and thighs in long stripes, and shave most of the hair from their heads, but do not flatten the forehead, as is customary with the other tribes along the Orinoco.  Columbia is a country of great natural riches, but suffered to lie for the most part waste, for the people are naturally indolent; and Captain Hall remarks, that the Columbian who can eat beef and plantains, and smoke cigars as he swings in his hammock, is possessed of almost everything his habits qualify him to enjoy, or which his ambition prompts him to attain.”

MR. BARRAUD.  “Along this coast many of the inhabitants subsist as fishermen; and the Indians of Cartago have a singular method of catching wild-fowl, which may here be noticed:—­They leave calabashes continually floating on the water that the birds may be accustomed to the sight of them.  When they wish to catch any of these wild-fowl, they go into the water with their heads covered each with a calabash, in which they make two holes for seeing through; they then swim towards the birds, throwing a handful of maize on the water from time to time, the grains of which scatter on the surface.  The birds approach to feed on the maize, and at the moment the swimmer seizes them by the feet, pulls them under water, and wrings their necks before they can make the least movement, or, by their noise, spread an alarm among the flock.  Many families are supported in this way by disposing of the birds thus caught at a low price in the markets.”

EMMA.  “The next bay is Panama, in which are the Gulf of St. Michael and Gulf of Parita.  There are several islands here, but the largest is Rey Isle.  The Gulf of Dolce runs into Costa Rica, and so does the Gulf of Nicoya:  and the little bays about here must not detain us.”

MRS. WILTON.  “San Jose is the capital of Costa Rica.  There are no fine buildings in this city, and the churches are inferior to many erected by the Spaniards in the smallest villages.  Nevertheless, the whole place exhibits a business like appearance, much more so than most cities in this lethargic part of the world.  In Costa Rica is a volcanic mountain, Cartago (now quiet), from the top of which the traveller can view the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans at one glance.  In a right line over the tops of the mountains, neither is more than twenty miles distant, and from the great height from which they are seen they appear to be almost at the traveller’s feet.  It is the only point in the world which commands a view of the two Oceans.”

GRANDY.  “I remember a touching description of a funeral in San Jose, which will not be out of place here:—­