Ch. VIII. SOUTH AMERICA. 437 



The condor is the largeft bird in thefe parts of the 

 world ; its colour and appearance refemble thofe of 

 the galinazos, and fometimes it fears from the highefl: 

 mountains fo as to be almoft out of fight : and by its 

 being feldom feen in low places, a fubtile air feems beft 

 to agree with it ; though fome, which have been tamed 

 when young, live in the villages and plantations. 

 Like the galinazos, they are extremely carnivorous, 

 and are known frequently to feize and fly away with 

 lambs that feed on the heaths: of this I happened to 

 fee an inftance, in my way down from the fignal of 

 Lalangufo toward the plantation of Pul^ lying near 

 the bottom of thofe mountains. Obferving, on a 

 hill adjoining to that where I was, a flock of flieep 

 in great confufion, I faw one of thefe condors flying 

 upwards from it with a lamb betwixt its claws ; and, 

 when at fome height, dropped it ; then, following if:, 

 took it up, and let it fall a fecond time, when it wing- 

 ied its way out of fight, for fear of the Indians, who, at 

 the cries of the boys and barkings of the dogs, were; 

 running towards the place. 



In fomedei^rts this bird is common ; and as it preys 

 on the flocks, the Indians are not wanting in their en- 

 deavours to catch them. One of the ways is, to kill 

 a cow, or other bead, when of no further ufe^ 

 and to rub the flefh with the juice of fome potent 

 herbs, which they afterwards carry ^way : for other- 

 wife the bird, fenfible of them by natural inftind:, 

 would not touch the flefh. Further, to take off the 

 fmell, they bury the flefh till it becomes putrid, an4 

 then expofe it; when the condors, allured by the 

 fmell of the carcafe, haften and greedily feed on it, till 

 the herbs operate fo as to render them quite fenfelefs 

 and incapable of motion : the Indians feize the op- 

 portunity, and deflroy them. They likewife catch 

 them with fpringes laid near fome flefh : but fgch is 

 the force of this bird, that, with a ftroke of its wing, 

 it fometimes knocks down the man whg approaches 



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