A YOUXG NATURALIST. 271 



however, this delay had not been altogether useless ; for, 

 thanks to the heat of the sun, the ground had become more 

 traversable, and my friend actually hummed a tune as he 

 took the lead. 



The time when we ought to have settled our bivouac had 

 long passed, yet we were still on the road. The path we 

 were treading was flat and unpromising, and the water 

 from the cave, with which we had filled our gourds, was so 

 unpleasant in taste that we longed to find a spring. Being 

 unable to get a clear view of the horizon, I directed 1'En- 

 cuerado to climb to the summit of a lofty tree. The In- 

 dian ascended to its topmost branch, and, having surveyed 

 the prospect in every direction, came down far from pleased 

 at having failed to discern what he desired. Fatigue, how- 

 ever, now compelled us to halt. 



Our hut was soon constructed, the fire lighted, and the 

 stew-pot filled with water and rice. Not one of us felt in- 

 spired with sufficient courage to induce him to go reconnoi- 

 tring. An hour after sunset we were all sleeping side by 

 side ; 1'Encuerado had quite forgotten his earth-nuts, and 

 even dropped off to sleep without having been able to fin- 

 ish the chant which he commenced. 



I was wakened up by the cries of the tauagers a beau- 

 tiful species of bird which lives hi flocks. Lucien, like all 

 the rest of us, complained of feeling rather stiff in the joints, 

 resulting, no doubt, from our long journey the day before. 

 On the morrow our little party started with rather a hob- 

 bling gait ; the presence of the birds seemed to tell us that 

 we were near some stream. Our limbs began gradually to 

 lose their numbness ; we were now descending an almost 

 imperceptible slope, and the vegetation assumed a more 

 tropical aspect. As we passed along, I noticed several 

 pepper-plants; and next \ve came to bushes, round which 

 myriads of cardinal birds were flying. Guided by these 



