“At night I would find a tree, and lace a rope in and out of two boughs, so as to form a kind of cradle; thus supported, I slept in peace, excepting that sometimes the vampire bat would annoy me by sucking my blood; he did it though so quietly, that I suffered no pain; and perhaps it was serviceable to me to lose a little blood; it is not improbable that these flying surgeons kept me in health by their gentle bleedings. The vampire bat does not subsist entirely by sucking the blood of living animals; it feeds also on insects and young fruits. “One morning, I remember, when I awoke, and was coming down from my cradle, I found that a rattle snake had coiled itself round the stem of the tree, and then I really thought it would be all over with me; but my presence of mind did not forsake me even in this case; for, as the reptile reared his flat, wide, terrible head, I took such good aim, and was so near to it that I blew it to atoms. Once I caught a poisonous serpent, called a _labarri_ snake, that I might look for, and examine the fangs, which contained its venom. I saw it asleep; and coming cautiously towards it, I sprang at its neck, which I grasped tightly with my hands; its mouth was thus forced open; then taking a small piece of stick, I pressed it on the fang, (the point of which communicated with the root where the bag of poison is situated,) and I distinctly saw the venom ooze out: it was of a thick substance and of a yellow color; of course I killed the creature.” [Illustration: Starboard in tree] One day, during my wanderings in South America, I came unawares upon a herd of wild horses that were grazing quietly on the borders of a forest. Well,—I had been walking a long way, and felt tired; so I thought I might as well try to catch one of these horses, and vary my mode of journeying, by riding. I had read of the manner in which the Guachos (or South American peasants) catch these animals with a lasso, or long rope, which has a loop at the end of it; and this they expertly throw over the head of the animal that they single out: their dexterity is surprising. I feared, however, to attempt such an exploit, lest I should fail, and thus frighten them all away: besides I had no rope that was long enough. So I set my wits to work, and thus I tried my scheme. I observed among the trees that skirted the plain, a pool of water: to this pool I made my way; for, thought I, they will surely come there, by and by, to drink; so I climbed up into a cinchona, or barktree.