27G ' BENEATH THE FOEEST. 



grander in proportions upon the slopes of the equatorial 

 Andes than in the heart of the valley. The same is ob- 

 served in crossing the continent from the mountains upon 

 the north. The forests of the Rio Negro seem dwarfed in 

 comparison with those of the Venezuelian Cordilleras. 



One of the most striking peculiarities of these forests, 

 and one which every botanist quickly observes, is the ab- 

 sence of floAvers. We journeyed sometimes for days with- 

 out meeting with any conspicuous inflorescence. The few 

 flowers we found were small and of a dull color. The sun- 

 light is too much excluded to allow Flora to paint her 

 forms with those rich, brilliant hues with which she decks 

 the flowers of the unshaded table-lands, and even the 

 shrinking rosettes of the mountain paramos. The inflo- 

 rescence is above and along the walls of the rivers. Ani- 

 mated life, also, as we have intimated, is extremely scarce. 

 During our entire journey fi'om Quito to the Napo, a dis- 

 tance of nearly two hundred miles, upon which trip we 

 had anticipated adding largely to our zoological collec- 

 tions, we saw but few birds ; only one company of mon- 

 keys, and these were going through the tops of the forest 

 as if to fulfil an appointment ; one serpent, that was so 

 imfortunate as to get into our alcohol-can ; and a jaguar, 

 which one evening ran through our camp — startling our 

 natives. 



Our Archidonian Indians led us rapidly over the trail, 

 that ou.r journey might be completed before night. Just 

 at evening the forest suddenly opened before us, and we 

 stood upon the banks of the Rio Napo. The tiirbid 

 stream appeared almost stagnant, comj^ared with the fu- 

 rious torrents of the Cordilleras, and, in its slower march 

 seemed as if wearied with its leaping, hurrying course 

 down the Andes. We greeted it with delight, for it told 

 us of the end of weary marches over wretched trails, and 

 we now imagined ourselves floating dreamingly down to 



