100 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA 



settlement was all but deserted. The elevation of the site, 

 though thousands of miles from the Atlantic Ocean, into 

 which its rivers drain, is only six hundred and seventy-five 

 feet. 



During our stay in the vicinity we had occasion to wit- 

 ness a celebration of the feast of San Juan. On the eve of 

 the festival a pig was slaughtered in each hut; those who 

 had none went into the jungle and shot a wild one. The 

 dressed carcass was placed in an oblong wooden bowl, sur- 

 rounded with plantains, yuccas, and yams, and then baked 

 four hours in a mud oven. The roasts were delicious and 

 every one ate until not a morsel remained, which was far 

 into the night. Next day the fiesta proper began with a 

 bull-fight, local talent, shirtless and in tattered drawers, sup- 

 plying the places of the gorgeous toreadores, banderilleros, 

 and matadores. This was a fine chance for the youths to 

 display their courage to the weaker sex, which had gathered 

 en masse to witness the performance, and, if one enjoys 

 such spectacles, he would doubtless say that the showing 

 made was quite creditable. The men charged the bull, 

 flourishing their bright-colored ponchos, and when the ani- 

 mal turned the tables and chased them they fled to shelter, 

 as is the custom of the profession. We did not remain to 

 see the finish, but later in the day the women were roasting 

 chunks of beef over open fires. The merrymaking con- 

 tinued for several days, and the latter part of the period 

 consisted in drinking aguardiente, with the resultant fight- 

 ing that always marks the wind-up of such affairs. The 

 alcalde was a leading spirit in the activities of the festive 

 occasion; he had been a priest at one time, but was excom- 

 municated for preaching sermons of too liberal a nature. 

 Then he married and was rearing a family. He told us 

 that he owned a ranch called La Morelia, two days' distant 

 from Florencia, and offered to send us there; so we accepted 

 his courtesy with pleasure, as we were eager to see the 

 country farther in the interior. 



A faintly defined footpath led to La Morelia. The forest 



