The Rifle Rangers | Page 3

the side of the stream I guide
my horse among the columnar stems of the noble coeva, which has
been enthusiastically but appropriately termed the "bread of life" (pan
de vida).
I gaze with wonder upon the ferns, those strange creatures of the
vegetable world, that upon the hillsides of my own far island-home
scarce reach the knee in height. Here they are arborescent--
tree-ferns--rivalling their cousins the palms in stature, and like them,
with their tall, straight stems and lobed leaves, contributing to the
picturesqueness of the landscape. I admire the beautiful mammey with

its great oval fruit and saffron pulp. I ride under the spreading limbs of
the mahogany-tree, marking its oval pinnate leaves, and the egg-like
seed capsules that hang from its branches; thinking as well of the
brilliant surfaces that lie concealed within its dark and knotty trunk.
Onward I ride, through glistening foliage and glowing flowers, that,
under the beams of a tropic sun, present the varying hues of the
rainbow.
There is no wind--scarcely a breath stirring; yet here and there the
leaves are in motion. The wings of bright birds flash before the eye,
passing from tree to tree. The gaudy tanagers, that cannot be tamed--
the noisy lories, the resplendent trogons, the toucans with their huge
clumsy bills, and the tiny bee-birds (the trochili and colibri)--all glance
through the sunny vistas.
The carpenter-bird--the great woodpecker--hangs against the decayed
trunk of some dead tree, beating the hollow bark, and now and then
sounding his clarion note, which is heard to the distance of a mile. Out
of the underwood springs the crested curassow; or, basking in the
sun-lit glades, with outspread wings gleaming with metallic lustre, may
be seen the beautiful turkey of Honduras.
The graceful roe (Gervus Mexicanus) bounds forward, startled by the
tread of the advancing horse. The caiman crawls lazily along the bank,
or hides his hideous body under the water of a sluggish stream, and the
not less hideous form of the iguana, recognised by its serrated crest, is
seen crawling up the tree-trunk or lying along the slope of a lliana. The
green lizard scuttles along the path--the basilisk looks with glistening
eyes from the dark interstices of some corrugated vine--the biting
peckotin glides among the dry leaves in pursuit of its insect prey--and
the chameleon advances sluggishly along the branches, while it
assumes their colour to deceive its victims.
Serpent forms present themselves: now and then the huge boa and the
macaurel, twining the trees. The great tiger-snake is seen with its head
raised half a yard from the surface; the cascabel, too, coiled like a cable;
and the coral-snake with his red and ringed body stretched at full length
along the ground. The two last, though inferior in size to the boas, are

more to be dreaded; and my horse springs back when he sees the one
glistening through the grass, or hears the "skir-r-r-r" of the other
threatening to strike.
Quadrupeds and quadrumana appear. The red monkey (Mono Colorado)
runs at the traveller's approach, and, flinging himself from limb to limb,
hides among the vines and Tillandsia on the high tree-tops; and the tiny
ouistiti, with its pretty, child-like countenance, peers innocently
through the leaves; while the ferocious zambo fills the woods with its
hideous, half-human voice.
The jaguar is not far distant, "laired" in the secret depths of the
impenetrable jungle. His activity is nocturnal, and his beautiful spotted
body may not be seen except by the silver light of the moon. Roused by
accident, or pressed by the dogs of the hunter, he may cross my path.
So, too, may the ocelot and the lynx; or, as I ride silently on, I may
chance to view the long, tawny form of the Mexican lion, crouched
upon a horizontal limb, and watching for the timid stag that must pass
beneath. I turn prudently aside, and leave him to his hungry vigil.
Night brings a change. The beautiful birds--the parrots, the toucans, and
the trogons--all go to rest at an early hour; and other winged creatures
take possession of the air. Some need not fear the darkness, for their
very life is light. Such are the "cocuyos", whose brilliant lamps of
green and gold and flame, gleam through the aisles of the forest, until
the air seems on fire. Such, too, are the "gusanitos", the female of
which--a wingless insect, like a glow-worm--lies along the leaf, while
her mate whirrs gaily around, shedding his most captivating gleams as
he woos her upon the wing. But, though light is the life of these
beautiful creatures, it is often the cause of their death. It guides their
enemies--the night-hawk and the "whip-poor-will", the bat, and the owl.
Of these last, the hideous vampire may be seen flapping his broad