THE CONDOR, 



29 



COXDOB AND FISH. 



by Father Feuillee, in the valley of Ylo in Peru. He informs us, that 

 he discovered a 

 Condor perched 

 upon a great 

 rock ; and that 

 he approached it 

 within musket- 

 shot and fired ; 

 but that, as the 



fun was only 

 o a d e d with 

 swan-shot, the 

 lead could not do 

 much more than 

 pierce its feathers. 

 lie perceived, 

 however, from its 

 motions, that it 



was wounded : for it rose heavily, and could with difficulty reach 

 another great rock, five hundred paces distant. He therefore charged 

 his piece with a bullet, and hit the bird under the throat. lie then 

 saw that he had succeeded, ran to secure his victim : but it struggled 

 obstinately with death ; and, resting upon its back, repelled his at- 

 tempts with its extended talons. He continues, " I was at a loss on 

 what side to lay hold of it ; and I believe that if it had not been 

 mortally wounded, I should have found great difficulty in securing 

 it. At last I dragged it down from the top of the rock ; and, with 

 the assistance of a sailor, carried it away to my tent." 



Some writers have affirmed that the Condor is twice as large as an 

 Eagle, and so strong that it can pounce upon and devour a whole Sheep ; 

 that it spares not even Stags, and can easily overthrow a man. Others 

 say, that its beak is so firm that it can pierce a Cow's hide, and 

 that two Condors are able to kill an Ox arid devour the carcass. 



Ulloa states, that lie once saw, in South America, a Condor seize 

 and fly away with a Lamb. " Observing (says he) on a hill adjoining 

 to that where I stood, a flock of Sheep in great confusion, 1 saw one 

 of these birds flying upwards from among them, with a Lamb between 

 its claws ; and when at some height, it dropped it. The bird imme- 

 diately followed, took it up, and let it fall a second time ; when it flew 

 out of sight, on account of the Indians, who, alarmed by the cries of 

 the boys and the barking of the Dogs, were running towards the place. 



Frezier, in a voyage to the South Seas, also thus describes the Con- 

 dor: "We one day killed a bird of prey called the Condor; which 

 measured nine feet from the end of one wing to the end of the other, 

 ?uid had a brown comb or crest, but not jagged like that of a Cock. 

 The fore part of the throat was red, without feathers, like that of a 

 Turkey. These birds are generally large and strong enough to take 

 up a Lamb. In order to separate one of those animals from the flock, 

 chey form themselves into a circle, and advance towards them with their 

 wings extended, that, by being driven too close together, the full-horned 



