162 THE HIGHLAND WILDERNESS [chap, vi 



observations, themselves make the original wound, but 

 after it had been made by one of the true vampires 

 they would lap the flowing blood and enlarge the 

 wound. South America makes up for its lack, relatively 

 to Africa and India, of large man-eating carnivores 

 by the extraordinary ferocity or bloodthirstiness of 

 certain smaU creatures of which the kinsfolk else- 

 where are harmless. It is only here that fish no 

 bigger than trout kiU swimmers, and bats the size _ 

 of the ordinary "flittermice" of the northern hemi- 

 sphere drain the life-blood of big beasts and of man 

 himself. 



There was not much large mammalian life in the 

 neighbourhood. Kermit hunted industriously, and 

 brought in an occasional armadillo, coati, or agouti for 

 the naturahsts. Miller trapped rats and a queer 

 opossum new to the collection. Cherrie got many birds. 

 Cherrie and MiUer skinned their specimens in a little 

 open hut or shed. Moses, the small pet owl, sat on a 

 cross-bar overhead, an interested spectator, and chuckled 

 whenever he was petted. Two wrens, who bred just 

 outside the hut, were much excited by the presence 

 of Moses, and paid him visits of noisy unfiiendliness. 

 The little white-throated sparrows came famiUarly about 

 the palm cabins and whitewashed houses and trilled on 

 the roof-trees. It was a simple song, with just a hint of 

 our northern whitethroat's sweet and plaintive melody, 

 and of the opening bars of our song-sparrow's pleasant, 

 homely lay. It brought back dear memories of glorious 

 April mornings on Long Island, when through the 

 singing of robin and song-sparrow comes the piercing 

 cadence of the meadow -lark ; and of the far northland 

 woods in June, fragrant with the breath of pine and 

 balsam-fir, where sweetheart sparrows sing from wet 



