290 EIvDORADO 



the parrots, macaws and chattering" monkeys. Such 

 a scene is worth the travel to the Isthmus, and the toils 

 sometimes endured in crossing it. 



At night parties tliat land are compelled to build 

 fires to keep off the wild beasts and venomous ser- 

 pents, which abound in the neighborhood of the river, 

 and to disperse the myriads of insects wdth which the 

 air hums. Alligators of a large size, are to be seen 

 on the banks in the day time l)asking in the sun. For 

 the first few miles after leaving Gargonia, 1 followed 

 closely at the heels of our guide and would often 

 pause and turn to examine the a]:)parentlv almost im- 

 passable route T had traversed, watch the ]M-ogrcss of 

 the rest of the party and wonder at the security with 

 which their cautiously-stepping and sagacious animals 

 would graduallv overcome seemingly unsurmountable 

 olistacles. T urged mine repeatedly to make him 

 choose a path, which to all appearances was preferable 

 to his own, but to no purpose. He would turn half 

 around and in a slow, solemn wav, put his nose to the 

 ground and looking keenlv about the i)lace, would 

 cautiously put one foot forward, then another, then a 

 third and a fourth, when, poised on all drawn under 

 him, and close together, he would have a lietter oppor- 

 tunity for further inspection which having satisfac- 

 torilv accomplished, another cautious step would be 

 made as before, and so on until the difficultv was over- 

 come. Finding he knew better than T did, I invari- 

 c>.])\\ threw the reins to him when difficult obstacles 

 were to be siu'mounted. The residt was alwavs for- 

 tunate. ( )ne (M- two of the party, however, were sat- 

 isfied that horses should not b.ave their own wav, and 

 whi])])ed and s])urred them to com])el compliance with 



