A YOUNG NATURALIST. 133 



" It is one of the Hymenoptera," said Sumichrast ; " it collects 

 all round its eggs the food the young will eat when they are 

 hatched; the insect is therefore full of forethought, — a good 

 example for us to imitate.'' 



When the fire was ready, we started off in light marching 

 order to explore the vicinity of our bivouac. Our position was 

 commanded by mountains on all sides, and the glen was scarcely 

 a quarter of a league in length. The pleasant coolness, and the 

 presence of numerous birds, led us to hope that we should meet 

 with a spring, which was all that was needed to convert this 

 remote corner of the world into a perfect paradise. But our 

 exploring only led to the discovery of a greenish pool, sheltered 

 by an enormous rock, and which the dry season would soon 

 evaporate. 



Gringalet's barking attracted our attention towards the forest, 

 and I perceived a porcupine on a tree. The animal, sitting up 

 on its hind feet, was looking at us with astonishment. Leaving 

 it undisturbed, it appeared to forget us, and tearing off with its 

 claws a piece of bark, it licked the inner side, which was doubt- 

 less covered with insects. Having repeated this operation several 

 times, the animal advanced to the end of a branch, and seizing it 

 with its prehensile tail, let itself down to the ground. Its large 

 black eyes, of unusual mildness, were widely opened, and its 

 nose slit like hares and rabbits. It was just about to stretch 

 itself, when, to our great regret, I'Encuerado shot it; the poor 

 beast fell over on the ground, and placing its hand-shaped 

 paws on the wound, rolled itself up into a ball at the foot of a 

 tree. Gringalet darted forwards to seize it, and then immedi- 

 ately retreated, howling with pain ; he came back to us with his 

 muzzle bristling with the porcupine's quils, which were about two 

 inches long and finely pointed. The unfortunate dog rubbed his 

 nose against the ground in order to get relief, but, of course, this 

 only increased his pain. Lucien ran to help him, and at last suc- 

 ceeded in extracting them. 



"Have you lost your senses?" asked I'Encuerado of the dog, 

 whilst washing the poor beast's nose and mouth. " The idea of 

 trying to bite a huitzttacuatzin ! Upon my word, I thought you 



