JUNGLE LIFE 73 



a short distance of the house. The animal came full speed 

 to within eight feet of us, but swerved and swept aside when 

 he saw we were not deer or other expected prey. 



I find nothing further to write about dangers or incon- 

 veniences, because there is nothing more to be written. 

 When I recall the breathless, hot nights of a New York 

 summer, the malignant malaria which at times spreads over 

 the suburbs of the same city, when I remember the copper- 

 heads and rattlers of the Palisades, the mosquitos and black 

 flies of our northern forests, the biting green flies of our 

 shore resorts and the jiggers of the southern states, the all 

 but complete absence of corresponding sources of annoy- 

 ance seems all the more remarkable in the rank jungles in 

 which we worked, a jungle overflowing with animal life of 

 every description. 



The second misconception, that of the scarcity of the 

 various forms of life in tropical jungles would, from its 

 absurdity, seem hardly to deserve refutation, were it not 

 that it is constantly reiterated, and that by persons of intel- 

 ligence who have recently made long trips through these 

 regions. Its sole inspiration lies in the method of observa- 

 tion, the casual looking about as one passes up the rivers 

 in a woodskin, or glances to right or left when walking along 

 a trail. 



The operation of protective coloration, the effectiveness 

 of warning pigments and patterns, of mimicry, these and 

 other expedients of wild existence the very distinction be- 

 tween life and death all depend, at the crises of their ful- 

 fillment, on the two alternative factors of movement and in- 

 activity. This is one of the most pronounced laws of the 

 jungle. Clad in white or in any conspicuous color, you may 

 successfully hunt the wariest of jungle creatures, provided 

 you select some suitable spot and remain quiet. Garbed in 

 leaf green and the most invisible of khaki, the common agouti 

 and the trustful trumpeter bird will easily escape you if you 



