A Jaguar-Hunt on the Taquary 95 



den back of the house ; their habits were those of creep- 

 ers, and they scrambled with agility up, along, and under 

 the trunks and branches, and along the posts and rails of 

 the fence, thrusting the bill into crevices for insects. The 

 oven-birds, which had the carriage and somewhat the 

 look of wood-thrushes, I am sure would prove delight- 

 ful friends on a close acquaintance; they are very indi- 

 vidual, not only in the extraordinary domed mud nests 

 they build, but in all their ways, in their bright alertness, 

 their interest in and curiosity about whatever goes on, 

 their rather jerky quickness of movement, and their loud 

 and varied calls. With a little encouragement they be- 

 come tame and familiar. The parakeets were too noisy, 

 but otherwise were most attractive little birds, as they 

 flew to and fro and scrambled about in the top of the 

 palm behind the house. There was one showy kind of 

 king-bird or tyrant flycatcher, lustrous black with a white 

 head. 



One afternoon several score cattle were driven into 

 a big square corral near the house, in order to brand the 

 calves and a number of unbranded yearlings and two- 

 year-olds. A special element of excitement was added 

 by the presence of a dozen big bulls which were to be 

 turned into draught-oxen. The agility, nerve, and 

 prowess of the ranch workmen, the herders or gauchos, 

 were noteworthy. The dark-skinned men were obvi- 

 ously mainly of Indian and negro descent, although some 

 of them also showed a strong strain of white blood. 

 They wore the usual shirt, trousers, and fringed leather 

 apron, with jim-crow hats. Their bare feet must have 

 been literally as tough as horn; for when one of them 



