The above patriotic effusion, very worthy of a departmental deputy of Junin, may appear to the reader to paint in too glowing terms the capabilities and importance of the Montaña on the confines of Huanuco. But, considering the extent and fertility of the territory, the navigable nature of its principal rivers, and the generally salubrious character of its climate, we believe that he who attempts to depict its various superiorities and advantages is more likely to come short of his object, than to overrate the reality which in imagination he may desire to trace. Those regions in the Montaña which are watered by the Huallaga, Ucayali, and Marañon, with various subsidiary rivers interspersed among the intervening grounds, have as yet been but inadequately explored, and therefore only a very imperfect account can be offered of their aspect and natural productions. From May to November the sun shines very powerfully in the Montaña, and consequently the soil, where it is cleared of wood,—for example, in the valley of Chinchao—becomes so parched that its surface opens in chinks; but underneath it always preserves humidity, and therefore needs no irrigation. From November to May it rains much, sometimes for six or seven days without intermission. In the rivers, alligators, tortoises, and a variety of fish are found; and these also swarm in the ponds or lakes formed during the inundations of the rainy season. The most remarkable inhabitant of these waters is the manati, sometimes called pexebuey,[9] from its supposed resemblance to the cow or ox. Like the cetaceous family to which it belongs, it suckles its young, and also feeds among the grass on the banks of the rivers. The trees of the forest are inhabited by parrots, tanagers, and a surprising variety of birds, whose exquisite plumage vies with butterflies and flowers in the beauty, delicacy, and combination of their tints. Monkeys are so numerous as to form a chief article of animal food for the Indian hunter, dexterous in the use of the bow and arrow, or of the cerbatána, a long and hollow piece of wood through which he blows a small arrow, and hits his mark, at short distances, with fatal precision. There are very many venomous serpents. Wild-boars, deer, pumas, bears, tigers, and tapirs, frequent these forests, and are objects of the chase. The vegetable productions of the Montaña, here considered as articles of commerce, or adopted for economical uses, are numerous. Among the valuable woods are cedar, and chonta or ebony, mahogany, walnut, and almond-tree. Edible herbs and roots, except the potato and yuca, are little cultivated; but coffee, plantains, and sugar-cane, of which a variety called the blue or azul is very luxuriant, are reared with some care, where nature indeed requires but little aid from the hand of man. The sugar-cane comes to maturity earlier than in other parts of Peru, and yields an annual crop at very little cost of production.