NOCTURNAL UISTUBBAWOUS. 
163 
Parraka, and other gallinaceous birds. When the jaguars 
Pproached the skirt of the forest, our dog, which till then 
shi , never ceased barking, began to howl and seek for 
letter beneath our hammocks. Sometimes, after a long 
. e 1 nc ®> *be cry of the tiger came from the tops of the trees; 
iif ti 1011 ^ " as followed by the sharp and long whistling 
fcb ft monke y s > w bich appeared to flee from the danger 
f | a . threatened them. We heard the same noises repeated, 
. *8 bbo course of whole months, whenever the forest 
i proached the bed of the river. The security tevinced by 
* Indians inspires confidence in the minds of travellers, 
H ’° rea dily persuade themselves that the tigers are afraid of 
n ’t'fo that they do not attack a man lying in his ham- 
,'1 . These attacks are in fact extremely rare ; and, 
a long abode in South America, I remember only 
} la ' Sample, of a llanero, who was found mutilated in his 
‘ ™?ock opposite the island of Achaguas. 
tr hen the natives are interrogated on the causes of the 
|i 0o cn< t° us noise made by the beasts of the forest at certain 
fei6+ S ^ * ke u *Sht, the answer is, “ They are keeping the 
lea&t of the full moon.” 1 * 
Som °heve this agitation is most frequently the effect of 
l' llo e .conflict that has arisen in the depths of the forest. 
tar,i ■l a 8 1lars ) for instance, pursue the peccaries and the 
in‘ J 8 ’ w hich, having no defence but in their numbers, flee 
W ay 0s ® rioops, and break down the bushes they find in their 
lw. . Terri fied at this struggle, the timid and mistrustful 
l:i!v, e les . answer, from the tops of the trees, the cries of the 
anj h“ 11! 1 mals - They awaken the birds that live in society, 
n°t a v degrees the whole assembly is in commotion. It is 
lime 0 f a ^ s “ a hue moonlight, but more particularly at the 
P^ce n a storm an( l violent sowers, that this tumult takes 
Wet ^ C i D .® " hh beasts. “ May Heaven grant them a 
aoc otnn 1 ■ i aU( ^ re posc, and us also!” said the monk who 
hdigUe p 16t l 18 *° *he Itio Negro, when, sinking with 
HigfJt ’ *1® assisted in arranging our accommodations for the 
s °lit U( ] (1 Was indeed strange, to find no silence in the 
of guita ,'. V00( 1 S - I n the inns of Spain we dread the sound 
the fray 1 ?! , om bhe next apartment ; on the Orinoco, where 
e uer s resting-place is the open beach, or beneath 
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