500 
a large “land rail”; the pavo and pavon, 
or small and large wild turkeys, which 
come whirring up and out of the thick- 
ets to sit calmly in a near-by tree and 
be shot. These turkeys are large, 
crested birds, black and dark brown in 
color, very like our own wild turkeys 
RECREATION 
eggs and let her go. This apparent 
heartlessness seems to result in no per- 
manent harm to the animal, which is 
soon in perfect health again. I have 
myself seen this procedure and have 
killed iguanas bearing scars of this 
sort of “backwoods surgery.” The 

INTERIOR OF A TYPICAL NATIVE HOUSE 
There are no walls and the floor is raised eight feet above the ground 
in general build and habits but as yet 
absolutely unsophisticated and easily 
killed. In fact, turkeys and wild pigs 
form the staple diet among the Indian 
tribes. 
As among most other Indians, nearly 
everything which can be caught or 
killed is looked upon as fit for food; 
so you see them kill the various tou- 
cans—the pico grande, the pico feo and 
pico verde -—parrots, from the little 
green fellows to the great yellow-and- 
red ones measuring over two feet and 
a half in length; monkeys of all sorts, 
including the little squirrel-like marmo- 
set and, last but not least, the hideous- 
looking, but really delicious, iguana, re- 
sembling a dragon with a spiny back 
and tdsting like chicken or frog-legs. 
These lizards are often six feet in 
length and are considered a great 
delicacy by the natives, especially when 
they contain eggs. The average white 
man stands aghast when he sees an In- 
dian open a living iguana through a 
cut in the wall of the belly; remove her 
sloth and the ant bear are only killed 
and eaten by the natives; the armadillo 
and the nyequi, or native “rabbit,” are 
more generally used. 
Deer, similar to our own Northern 
species, are common and are the same 
cunning, timid animals we see there. 
In markings they resemble our white- 
tailed deer, but seldom reach as large 
a size. Of four bucks killed by me this 
season, the largest one weighed 100 
pounds and the smallest 88 pounds. 
I have killed a buck weighing 130 
pounds, but this is considered very 
large for this district. Their general 
habits are similar to those of our Amer- 
ican deer, feeding during moonlight 
nights, and in the evening and morn- 
ing when the nights are dark, but 
retiring to the thickets for the day. 
They lie very close, frequently jumping 
within ten feet of one and often after 
one has passed them. From the na- 
ture of the country, most shots are 
made under one hundred yards, and 
snap shooting with the rifle is nearly 
