162 THE ISTHMUS OF PANAMA. 



up stream on a journey of eighteen miles, which took 

 these homlres seven long hours to accomplish, with 

 their paddles, against the strong current. I could 

 not help thinking how some of my Batavia friends 

 would have enjoyed my place that day, for scarce- 

 ly a moment passed but some bird of beautiful 

 plumage would fly past, or apparently wait upon the 

 branch of a tree to be shot, or a large fat iguana, 

 (an animal of the lizard species, which are frequently 

 found four or five feet long,) would show himself in 

 the grass, or upon the boughs of the trees over- 

 hanging the stream; or perhaps a lazy alligator, 

 sunning himself upon the beach, and I know not how r 

 many other kinds of game a sharp eye would have 

 detected ; but I presume many, from the fact that 

 although I kept a look-out a part of the time, yet the 

 natives often signified to me by signs that game w T as 

 within shot, which I could not see ; and in one in- 

 stance, they hauled into the shore, and the hombre- 

 cite grasped the musket and rushed into the thick 

 bushes out of sight, and while I was w T ondering 

 " what game was up," the loud report of his piece 

 indicated that a death must have occurred at one end 

 or the other of it at least. My curiosity was soon 

 relieved by his return, dragging along a guarro, or 

 wild hog, which the natives consider a great delicacy. 

 "Wild turkeys were very numerous, as well as par- 

 rots and paroquets, but my back gave very sensible 

 signs of approaching fever, and I was too intent upon 

 arriving at my destination to give it rest, to improve, 

 w T ith any great degree of zest, the opportunity, 



