384 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA 



mountain to the very summit, four thousand six hundred 

 feet high, where the httle town of Villa Nougu^s is situated. 

 This settlement is a favorite resort of the wealthier class 

 of people who come up from Tucuman to spend the summer 

 months in pleasant chateaux, thereby avoiding the heat of 

 the lower country. 



The view from the top of the range is superb; the coun- 

 try to the east is perfectly level, and is laid out in sym- 

 metrical fields of cane as far as the eye can see. A 

 small, muddy river, threading its way through the ocean 

 of green divides it into two sections and vanishes into the 

 horizon in a haze of purple mist.. To the west stands the 

 stem Andean chain, barren and precipitous, its summit 

 hidden in banks of cold, gray clouds. 



We made a first camp in the forest below Villa Nougu^s, 

 at an altitude of four thousand feet. From the very first 

 day we had heard the shriU little call of a bird which we 

 attributed to the much-coveted tapacola (Scytalopus) we 

 were looking for; but the elusive creature always remained 

 in concealment among the ferns and mosses and not once 

 did we get a glimpse of it. Then we seciu"ed ox-carts and 

 moved to the other side of the mountain, where, we were 

 told, hunting was not so difficult. 



Birds were not abundant, the fall migrations having left 

 the forest almost deserted. The few species which remained, 

 however, such as wood-hewers, thrushes, tanagers, and jays, 

 were plentiful, and several kinds of humming-birds added 

 life and color to the sombre green of the vegetation. After 

 many days we succeeded in tracing the mysterious chirp 

 to its source, and found, not the bird we were seeking, but 

 a dainty little wood-wren of the shyest possible nature. 

 The minute, secretive creature seemed to spend its entire 

 time among the buttresses, roots, and moss-draped under- 

 growth, where no ray of sunlight ever penetrated to dispel 

 the chill and semidarkness, or give a touch of warmth to 

 the soggy mould. Its gUmpses of daylight must be brief 

 indeed, and at infrequent intervals. We had come to the 



