96 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA 



hauling it up the steep sides of the sierra, and then 

 down again the equally steep sides of the "crater. " 

 The paths worn by his little horses seem hardly 

 fit for a mountain goat to travel. 



While perched high upon the rim of the circular 

 valley, seeking to gather some arboreal Urocoptids 

 from the trees and at the same time to take in the 

 superb view, a thunderstorm of great severity burst 

 upon us. Swirling banks of mist united to form 

 dark clouds from which lightning leaped in terrify- 

 ing flashes, and the thunder seemed to rock the 

 mountain beneath us. In the presence of such 

 a mighty manifestation of Nature's forces, man's 

 natural powers of self-preservation are feebler 

 than those of the lower creatures about him. He 

 alone cannot afford to get wet for risk of illness. 

 Every animate thing about him cares little for the 

 wetting or even finds in it a positive benefit to 

 his life economy. By a superior intelligence the 

 human animal has built about him artificial pro- 

 tections — his armor of clothes and the fortress of 

 his house. Just so much as he has done for him- 

 self his mother Nature has left for him to do. 

 When suddenly stripped of his own self- devised 

 guards, he stands naked among the wild creatures 



