REFLECTIONS. 249 



to a substantial repast, which was not de- 

 ficient in game, procured in tolerable plenty 

 in the neighbourhood, such as guacheraccas, 

 snipe and ducks, besides coots, which, when 

 skinned, are excellent eating. 



The scene around me was replete with 

 romantic interest, and gave great scope to 

 imagination and reflection. I was here a 

 stranger from a northern clime, seated close 

 to the equator, in a foreign country ; nearly 

 ten thousand feet above the level of the sea ; 

 in a climate requiring the assistance of a 

 blazing fire to keep me warm, instead of 

 experiencing the heat incidental to the low 

 level of the tropics ; dwelling in a small 

 thatched rancha, with a Colombian for my 

 companion, and surrounded by Indians, the 

 direct descendants of the original possessors 

 of the soil, at that moment reposing their 

 wearied limbs, after the toils of the day, in 

 the very apartment where I was quaffing 



