118 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES. chap. v. 



would be difficult to assign to any existing genera. Antonio 

 Eacines still looked perplexed, as well he might ; but at last his 

 face brightened, and he held up a forefinger^ and beckoned. '^Come 

 with me.^^ He led me to a little ditch about half a mile outside 

 the village, with stagnant water, and amongst the weeds I got 

 my first crustacean, which has been identified by the Eev. T. E. E. 

 Stebbing as Hyalella inermis, S. I. Smith. ^ 



Thus the time passed quickly and pleasantly. Still, it must 

 not be supposed that our lives were always as sweet as rose- 

 water, for trouble sometimes arose through the want of that con- 

 venient, universal language which it is expected will prevail when 

 the lion lies down with the lamb. Ecuadorians have their habits 

 and customs, many of which we did not understand — nor did 

 they understand ours. At Machachi it was customary for the 

 natives to keep mongrel curs as guardians of their property ; 

 and these brutes, though somewhat respectful to cavaliers, looked 

 upon a pedestrian as, presumably, a person of bad character, 

 and did not understand that a man may wish to pluck a flower 

 without desiring to steal a poncho. 



The first time I took a solitary walk in the lanes of Machachi 

 it was dark before I rejoined the main road ; and upon entering 

 the suburb that stretches a mile to the south of the tambo 

 several of these curs rushed out and made for me. Others 

 joined them, until at last there were about a dozen, from the 

 size of a fox-hound downwards, snarling and snapping and making 

 dashes at my shins and calves in a most uncivilized manner, 

 and they got to the length of fastening on my clothes like hungry 

 wolves. Upon remonstrating the next day with some of their 

 owners at this rude treatment I was assured that it was quite 

 a mistake to call the dogs savage — they were very good dogs, 

 indeed (and this was said by way of commendation), their virtues 

 were so well known that when any person in the neighbourhood 

 was in want of a dog he would come to Machachi to steal one. 



1 A figure is given in Chapter XIX. See also Siqip. App., pp. 125-7. 



