IN QUEST OF THE COCK-OE-THE-ROCK 77 



purchasing a live sheep; this, in addition to the provisions 

 we carried, enabled us to fare passably well. 



On March 7 we had reached the top of a ridge ten thou- 

 sand three hundred and fifty feet high, having passed the 

 little villages Timbio, San Miguel, Santa Barbara, and La 

 Vega. La Vega means "fertile plain," and the surrounding 

 country fully justifies the name. Far as the eye could see 

 the gently sloping mountainsides had been divided into a 

 network of small, irregular plots by rows of high, thick 

 hedges. Wheat, corn, cabbage, and rice flourished under 

 the cultivating hand of the Indian; there were also small 

 flocks of sheep, and occasionally a few head of cattle. 

 Small mud-walled huts, singly and in clusters, dotted the 

 maze of green landscape, and over all breathed an air of 

 quiet and contentment. 



The trail had gradually led upward, though often de- 

 scending into gorges and ravines a thousand feet deep. 

 We had passed through patches of barren country, and 

 then entered a wilderness of lovely flowering rhododen- 

 drons. The masses of red wild oleanders were beautiful, 

 but the lanes of a species of shrub covered with small waxen 

 blossoms of purest white, mingled with deep-green foliage 

 and the fronds of monstrous subtropical ferns, surpassed 

 any picture that pen can describe or the imagination con- 

 jure. From afar we could hear the steady buzz of bees 

 and other insects that swarmed about the flowers, and fre- 

 quently a humming-bird whirred into the arena, hovered a 

 few moments, and then sped away; myriads of nocturnal 

 insects appeared at night, and great sphinx-moths took the 

 place of the hummers. 



The top of the ridge is covered with tall, magnificent 

 forest. We saw numerous signs of bird and animal life. 

 Toucans of several species yelped and clattered their bills 

 in the tall trees above. There were also yellow-shouldered 

 troupials, blue and yellow cotingas, brown creepers, bright- 

 colored hummers, and many dragon-flics. The latter pos- 

 sessed a special interest for Lloyd, who immediately erected 



