Wanderings in South America, the north-west of the United States, and the Antilles, in the years 1812,1816,1820, and 1824. ed. by J.G. Wood, Volumen307

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Página 56 - The north wind doth blow, And we shall have snow, And what will the robin do then, poor thing? He'll sit in a barn, And keep himself warm, And hide his head under his wing, poor thing!
Página 29 - Suppose yourself in hopeless sorrow, begin with a high loud note, and pronounce, ' ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha,' each note lower and lower, till the last is scarcely heard, pausing a moment or two betwixt every note, and you will have some idea of the moaning of the largest goat-sucker in Demerara.
Página 36 - ... liberties with his tail. I let him come, hissing and open-mouthed, within two feet of my face, and then, with all the force I was master of, I drove my fist, shielded by my hat, full in his jaws. He was stunned and confounded by the blow, and ere he could recover himself, I had seized his throat with both hands, in such a position that he could not bite me ; I then allowed him to coil himself round my body, and marched, off with him as my lawful prize. He pressed me hard, but not alarmingly so.'—...
Página 32 - ... branch of a neighbouring tree ; he then proceeded towards the heart of the forest. I stood looking on, lost in amazement at his singular mode of progress. I followed him with my eye till the intervening branches closed in betwixt us ; and then I lost sight for ever of the two-toed sloth. I was going to add, that I never saw a sloth take to his heels in such earnest ; but the expression will not do, for the sloth has no heels.
Página 32 - ... fact that he can go longer without food than perhaps any other animal, except the land tortoise. His skin is of a texture that perfectly resists the bite of a dog ; his hinder parts are protected by thick and shaggy hair, while his immense tail is large enough to cover his whole body. ' The Indians have a great dread of coming in contact with the ant-bear ; and after disabling him in the chase, never think of approaching him till he be quite dead.
Página 26 - His note is loud and clear, like the sound of a bell, and may be heard at the distance of three miles. In the midst of these extensive wilds, generally on the dried top of an aged mora, almost out of gun reach, you will see the campanero. No sound or song from any of the winged inhabitants of the forest, not even the clearly pronounced ' Whip-poor- Will ' from the goatsucker, causes such astonishment as the toll of the campanero.
Página 15 - From six to nine in the morning the forests resound with the mingled cries and strains of the feathered race; after this they gradually die away. From eleven to three all nature is hushed as in a midnight silence, and scarce a note is heard, saving that of the campanero and the pi-pi-yo ; it is then that, oppressed by the solar heat, the birds retire to the thickest shade, and wait for the refreshing cool of evening.
Página 31 - ... a branch parallel to the earth. He first seizes the branch with one arm, and then with the other ; and after that, brings up both his legs, one by one, to the same branch ; so that all four are in a line : he seems perfectly at rest in this position. Now, had he a tail, he would be at a loss to know what to do with it in this position : were he to draw it up within his legs, it would interfere with them ; and were he to let it hang down, it would become the sport of the winds.
Página 36 - I now ranged the negroes behind me, and told him who stood next to me to lay hold of the lance the moment I struck the snake, and that the other must attend my movements. It now only remained to take their cutlasses from them ; for I was sure, if I did not disarm them, they would be tempted to strike the snake in time of danger, rad thus for ever spoil his skin.
Página 31 - ... upper element. He is a scarce and solitary animal, and being good food, he is never allowed to escape. He inhabits remote and gloomy forests, where snakes take up their abode, and where cruelly stinging ants and scorpions, and swamps, and innumerable thorny shrubs and bushes, obstruct the steps of civilized man.

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