“Luckily my naturalistic studies enabled me to disappoint him of his premeditated tid-bit gratification, as I should have been included in his bill of fare, with a vale for the improved means of locomotion I had obtained for my people. Grateful for the presence of mind which in great emergencies baffles instinct, I abruptly changed the course of the bee northward. But the pursuing merop was not to be disappointed without an extra effort to secure his prize, for he immediately tried his chances in chase; but as he was soon distanced he gave up pursuit, still soaring above the trees to intercept those which he expected in train, but for once, at least, he was foiled in following the transmitted impressions of ancestral instinct. The curved flight of the merop, even with the advantage of superior swiftness, would have been quickly distanced by the undeviating line of the bees’ air trail when once in advance of their pursuer, unless retarded by the greed of an overload; of this fact the instinct of the bird is apprised, but hunger sets at variance all rules, and if he fails in intercepting, he often pursues. The apiaster, after his first capture, if his prize proves to be a honey bee, builds his nest beneath the line, for the purpose of surprising the homeward flight of the workers when loaded with his coveted sweets. My escape from sudden death, although easily avoided from seasonable discovery of the danger, served as a timely warning, which kept me in careful watch for unknown perils. “Only a short space of time had elapsed from the start, when in advance I discovered a beautiful and highly cultivated valley. The giga laborers were Indians who were under white taskmasters. Passing over the valley, which extended to the northwest as far as the eye could reach, I changed our course to the northeast; rising to a line above the mountains two cities opened to my view, both inclosed with walls for protection. The largest city was built in the basin of an amphitheatre of surrounding hills, with an opening, and corresponding gate of the city, looking out upon the valley we had overflown. The second city was beautifully located upon the summit of a hill, overshadowed by the spray of a large waterfall that flowed over the brink of a precipice, which extended its barrier for miles north and south, its perpendicular descent being only broken by a zigzag roadway cut in its face for communication between the two cities. The wall of circumvallation around the City of the Falls was not fully completed, for thousands of workmen were still engaged upon the portion inclosing the large plain that sloped from the summit in broad expanse to the limits of the walled stream that flowed from the basin of the falls, without the foundation of the walls, to unite again without the cinctus gates. From the circling lash in the hands of the taskmasters, it was easy to comprehend that the laborers were bondsmen, their color indicating aboriginal birth.