444 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



Electrical Eel. 



it is met with principally in Guiana and the northern parts of Brazil. The Rattlesnake ano 

 Dipsas also abound ; the sting of the latter is not always fatal, but it produces fever, accompa- 

 nied with excessive thirst, from which circumstance it derives its name. 



Among the fish kind of this country, the Gymnotus, or Electrical Eel, is the most remarka- 

 ble, as possessing the singular faculty of stunning its prey hy 

 an electrical shock. This eel abounds in the rivers and lakes 

 of the low lands of Colombia, but is most frequently found in 

 the small stagnant pools, dispersed at intervals over the im- 

 mense plains between the Apure and Orinoco. It is of con- 

 siderable size, being about 6 feet long. The electrical shock 

 is conveyed either through the hand, or any metallic conduc- 

 tor which touches the lish ; and a stroke of one of the largest 

 kind, if properly applied, would prove instant death, even to 

 one of the human species. Even the angler sometimes receives a shock from them, conveyed 

 along the wetted rod and fishing line. An old frequented road near Uruticu, has been actual- 

 ly abandoned, on account of the danger experienced from crossing a ford, where the mules 

 were, from the effect of concealed shocks, often paralyzed and drowned. 



The Rhea, or American Ostrich (Struthio Rhea), in size, is very little inferior to the com- 

 mon one ; the bill is sloped, not 

 unlike that of a goose, being flat 

 at the top and rounded at the 

 end ; the eyes are black, and the 

 lids furnished with hairs ; the 

 head is rounded, and covered 

 with downy feathers ; the neck 

 is 2 feet 8 inches long, and feath- 

 ered also ; from the tip of 1 

 wing to that of the other, extend- 

 ed, the length is 8 feet ; it can- 

 not fly, but it runs very swiftly j 

 the legs are stout and bare of 

 feathers above the knees, and fur- 

 nished with 3 toes, all placed for- 

 wards, each having a straight and 

 stout claw ; on the heel is a cal- 

 lous knob, serving in the place 

 of a back toe ; the general color 

 of the plumage is dull gray, mix- 

 ed with white, inchning to the 

 latter on the under parts ; the 

 tail is not very short and conspic- 

 uous, being entirely covered with 

 long, loose, and floating feathers, 

 having its origin from the lower 

 part of the back and rump, and 

 entirely covering it ; the bill and 

 legs are brown. 



The Condor (Vultur gryphus) 

 forms the type of a genus, a se- 

 cond species of which is the King of the Vultures {V. papa) of British writers ; in size it is 

 little, if at all, superior to the Bearded Griffin, the Lammergeyer of the Alps. The greatest 

 authentic measurement scarcely carries the extent of its wings beyond 14 feet, and it appears 

 rarely to attain so gigantic a size. M. Humboldt met with more that exceeded 9 feet, and 

 was assured by many credible inhabitants of the Province of Quito, that they had never shot 

 any that measured more than 1 1. The beak of the Condor is straight at the base, but the up- 

 per mandible becomes arched towards the point, and terminates in a strong and well-curved 

 hook. Round the lower part of the neck, both sexes, the female as well as the male, are fur- 

 nished with a broad, white rufi' of downy leathers, which forms the line of separation between 



American Ostrich. 



