WILD FEUITS 265 



zard, was almost bald, making him an odd-looking spe- 

 cimen. Another one flew out of the tree when I fired, 

 but I did not get him. The natives danced with 

 delight at this capture, for red is their favorite color, 

 and they thought the bird a great prize, as it really 

 was. 



On we went, up the steep hillsides, till we finally 

 stopped on the summit of a ridge where the ground 

 was covered for many rods with purple mushrooms, as 

 large over as the crown of my hat. Here a fire was 

 made, and a number of the mushrooms gathered and 

 laid upon it ; these, with a brace of large fruit-pigeons, 

 made a comfortable meal. I felt a little reluctant to 

 taste the mushrooms, but the boys seemed to know 

 what they were about, and I found that with a little 

 salt they were very good. There was a slight musky 

 flavor about them, which would perhaps be distasteful 

 to some, but it only added to their worth in my case. 

 And we were not without dessert; for one of the 

 natives climbed a tree, and shook down a quantity of 

 nuts, like none I had ever seen. 



Many strange fruits lay scattered on the ground, 

 some good to eat, but others poisonous, or worthless 

 for food. Some of them were exact representations of 

 fruits I had seen at home, and I was tempted to taste 

 the peaches, oranges, apples, plums, cherries, blueber- 

 ries, grapes, and chestnuts that covered the ground in 

 the greatest profusion. Red peppers and cucumbers, 



