112 THE WONDERS OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 



and fired ; but as my piece was only loaded with swan shot; the lead could not pierce its feathers. I 

 perceived, however, from its motions, that it was wounded, for it rose heavily, and could with difficulty 

 reach another great rock, five hundred paces distant, upon the sea-shore. I therefore charged my piece 

 with a bullet, and hit the bird under the throat. I then saw that I had succeeded, and I ran to secure 

 the victim, but it struggled obstinately with death, and, resting upon its back with extended talons, I 

 ■was at a loss on what side to lay hold of it ; and I believe, that if it had not been mortally wounded, 

 I should have found great difficulty in securing it. 



"These birds commonly settle upon the mountains, where they procure their subsistence: they 

 resort to the shore only in the rainy seasons, and, feeling the approach of cold, they seek shelter and 

 ■warmth in the plains. The scanty subsistence which these birds can pick up on the margin of the 

 sea, except when storms cast ashore large fish, obliges them to make but a short stay : they appear on 

 the beach generally about evening, and there pass the night, and return to their usual haunts in the 

 morning." 



According to Acosta and Garcilasso, there are some condors whose wings extend fifteen or sixteen 

 feet ; their beak is so firm, that they pierce a cow's hide, and two of them are able to kill the animal 

 and eat the carcass. Sometimes they dare even to attack men, but fortunately the instance is rare ; 

 and if these birds were very numerous, they would soon extirpate the cattle. The American Indians 

 affirm that the condor will seize and transport a hind, or a young cow, with the same ease as it would 

 do a rabbit ; that their flesh is coriaceous, and smells like carrion ; that they seldom frequent the 

 forests, where they have scarcely room to wield their enormous wings ; but that they haunt the sea- 

 shore, the sides of rivers, and the savannahs, or natural meadows. 



Nothing can exceed the sagacity with which the condor perceives the scent of its prey at a distance, 

 or the boldness with which it flies down to seize it. When it alights upon the ground, or rises from 

 it, the noise which it makes with its wings is such as to terrify and almost to deafen any one who 

 happens to be near the place. A method of taking condors alive is often practised in Peru and Quito, 

 and is as follows : — A cow or horse is killed, and in a little time the scent of the carcass attracts the 

 condors, which are suddenly seen in numbers in places where no one supposed they existed. They 

 always begin with the eyes and tongue, and then proceed to devour the intestines, &c. When they 

 are well sated, they are too heavy and indolent to fly, and the Indians then take them easily with 

 nooses. When thus taken alive, the condor is dull and timid for the first hour, and then becomes 

 extremely ferocious. Mr. Humboldt had one in his possession for some days, which it was dano-erous 

 to approach. In Chili, the peasants use the following stratagem for the caption of these birds. One 

 of them wraps himself up in the hide of a fresh-killed sheep or ox, and lies still on the ground : the 

 condor, supposing it to be lawful prey, flies down to secure it, when the person concealed lays hold of 

 the legs of the bird, his hands being well covered with gloves ; and immediately his comrades, who are 

 concealed at a distance, run in and assist to secure the depredator, by falling on him with sticks till 

 they have killed him. 



The bird from which our drawing is taken must not be considered as having attained its full 

 growth, nor does its appearance betray any of those tremendous powers with which Nature has so 

 lavishly endowed it. 



