128 A YEAR OF COSTA RICAN NATURAL HISTORY 



great crater near its eastern edge, for our tent, where it would 

 be protected by low trees and bushes from the prevailing 

 easterly and north-easterly winds. At this place there is a 

 wide stretch of smooth, bare, black volcanic sand bordered 

 with gray and reddish mosses on the edge toward the inner 

 slope of the crater wall. We pitched the tent where sand and 

 moss met and had no reason at any time to regret our choice 

 of a location. The altitude here was about 10,890 feet. 

 The tent went up readily, all three taking part in its erection. 

 As soon as it was up all things brought with us were placed 

 inside, including the saddles of our two horses and of the 

 packhorse; these formed an unexpected but welcome addi- 

 tion to our "furniture" while the saddle cloths served as 

 pillow and foot-coverings at night. The guide then mounted 

 his horse and started on his return to Cartago, driving the 

 other three horses before him. So at two o'clock in the 

 afternoon we two were sitting in the tent eating our mid- 

 day meal, alone in the great crater, six or seven miles from the 

 nearest human habitation. 



It rained or misted at intervals, while we arranged things 

 in our tent, and gathered firewood, stacking it inside in the 

 hope that it might dry a little. While doing so we noticed 

 various kinds of footprints in the sand near the tent, chiefly 

 of four-footed creatures. There were small prints in groups 

 of fours of a size suggestive of skunks and larger ones which 

 were probably made by a big cat such as a puma, but al- 

 though we especially feared the visits of skunks we were not 

 troubled by any sort of animal at any time during our stay, 

 nor did we see any quadrupeds even when we went out of 

 the tent in the night. Some small noises we heard but they 

 soon passed into the stillness that reigned whenever the wind 

 ceased blowing in the trees above us. 



Shortly after five the clouds cleared away and we went 

 to the edge of the large daughter-crater north of our tent to 



