punish you severely. 

 The largest kind is blue; it brings blood where 

 its sting enters, and causes pain and inflammation 

 enough to create a fever. The Indians make a 

 fire under the nest, and after killing or driving 

 away the old ones, they roast the young grubs in 

 the comb and eat them. I tried them once by way 

 of dessert after dinner, but my stomach was of- 

 fended at their intrusion; probably it was more 



