Near the Vuelta de Basilio, where M. de Humboldt landed to collect plants, two beautiful little monkeys were seen on the top of a tree, as black as jet, with pensile tails; and the Indians owned they had never seen any that resembled them. In fact, these wilds abound in sapajous, unknown to the naturalists of Europe, and as monkeys, especially those that live in troops, make long emigrations at certain times, it often happens that about the beginning of the rainy season, the natives discover different kinds of them about their habitations, which they had never before observed.

The BIRD which naturally claims the first attention is the emu, or

THE OSTRICH OF SOUTH AMERICA.

It is generally six feet high from the head to the feet. The legs are three feet long, and the thighs nearly as thick as those of a man. The toes, three on each foot, differ from those of the ostrich. The emu has a long neck, small head, and the bill is flattened like that of the ostrich; the wings are very short, and it has no tail; but the back and rump are covered with long feathers. It runs with such swiftness that the fleetest dogs are thrown out in the pursuit. The celebrated

CONDOR OF THE CORDILLERAS

has been compared both to the eagle and the vulture. The beak is so strong as to pierce the body of a cow; and the Indians say they will carry off a deer, a young calf, or a sheep. They seldom frequent the forests, as they require a large space for the display of their wings; but are principally observed on the elevated pinnacles of the mountains, and occasionally on the sea-shore and banks of the rivers. In the deserts of Pachomac, where they are chiefly seen, men seldom venture to travel. "These wild regions are sufficient of themselves to inspire a secret horror-broken precipices-prowling tigers--forests only rendered vocal by the hissing of serpents, and mountains rendered still more terrible by the condor, the only bird who has its residence in these desolate places." Carrion vultures are very common,

and fly in large flocks, and are of great utility in devouring snakes and other vermin; this, bird is as large as a turkey.

THE DISPERTADOR,

or awakener, is a singular bird. On hearing the approach of any creature, man or beast, they rise from the ground, and make a loud chattering, flying about in the air over the object that gives the alarm. The other birds, understanding this immediately rise, and escape the threatened danger. This bird is about the size of a middling fowl, its plumage black and white, and its head beautifully adorned with a plume of feathers. The macagua is about the size of a sparrow, and feeds upon snakes, not being afraid to attack the most venomous. Mocking birds are common in some parts, and the zumbador or humming bird, are seldom seen but often heard. The rivers abound in fish, and

THE DORADO, OR GOLD FISH,

are very plentiful and much esteemed. Some of them are six feet long, and weigh from twenty to thirty pounds each; the flesh is white and firm; the eyes are surrounded with circles of shining gold; the tail and fins are of a gold colour; and altogether display an inimitable brilliancy. The most delicious fish in these rivers is the paeku; it is thick and broad, like the turbot, its -breadth being two thirds of its length. The corvino, another fish, is only found near the mouth of the Plata, where the salt and fresh water mix together. It is as large as a middle-sized carp, and in its shape resembles a cod fish, and is very good diet, either fresh, salted or dried. The pejereyes, or king's fish, is a kind of smelt or sparling, and about the size of a mackerel. When fresh they are considered a great dainty. Of

AMPHIBIOUS ANIMALS

turtles are not often, but sometimes, met with. Seals and sea lions abound at the Isla de Lobos, off Monte Video, and alligators, or kaimans are large, numerous and destructive in almost all the rivers; but a description of the many reptiles and insects that infest different parts of South America would perhaps only interest the professed naturalist. With respect to fruits and

trees, a numerous catalogue might be given of the various indigenous and imported productions which either grow wild, or are cultivated with more or less attention; suffice it to add, that every variety of tropical and European fruits, pulse, grain and flowers, are yielded in larger or smaller quantities. To the lover of Nature in all her wonders and varieties, South America presents a field of boundless extent. Although neither the elephant nor the rhinoceros exist in these regions, bones have certainly been found in the banks of the Rio Tercero, and of the Parana, and Paraguay, and in some parts of Peru, which must either have belonged to those animals, or to some of similar or greater magnitude. Upon a more accurate inspection they will probably be found to belong to the same extinct species as those found in North America, to which the name of Mammoth has been given; but this subject is embraced by a previous article. See page 152.

THE LAND CRAB.

(Jamieson's Voyages.)

THESE animals live not only in a kind of orderly society, in the retreats in the mountains; but regularly, once a year, march down to the sea-side in a body of some millions at a time. As they multiply in great numbers, they choose the month of April or May to begin their expedition; and then sally out by thousands from the stumps of hollow trees, from the cliffs of rocks, and from the holes which they dig for themselves under the surface of the earth. At that time the whole ground is covered with this band of adventurers; there is no setting down one's foot without treading upon them. The sea is the place of their destination, and to that they direct their march with right-lined precision. No geometrician could send them to their destined station by a shorter course; they neither turn to the right nor left, whatever obstacles intervene; and even if they meet with a house they will attempt to scale the walls, to keep the unbroken tenor of their way. But though this is the general order of their rout, they, upon other occasions, are obliged to conform to the face of the country; and if

it is intersected with rivers, they are then seen to wind along the course of the stream. These are often obliged to halt for want of rain, and go into the most convenient encampment till the weather changes. The main body of the army is composed of females, which never leave the mountains till the rain is set in for some time. The night is their chief time of proceeding; but if it rains by day, they do not fail to profit by the occasion; and they continue to move forward in their slow uniform manner. When the sun shines, and is hot upon the ground, they make a universal halt, and wait till the cool of the evening. When they are terrified, they march back in a confused disorderly manner, holding up their nippers, with which they sometimes tear off a piece of the skin, and then leave the weapon where they inflicted the wound. They even try to intimidate their enemies; for they often clatter their nippers together, as if to threaten those that disturb them. But though they thus strive to be formidable to man, they are much more so to each other; for they are possessed of one most unsocial property, which is, that if any of them by accident be maimed, in such a manner as to be incapable of proceeding, the rest fall upon and devour it on the spot, and then pursue their journey. When, after a fatiguing march, and escaping a thousand dangers (for they are sometimes three months in getting to the shore), they have arrived at the destined port, they prepare to cast their spawn, which, shaking off into the water, they leave accident to bring it to maturity. At this time, shoals of hungry fish are at the shore, in expectation of this annual supply: the sea, to a great distance, seems black with them; and, about two-thirds of the crab's eggs are immediately devoured by these rapacious invaders. The eggs that escape are hatched under the sand; and, soon after, millions at a time of these little crabs are seen quitting the shore, and slowly travelling up to the mountains. This animal when possessed of its retreats in the mountains, is impregnable; for only subsisting on vegetables, it seldom ventures out, and its habitation being in the most inaccessible places, it re mains for a great part of the season in perfect security. It is only when impelled by a desire of bringing forth its

young, and when compelled to descend into the flat country, that it is taken. At that time the natives wait for its descent in eager expectation, and destroy thousands; but, disregarding their bodies, they only seek for that small spawn, which lies on each side of the stomach, within the shell, of about the thickness of a man's thumb. They are much more valuable upon their return after they have cast their shell; for being covered with a skin resembling soft parchment, almost every part, except the stomach, may be eaten. They are ta ken in the holes, by feeling for them with an instrument; they are sought after by night, when on their journey, by flambeaux. The instant the animal perceives itself attacked, it throws itself on its back, and with its claws pinches most terribly whatever it happens to fasten on. But the dextrous crab-catcher takes them by the hinder legs in such a manner, that the nippers cannot touch him, and thus he throws them into his bag. Sometimes also they are caught when they take refuge in the bottoms of holes in rocks by the sea-side, by covering the mouth of the hole, to prevent their getting out; and then, soon after, the tide coming, enters the hole, and the animal is found upon its ebbing, drowned in its retreat. These crabs are of various sizes, the largest about six inches wide; they walk sideways, like the sea crab, and are shaped like them; some are black, some yellow, some red, and others variegated with red, white, and yellow, mixed.

FIRE FLIES.

(The Same.)

THERE are many kinds of fire flies; but the lantern fly of Peru, the folgora lanternaria, is undoubtedly one of the most curious. It is of a very considerable size, measuring nearly three inches and a half from wing's end to wing's end, when expanded. The body is of a lengthened oval shape, and divided into several rings or segments; the head is nearly equal to the length of the rest of the animal, and is oval, inflated, and bent slightly upwards: the ground colour is an ele gant yellow, with a strong tinge of green in some parts,