STEPPES AND DESERTS. 39 



involuntarily of the capability of conforming to the most varied cir- 

 cumstances, with which the all-providing Author of Nature has 

 endowed certain animals and plants. 



The ox and the horse, like the farinaceous cerealia, have followed 

 man over the whole surface of the globe, from India to Northern 

 Siberia, from the Ganges to the River Plate, from the African sea 

 shore to the mountain plateau of Antisana, ( 41 ) which is higher than 

 the summit of the Peak of Teneriffe. The ox wearied from the 

 plough reposes, sheltered from the noontide sun in one country by 

 the quivering shadow of the northern birch, and in another by the 

 date palm. The same species which, in the east of Europe, has to 

 encounter the attacks of bears and wolves, is exposed in other regions 

 to the assaults of tigers and crocodiles. 



But the crocodile and jaguar are not the only assailants of the 

 South American horses ; they have also a dangerous enemy among 

 fishes. The marshy waters of Bera and E-astro (**) are filled with 

 numberless electric eels, which can at pleasure send a powerful dis- 

 charge from any part of their slimy, yellow-spotted bodies. These 

 gymnoti are from five to six feet in length, and are powerful enough 

 to kill the largest animals when they discharge their nervous organs 

 at once in a favorable direction. 



The route from Uritucu through the Steppe was formerly obliged 

 to be changed, because the gymnoti had increased to such numbers 

 in a small stream that, in crossing it, many horses were drowned every 

 year, either from the effects of the shocks they received, or from 

 fright. All other fishes fly the vicinity of these formidable eels. 

 Even the fisherman angling from the high bank fears lest the damp 

 line should convey the shock to him from a distance-. Thus, in 

 these regions, electric fire breaks forth from the bosom of the waters. 



The capture of the gymnoti affords a picturesque spectacle. 

 Mules and horses are driven into a marsh which is closely surround- 

 ed by Indians, until the unwonted noise and disturbance induce the- 

 pugnacious fish to begin an attack. One sees them swimming about 

 like serpents, and trying cunningly to glide under the bellies of the 

 horses. Many of these are stunned by the force of the invisible 

 blows ; others, with manes standing on end, foaming, and with wild 

 terror sparkling in their eyes, try to fly from the raging tempest. 



