102 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA 



sufficient numbers. Finally we evolved the plan of sus- 

 pending a fish-net from the ceiling and tacking out the 

 edges so that it formed a cone with a wide base. A choice 

 bunch of the ripest plantains was placed in the centre for 

 bait. Bats soon gathered about the trap in swarms. At 

 first they were suspicious and circled around the net with- 

 out attempting to alight; but as their hunger increased so 

 their caution decreased in like proportion, and before long 

 they were striking the conical arrangement from all sides 

 and madly endeavoring to scramble through the small 

 meshes. Some succeeded in forcing their way through 

 the openings and immediately fell upon the bait with 

 ravenous appetites; the vast majority, however, became 

 helplessly entangled in the meshes. Newcomers arrived 

 in a steady stream; they paid no attention to our pres- 

 ence nor to the lights we carried, but frantically hurled 

 themselves into the midst of their struggling brethren, 

 until the net was covered with screeching, scrambling 

 masses. 



The house was within a stone's throw of the Rio Bodo- 

 quera — a stream two hundred yards wide. One night a 

 jaguar attacked the cattle and chased them on to a sand- 

 spit that projected out into the stream. We heard the 

 mad bellowing of the frightened animals as they stampeded 

 past the shack, hotly pursued by the snarling jaguar. A 

 few shots sufficed to frighten the big spotted cat back into 

 the jungle, but the cattle refused to leave the strategic po- 

 sition to which they had retreated. The river was rising 

 rapidly, endangering the panic-stricken creatures. Every 

 hand turned out; we took lanterns with us and, manning 

 the canoes, paddled to the far side of the peninsula and at- 

 tempted to drive them back to the mainland. All our 

 efforts were in vain. The work was very exciting, as en- 

 raged members of the herd charged the lights repeatedly 

 when we approached close to them. Finally the water 

 became so deep that the animals had to swim, and then 

 they made for the far side of the river and disappeared from 



