ond the power of human sight. How marvelous,
therefore, must be the instinct which guides them unerringly to resume
our company with the earliest rays of the morning light. When, in the
arid desert, the exhausted camel sinks at last in its tracks to die,
and is finally left by the rest of the caravan, no other object is
visible in the widespread expanse, even down to the very verge of the
horizon. Scarcely is the poor creature unloaded, however, and left to
perish upon the sand, before there will appear in the far-away sky a
cloud of vultures, at first mere specks in the blue atmosphere,
swooping with lightning speed towards the dying animal, whose bones
they immediately strip with terrific voraciousness. One who has
witnessed this scene can never forget it. The vultures strain and tear
at the carcass, swallowing great pieces of hide and flesh, until at
last, when they are completely gorged, they can only rise a few feet
from the earth, to sink again exhausted upon their feet. Hours must
transpire before they can again soar any distance upon the wing, after
their gluttonous repast.

The sea in this region of the Indian Ocean teems with animal life, the
curiously shaped finny tribe often exhibiting colors as gay and vivid
as those of the birds and flowers in the low latitudes.

Some strange and puzzling phenomena of nature were occasionally
witnessed. Now and again the whole ship's company were deluded by a
mirage; we seemed to be approaching land, though it was never reached,
and at the moment when we should fairly make out its bearings, it
faded slowly into thin air. So realistic were these appearances, often
repeated, that some passengers were curious enough to consult the
captain's sailing-charts to see if certain islands or shoals were not
laid down in or near the course we were steering. The nights were the
most enjoyable, so full of a delicious sense of repose, the stillness
broken only by the great heart-beats of the huge engine which formed
our motive power. The soft and refulgent atmosphere invited one to
linger on deck rather than to seek the close confinement of a
stateroom below, and thus many hours were passed in a half-dreaming,
half-conscious condition, while reviewing the varied experiences of
the past few months of travel. Tableaux of Japanese life and scenery,
bewitchingly attractive and enjoyable adventures in tea-houses, gay
excursions in jinrikishas, together with unique temples and huge
statues o