ing parrots, parroquets and flamingoes with their
harsh discordant voices, and black and yellow turpiales,
wild turkeys, peacocks, and herons, and multitudes of
others, gorgeously feathered and sweet of song, glitter
amidst the shadowy green. Chattering monkeys leap
from tree to tree and swing upon the pendent vines ;
mammoth blue butterflies, brilliant as the rainbow,
dance in the sun and rise to match the azure of heaven
on wings a hand broad ; and humming birds, beautiful
as the butterflies, buzz and poise and dart from flower
to flower. Myriads of insects with burnished coats of
mail sparkle in the air and people the plants, while
all through the day the shrill whistle of the chicharra
— a kind of green grasshopper — is heard, which begin-
ning in a low gurgle, rises into a clear blast like the
whistle of a steam engine, and which may be distin-
guished a mile distant.
Early Spanish writers throw up their hands in as- tonishment over the wonders of this land; melons, cucumbers, and lettuce, say they, ripen in twenty da3's after they are sown. Fruits and edible roots abound in great profusion. The pineapple was considered the most delicious of all tropical productions. Wild beasts and venomous reptiles and birds of brilliant plumage fill the forests. A species of lion, smaller than those of Africa was found there, as well as fierce leopards and ravenous tigers which easily tear a man in pieces ; deer, foxes, hares, rabbits, multitudes of apes and monkeys, alligators, venomous bats, vipers, snakes, scorpions, pheasants, peacocks, parrots, and birds decked in a thousand shades of gay livery, and pour- ing forth sweet melody, all preying one upon another, each fulfilling its mission, to occupy and enjoy the bounteous gifts of nature so lavishly placed at their disposal.
It is a pity so fair a scene should be so foul; that such dark death-dealing plague-spots should be clotted in treacherous beauty ; that quick and ardent nature should flood such loveliness with vapors of d
