THE CONDOR AND HARPY EAGLE. 159 
of the Indians, who collect snow upon the 
mountains for sale, are incessantly left sleep- 
ing in the open air, in the midst of those 
birds: and with respect to the danger to 
grown persons, while he confesses that two 
of these birds would be powerful enemies 
for one man to encounter, he states that he 
has himself frequently approached them 
within ten or twelve feet, as, three or four 
together, they sat perched upon the rocks, 
and that they showed no disposition to at- 
tack him. Moreover, the Indians of Quito 
assured him, that we have nothing to appre- 
hend from the Condor.* 
The confusion of ideas, between a Vulture 
and an Eagle, or between the Condor and 
the Harpy Eagle of South America, per- 
vades even these observations; for, were 
any thing of the kind now mentioned to be 
* The old naturalists are quite vehement upon the 
subject of the dangers awaited by travellers from 
the Condor ; and, as a specimen of the exaggerations 
as to size, it may be mentioned, that Labat assures, 
from the alleged testimony of those who had seen 
the bird, that its body was as big as that of a 
Sheep ! 
