26 



SIX MONTHS IN MEXICO. 



One class of the occupants will excite some 

 surprise in those unacquainted with tropical 

 regions, I mean the carrion vultures; they 

 are as tame in the streets as domestic fowls, 

 and like the dogs from the mountains at 

 Lisbon, act as the scavengers of the place, 

 very speedily clearing away whatever filth 

 may be left. Their senses of sight and smell 

 are very acute : whilst I was preserving some 

 fishes in an apartment at the top of the Po- 

 sada, the surrounding roofs were crowded by 

 anxious expectants ; and when the offal was 

 thrown out, it was, after much contention, 

 greedily consumed. They are on good terms 

 with the dogs, and the two animals may be 

 frequently seen devouring the same carcase. 

 They pass the night on the roofs of the 

 churches, where I have sometimes observed se- 

 veral hundreds, but I never saw them breeding. 



When I left England it was understood 

 that New Spain had a permanent government 



