shore and dashed away madly over the 

 prairie. The first mule, which had 

 crossed, terrified by the electric shocks 

 received, had retreated from the lagoon 

 and, in a state of great fright, had 

 plunged into a browsing herd of cattle, 

 dangling its swaying pack and causing 

 a frightened stampede among the half- 

 wild herd. The latter, ignorant of the 

 immediate peril, rushed toward the la- 

 goon ford, and, if those in front hesi- 

 tated, they were persistently prodded by 

 those from behind. In a moment all 

 were in the midst of their dreaded ene- 

 mies in the water. A scene followed 

 which is hard to describe. The poor 

 brutes reared, bellowed and moaned ; 

 they gored each other in their agony, 

 while their startled eyes seemed ready to 

 jump from their sockets. 



As the herd was numerous, the greater 

 portion soon struggled out, and, with 

 tails reared high in the air, they plunged, 

 like maddened demons, across the 

 prairie. Three cows and a heifer re- 

 mained in the pool with the eels. The 

 former, much exhausted, finally escaped 

 from their tormentors, but the heifer, un- 

 able to withstand the repeated attacks, 

 made one last effort, and, with a gasp, 

 sank below the surface. 



We spent some time in collecting our 

 terrified pack mules and scattered bag- 

 gage, finally crossing the bayou at a shal- 

 low point some distance above the ford. 

 In the meantime, one of the mozos 

 speared one of the eels, as they had be- 

 come very sluggish and were swimming 

 aimlessly about the surface, after having 

 spent so much of their galvanic force. 

 The captured specimen was about two 

 and a half feet in length and would 

 weigh about eight pounds. It had an 

 olive green color and the upper part of 

 the head was mingled with red. Two 

 rows of yellow spots are placed symmet- 

 rically along the back, each spot contain- 



ing an execretary aperture, which were 

 its galvanic batteries. It possessed an 

 enormous swimming bladder, which ac- 

 counts for its great agility and swiftness 

 in the water. The creature looks more 

 like a fish than an eel, and is very difficult 

 to capture in nets, owing to its agility 

 and a habit of burying itself in the mud 

 when frightened. The electric action of 

 the eel depends entirely upon its own will 

 and a shock can be given whether it is 

 touched by one or both hands to com- 

 plete the circuit. When wounded, their 

 power is almost destroyed and they are 

 able to give only feeble shocks. Hum- 

 boldt describes putting both feet upon a 

 newly-captured specimen, which ren- 

 dered him entirely powerless for a con- 

 siderable time. The shock was so great 

 that he suffered all day from pains in his 

 knee and back. 



Though caught easily with a harpoon, 

 the natives have such an intense dread of 

 them that it is difficult for naturalists to 

 secure specimens. The peons have an 

 idea that one can escape the shock, while 

 going through waters infested by the 

 eels, if he carries a chew of tobacco in his 

 mouth. This supposed influence of to- 

 bacco upon animal electricity is not en- 

 tirely without some scientific basis, but 

 in the form of a quid in the mouth it is, 

 of course, purely imagination. 



It is not an uncommon thing for a 

 large colony of these eels, to attack and 

 drown a horse in mid-stream, which they 

 will leisurely devour afterwards. It is 

 recorded that, during the patriot wars in 

 Venezuela, a large army marching 

 through the Llanos was seriously dis- 

 abled in crossing a bayou infested with 

 these mischievous creatures. At Damar- 

 ara, British Guiana, in the early days, 

 these eels were employed by the medical 

 fraternity, to cure paralytic troubles, just 

 as the torpedo fish was employed by the 

 ancient Greeks. 



Andrew James Miller. 



227 



