210 WANDERINGS IN 



Third tries ill giving them the Vulture ; he has ordered it to 



Journey. ^ . i - n ^ n ti • n • 



consume that which, it lert to dissolve m putrefaction, 



would infect the air, and produce a pestilence. When full 

 of food, the Vulture certainly appears an indolent bird ; he 

 will stand for hours together on the branch of a tree, or 

 on the top of a house, with his wings drooping, and after 

 rain, with them spread and elevated to catch the rays of 

 the sun. It has been remarked by naturalists, that the 

 flight of this bird is laborious. I have paid attention to 

 the Vulture in Andalusia, and to those in Guiana, Brazil, 

 and the West Indies, and conclude that they are birds of 

 long, even, and lofty flight. Indeed, whoever has 

 observed the Aura Vulture, will be satisfied that his 

 flight is wonderfully majestic, and of long continuance. 



This bird is above five feet from wing to wing extended. 

 You will see it soaring aloft in the aerial expanse on 

 pinions which never flutter, and which at the same time 

 carry him through the fields of ether with a rapidity 

 equal to that of the golden eagle. In Paramaribo the 

 laws protect the Vulture, and the Spaniards of Angustura 

 never think of molesting him. In 1808, I saw the Vul- 

 tures in that city as tame as domestic fowls ; a person 

 who had never seen a Vulture would have taken them 

 for turkies. They were very useful to the Spaniards ; 

 had it not been for them, the refuse of the slaughter- 

 houses in Angustura would have caused an intolerable 

 nuisance. 



