f
winter. The creepers very soon obliged us to cut a passage with our
_machetes_; but what was our joy upon perceiving, at the bottom of the
ravine, a stream bordered with angelica and water-cress!

Thanks to the abundance of materials, our hut was quickly constructed.
While l'Encuerado was getting dinner ready, I went to examine the
half-rotten trunk of a tree which was lying on the ground. A multitude
of insects, of an elegant shape and of a metallic-blue color, fled at my
approach; they belonged to the numerous _Carabus_ family, the
flesh-eating _Coleopterae_, which are found both in Europe and in
America.

"Why don't they fly away, instead of running or tumbling over on the
ground?" asked Lucien.

"Because they are but little used to flying, and are very quick at
walking," I answered.

"Oh papa! the one I have caught has wetted my fingers, and it feels as
if it had burned me."

"You are right; but you needn't be afraid; it will not hurt you. Many
of the _Carabus_ family, when they are caught, try to defend themselves
by throwing out a corrosive liquid; others make a report, accompanied by
smoke, which has given them their name of _bombardier_."

"What do they find to eat under the bark, in which they must lead a very
gloomy life?"

"Larvae and caterpillars; they are, therefore, more useful than
injurious."

"To what order of insects do they belong?"

"To the Coleoptera order, because they have four wings, the largest of
which, called _elytra_, are more or less hard, and justify their name[I]
by encasing the two other wings, which are membranous and folded
crosswise. The cock-chafer, you know, is one of this order."

A fresh piece of bark revealed to us two scorpions with enormous
bellies, and heads so small as to be almost imperceptible; all they did
was to stiffen out their tails, which are composed of six divisions, the
last terminating in an extremely slender barb.

"Oh, what horrid creatures!" cried Lucien, starting back; "if it wasn't
for their light color, you might take them for prawns with their heads
cut off."

"Yes, if you didn't examine them too closely. I suppose you will be very
surprised when I tell you that they are allied to the spider tribe."

"I should never have suspected it. Are they dead, then, for they do not
move?"

"Insects belonging to this order are very slow and lazy in their
movements. They are found under most kinds of bark; therefore I advise
you to take care when se