38 OUR SEARCH FOR A WILDERNESS. 



the jungle to an open space near one of the huts and feed 

 fearlessly with the chickens for an hour or longer. 



To our northern minds the most remarkable thing was the 

 innumerable variety of all forms of life. Seldom did we find 

 many individuals of any one species, but always there was a 

 constantly changing panorama. We would make a careful 

 list of birds seen near our house, noting certain ones for 



FIG. 18. WILD CHACHALACA NEAR A GUANOCO HUT. 



future study, and the following day scarcely one of these 

 would be visible, but in their place birds of strange form and 

 colors. The same was true of the insects and the result 

 was as bewildering as it was fascinating. Our habits of 

 observation had all to be changed. Except when birds were 

 actually nesting, we could never be sure of seeing the same 

 species twice, although there was never any doubt that each 

 day would add many new forms to our lists. 



Though we tramped for miles along the narrow Indian 

 trails and spent many days in swamps and dark jungles, yet 



