98 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA 



member of the expedition suffered from malaria during 

 our entire stay in the Caqueta region. Notwithstanding 

 these handicaps, we lost not a single day, and the collec- 

 tions rapidly grew to record-breaking size. 



It was, of course, necessary to depend to a certain ex- 

 tent upon native hunters. They were always carefully in- 

 structed as to the area they should visit and how to work 

 it; from the results they obtained I could usually tell 

 whether directions had been followed. One of these caza- 

 dores was a lazy, thoroughly good-natured half-breed named 

 Abrdn. He came in daily with a tale of woe, recounting in 

 detail the great distance he had covered, the hardships of 

 such a long tramp through the jungle, and — bringing few 

 specimens. I pretended to believe his stories, knowing full 

 well all the while that he had really selected a comfortable 

 spot a mile or so away and then settled down on a log for 

 a quiet day of smoking and day-dreaming. When any ani- 

 mal came within sight he shot it. In this manner he se- 

 cured many of the shy, ground-haunting species, such as 

 rails, tinamou, and ant-birds that one seldom sees while 

 moving about through the forest. This was exactly what I 

 wanted. It is all but impossible to find a native hunter 

 with patience enough to sit and wait for these things, so 

 while Abrdn thought he was playing an easy game, he was 

 in reality the most valuable peon in the outfit. His brother 

 Moises was of the opposite temperament; he walked many 

 miles each day and considered it beneath his dignity to 

 shoot anything but large, brilliantly colored birds, such as 

 parrots, macaws, cotingas, and tanagers, or monkeys — in 

 short, game worthy of a man's efforts. The two brothers 

 made an ideal combination. 



Moises had spoken frequently about a marvellous bird 

 called tente which he said was found in the region, and of 

 which he was determined to secure one as a pet for the pa- 

 tron. One day he brought in a queer, frightened little crea- 

 ture — all legs and neck — that he proudly introduced as the 

 tente. It was a young trumpeter (Psophia). After being 



