LOWER NEIGHBORS OF CART AGO 147 



justified by the resulting freedom from annoyance. How 

 abundant the adult ticks may be on cattle is shown by our 

 count of ninety on one side only of one ox in a Cartago street 

 on July 1 1 ; many were as big as marrowfat peas, gorged and 

 swollen with blood, and dark brown in color. A fair-sized 

 black bird, the "tijo-tijo," "garrapatero" or "zopilotillo" 

 {Crotophaga sidcirostris) is frequently seen about cattle in 

 pastures. It has a stout bill, with which it picks off and de- 

 vours the ticks ("garrapatas") infesting these animals. It 

 is a member of the cuckoo family. 



In general Costa Rican cattle were amiable and rarely 

 resented the intrusion of two foreigners with insect nets into 

 their fields. But a few days after our settling in Cartago, 

 as A. was walking alone on the Beehive road, a man suddenly 

 clutched her by the arm and with much Spanish and excited 

 gesticulation led her to a gate in the wall of an exceed- 

 ingly dirty little yard. An old woman, toothless, combless 

 and dirty, hurried down to the gate and added her ex- 

 citement to his. I looked in bewilderment from one to 

 another, for my Spanish was unequal to this sudden demand 

 upon it. Evidently I was desired to go into the yard, but 

 why.^ The sky was clear, the road looked as usual, no more 

 people seemed to be out, what could be wrong .^ Meanwhile 

 the woman lowered the bars and the man almost pushed me 

 over and the bars were up again before an English voice 

 said "bad cattle coming." And in another minute they 

 came, half a dozen huge bulls which objected to my um- 

 brella even across the fence so that I retreated to the house 

 and closed the offending sunshade. A very small dog at 

 once leaped over the lowest bar and challenged the threaten- 

 ing bull (which could have taken him in like a pill if he had 

 so desired) and the monster moved on. Some men with 

 coils of rope were driving the beasts, while others walked 

 ahead to warn unsuspecting travelers like myself and two 



