152 CENTRAL AMERICA. 



than I previously possessed from books. I 

 was trying- to breed some of the magnificent 

 wild turkeys, and had set a hen in my own 

 rancho upon two of the large turkey eggs. I 

 was awakened in the night by the cries of the 

 hen who had been pulled out of her nest and 

 carried bodily off. Thinking it was a large 

 snake, I jumped out of my hammock, and 

 picking up my machete, ran out of the rancho, 

 and by the clear moonlight saw the hen 

 making her way to the woods at a great pace, 

 but evidently nolens volens^ for she was 

 making a great fuss about it, but there was 

 no appearance of a snake. Having overtaken 

 her, I found her abduction was performed by 

 a long pole-cat looking animal, who never saw 

 me, so eager was he on his prey, and so I 

 dispatched him with a slash on his head ; and 

 sticking the machete through his neck, carried 

 him back, and threw him down near the 

 rancho, thinking he was only a specimen of 

 the larger weasel kind ; there was not much 

 the matter with the hen, who resumed her 

 seat on the eggs. The next morning, about 

 sunrise, a servant came up to where I was 

 washing, and asked me to go out and look at 

 the beast I had killed. I went out and saw 

 an animal of about the size of a large pole- 



