THIRD JOURNEY. 



187 



was deliglitful to sit on tlie branch, of a fallen tree, near 

 the water's edge, and listen to these harmless birds as 

 they repeated their evening song ; and watch the owls 

 and vampires as they every now and then passed up 

 and down the river. 



The Cam- next day, about noon, as we were 



panero. proceeding onwards, we heard the Campanero 

 tolling in the depth of the forest. Though I should 

 not then have stopped to dissect even a rare bird, 

 having a greater object in view, still I could not resist 

 the opportunity offered of acquiring the campanero. 

 The place where he was tolling was low and swampy, 

 and my legs not having quite recovered from the effects 

 of the sun, I sent the Indian to shoot the campanero. 

 He got up to the tree, which he described as very high, 

 with a naked top, and situated in a swamp. He fired 

 at the bird, but either missed it, or did not wound it 

 sufficiently to bring it down. This was the only oppor- 

 tunity I had of getting a campanero during this 

 expedition. We had never heard one toll before this 

 morning, and never heard one after. 



About an hour before sunset, we reached the place 

 which [the two men who had joined us at the Tails 

 pointed out as a proper one to find a cayman. There 

 was a large creek close by, and a sand-bank gently 

 sloping to the water. Just within the forest on this 

 bank, we cleared a place of brushwood, suspended the 

 hammocks from the trees, and then picked up enough 

 of decayed wood for fuel. 



The Indian found a large land-tortoise, and this, with 

 plenty of fresh fish which we had in the canoe, afforded 

 a supper not to be despised. 



The tigers had kept up a continual roaring every 



