nd arrows. With the canes also large rafts are built for
carrying cocoa and other produce down the rivers even as far as the
ports of embarkation, where the rafts themselves are disposed of to
advantage. As cattle abound, ox-hides are made use of for all sorts of
domestic purposes. Tables are covered with them, and also sofas,
chairs, bedsteads, doors, and trunks. Cut into strips, they form
lassoes, greatly in use among the cattle-keepers of the plains. They
are formed into bottles, too, for wine and chica; and with them also,
stretched on poles, hand-barrows are constructed for carrying earth and
rubbish.

We met in this region a number of horses and mules without ears, and
others with their ears lying flat on their necks. On inquiring the
reason, we found that this was occasioned by an insect like a wood-louse
getting inside them, and which is as prolific as the chigua in the toes
of human beings. These insects gradually devour the nerves of the ear,
which then falls off. To prevent this, the muleteers rub the inside of
the animal's ears with hog's lard, to which the insect has a decided
aversion.

Even this paradise was not perfect. We caught sight of several
tiger-cats, jaguars, and pumas, which come down and commit depredations
on the flocks and herds; and occasionally a huge black bear will descend
from his mountain lair and pay a visit to the hog-pen, though he runs a
risk of being shot by the watchful owner.

Having all my life lived in the high regions of New Granada, I was not
prepared for the perfectly tropical scenery I now for the first time
beheld. I remember one spot by the side of the Cauca, just before we
reached Cartago. The sepos, or rope-like vines, hung from the lofty
branches of the trees, and beautifully-coloured parasitical plants were
suspended in the air. Gaily-tinted macaws flew across the blue sky, and
other birds of the gayest plumage flitted here and there. There were
several plants of the cacti species on the borders of the stream, on the
shores of which were seen the bamboo-dwellings of the inhabitants, with
palms and other graceful trees rising above them; while long-tailed
monkeys swung to and fro on the creepers, which seemed arranged
specially for their amusement.

Soon after this we reached the town of Cartago, from which we were to
strike upwards over the Quindio mountains. The town was of considerable
size, and at one time, I have no doubt, was as flourishing as o