THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE RAINY SEASON 19 



the full enjoyment of existence. The horse and the ox rejoice 

 in the grasses, under whose covert the jaguar frequently lurks, 

 to pounce upon them with his fatal spring. On the border of 

 the swamps, the moist clay, slowly heaving, bursts asunder, and 

 from the tomb in which he lay embedded rises a gigantic 

 water-snake or a huge crocodile. The new-formed pools and 

 lakes swarm with life, and a host of water- fowl — ibises, cranes, 

 flamingos, mycterias — make their appearance, to regale on the 

 prodigal banquet. A new creation of insects and other un- 

 bidden guests now seek the wretched hovels of the Indians, 

 which are sparingly scattered over the higher parts of the 

 savannah. Countless multitudes of ants, sandflies, and mos- 

 quitos ; rattlesnakes, expelled by the cold and moisture from 

 the lower grounds ; repulsive geckos, which with incredible 

 rapidity run along the overhanging rafters; nauseous toads, 

 which, concealing themselves by day in the dark corners of the 

 huts, crawl forth in the evening in quest of prey ; lizards, 

 scorpions, centipedes; in a word, worms and vermin of all 

 names and forms, — emerge from the inundated plains, for the 

 tropical rains have gradually converted the savannah, which 

 erewhile exhibited a waste as dreary as that of the Sahara, into 

 a boundless lake. The swollen rivers of the steppe — the Apure, 

 the Arachuna, the Pajara, the Arauca — pour in mighty streams 

 over the plains, and boats are now able to sail for miles across 

 the land from one river-bed into another. 



On the same spot where, but a short time ago, the thirsty 

 horse anxiously snuffed the air to discover by its moisture the 

 presence of some pool, the animal is now obliged to lead an 

 amphibious life. The mares retreat with their foals to the 

 higher banks, which rise like islands above the waters, and as 

 from day to day the land contracts within narrower limits, the 

 want of forage obliges them to swim about in quest of the gi*asses 

 that raise their heads above the fermenting waters. Many foals 

 are drowned ; many are surprised by the crocodiles, that strike 

 them down with their jagged tails, and then crush them between 

 their jaws. Horses and oxen are not seldom met with, which, 

 having fortunately escaped these huge saurians, bear on their 

 limbs the marks of their sharp teeth. 



" This sight," says Humboldt, " involuntarily reminds the 

 reflecting observer of the great pliability with which nature has 



c 2 



