394 



inundations of Lower Egypt, and the lake of 

 Xarayes, heretofore so celebrated among geo- 

 graphers, though it exists only during some 

 months of the year. The swellings of the rivers 

 Apure, Meta, and Oroonoko, are also periodical. 

 In the rainy season the horses, that wander in 

 the savannah > and have not time to reach the 

 rising grounds of the Llanos, perish by hundreds. 

 The mares are seen, followed by their colts *, 

 swimming during a part of the day to feed upon 

 the grass, the tops of which alone wave above 

 the waters. In this state they are pursued by 

 the crocodiles, and it is by no means uncommon 

 to find the prints of the teeth of these carnivorous 

 reptiles on their thighs. The carcases of horses, 

 mules, and cows, attract an innumerable quan- 

 tity of vultures. The zamuros *\~ are the ibises, 

 or rather the aquiline vultures, of this country. 

 They have the mien of Pharaoh's chicken, and 

 render the same service to the inhabitants of the 

 Llanos as the vultuf percnopterus to the inhabi- 

 tants of Egypt. 



We cannot reflect on the effects of these inun- 

 dations, without admiring the prodigious pliabi- 

 lity of the organization of the animals, that man 



* The colts are drowned every where in large numbers, 

 because they are sooner tired of swimming, and strive to 

 follow the mares in places where these alone can touch the 

 ground. 



t Vultur aura, L. ; carrion vulture. 



