TROPICAL FORKSTS. 85 



imposing that the first impression felt is that of melancholy, 

 and the sad feeling of how little we are in this world in com- 

 parison with the works of the Creator. Each time that I have 

 entered a virgin tropical forest, that I have ascended the 

 summit of a large mountain, that I have been facing the 

 Ocean, or even the immense Mexican prairies, I have felt the 

 same impression, that of our insignificance in regard of such 

 magnitude. 



It is quite impossible for those who have not travelled, to 

 have an idea of that sensation, although it may be felt even 

 by them if they are of a contemplative mood. The study of 

 astronomy, the contemplation of the sky, of high mountains^ 

 of the sea, of vast horizons, will produce the same effect to 

 those of a sensitive mind. 



I really do not know which sight is more effective. 

 Although all of them point to the same end, that of our 

 insignificance, the emotions are quite distinct one from 

 another. 



In putting foot in a virgin forest you feel melancholy. 

 In attaining the summit of a high mountain, or in discovering 

 the wide horizon of the sea, or prairies, you may feel the 

 same impression ; but it is mitigated by the magnificent 

 sceneries displayed to your view, and you cannot do less than 

 remain in contemplation before them. 



In the tropical forests, where the sun never penetrates 

 among the thick foliage of the trees, shady even at noonday, 

 rich in the beauty and the variety of their luxuriant foliage, the 

 immense variety of trees and creepers hanging from bough to 

 bough, you feel more than anywhere else your loneliness. 

 At every pace, you expect the sudden meeting of jaguars,, 

 pumas, or other ferocious animals, but you seldom see 

 any. One would think that a large number of animals 

 must exist in these forests, but it is not so. It is only on the 

 banks of rivers, or in the openings, that life is abundant. 

 Possibly the interior of the forest is inhabited, but its in- 

 habitants are so scattered that they are hardly seen at all. 

 It seems as if all that luxuriant vegetation had no other 

 purpose than to be the sleeping resort of birds and animals. 



As soon as the day appears or disappears, it is a perfect 

 cacophony. Wild screams of animals and birds are heard in 

 all directions. The roaring of the jaguars and pumas, the 

 howling of the monkeys, the discordant shrieks of the parrots, 

 the screaming and chirping of birds, are all heard at one and 

 the same time. It IS INDESCRIBABLE ! 



