The Highland Wilderness 205 



seemed advisable to wait until the weather became better 

 before attempting to go forward. Moreover, there had 

 been no chance to take the desired astronomical observa- 

 tions. There was very little grass for the mules; but 

 there was abundance of a small-leaved plant eight or ten 

 inches high — unfortunately, not very nourishing — on 

 which they fed greedily. In such weather and over such 

 muddy trails oxen travel better than mules. 



In spite of the weather Cherrie and Miller, whom, to- 

 gether with Father Zahm and Sigg, we had found await- 

 ing us, made good collections of birds and mammals. 

 Among the latter were opossums and mice that were new 

 to them. The birds included various forms so unlike our 

 home birds that the enumeration of their names would 

 mean nothing. One of the most interesting was a large 

 black-and-white woodpecker, the white predominating in 

 the plumage. Several of these woodpeckers were usually 

 found together. They were showy, noisy, and restless, 

 and perched on twigs, in ordinary bird fashion, at least 

 as often as they clung to the trunks in orthodox wood- 

 pecker style. The prettiest bird was a tiny manakin, 

 coal-black, with a red-and-orange head. 



On February 2 the rain let up, although the sky re- 

 mained overcast and there were occasional showers. I 

 walked off with my rifle for a couple of leagues ; at that 

 distance, from a slight hillock, the mist columns of the 

 falls were conspicuous in the landscape. The only mam- 

 mal I saw on the walk was a rather hairy armadillo, with 

 a flexible tail, which I picked up and brought back to 

 Miller — it showed none of the speed of the nine-banded 

 armadillos we met on our jaguar-hunt. Judging by its 



