42 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA 



swam and dived or flew up into the trees; some of them sat 

 on snags drying their wide-spread wings. 



The banks of the river are very high and abrupt in most 

 places, and the stream runs through a tortuous channel. 

 At each bend the current dashes with great force against the 

 bank, and then rebounds on down-stream. The little Cal- 

 das could not hope to battle against the rushing torrent, 

 so she would head straight for the bank; frequently her 

 nose struck the soft sand and held fast; then the current 

 swung her around and back into midstream, where after 

 spinning around a few times she regained her poise and 

 was swept along. As wood was burned exclusively, stops 

 had to be made every few hours for a new supply. The 

 launch, in her crowded condition, had little room for fuel, 

 but the brief pauses gave those on board an opportunity 

 to go ashore — a welcome respite from the cramped position 

 made necessary by the limited space available on the boat. 

 At one of these spots an extensive cacao-plantation lined 

 the bank, the tall madres de cacao reaching high up into 

 the heavens above their lowly but precious proteges. The 

 "mother of cacao," it might be said, is a species of Erithmas 

 planted to protect the delicate cacao-trees from the sun. 

 A colony of snake-birds or anhingas had selected this grove 

 for a rookery. Thousands of the birds sat on the topmost 

 branches while other countless numbers were flying back 

 and forth in endless streams, each bird a component part 

 of a whirling, living mass. The slender body, long thin 

 neck, small head, and sharp bill give the bird a peculiar 

 appearance; when swimming under water with only the 

 neck protruding it greatly resembles a snake — hence the 

 name snake-bird. Each tree within an area of several acres 

 contained a number of nests; they were clumsy structures 

 made of sticks. The eggs, three or four in number, are 

 white and as long as a hen's egg but only half as wide. 

 Later in the day a flock of scarlet ibises approached from 

 down-stream, flew past, and then disappeared like twin- 

 kling bits of flame. 



