286 



INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 



hanging from the branches. The road was merely a 

 path through the forest, formed by cutting away shrubs 

 and branches. The freshness of the morning was de- 

 lightful. We had descended from the table of land 

 called the tierras templadas, and were now in the tier- 

 ras callientes ; but at nine o'clock the glare and heat of 

 the sun did not penetrate the thick shade of the woods. 

 In some places the branches of the trees, trimmed by 

 the machete of a passing muleteer, and hung with a 

 drapery of vines and creepers, bearing red and purple 

 flowers, formed for a long distance natural arches more 

 beautiful than any ever fashioned by man ; and there 

 were parrots and other birds of beautiful plumage flying 

 among the trees ; among them Guacamayas, or great 

 macaws, large, clothed in red, yellow, and green, and 

 when on the wing displaying a splendid plumage. But 

 there were also vultures and scorpions, and, running 

 across the road and up the trees, innumerable iguanas 

 or lizards, from an inch to three feet long. The road 

 was a mere track among the trees, perfectly desolate, 

 though twice we met muleteers bringing up goods from 

 the port. At the distance of twelve miles we reached 

 the hacienda of Narango, occupied by a major-domo, 

 who looked after the cattle of the proprietor, roaming 

 wild in the woods ; the house stood alone in the midst 

 of a clearing, built of poles, with a cattle-yard in front; 

 and I spied a cow with a calf, which was a sign of milk. 

 But you must catch a cow before you can milk her. 

 The major-domo went out with a lazo, and, playing 

 upon the chord of nature, caught the calf first, and then 

 the cow, and hauled her up by the horns to a post. 

 The hut had but one waccal, or drinking-shell, made 

 of a gourd, and it was so small that we sat down by the 

 cow so as not to lose much time. We had bread, choc-' 



