ting kind, that inhabit the very
highest mountains of Peru and Chili. They are nearly of the same size,
and each about as big as a rabbit, which in habits they very much
resemble. They have long tails, however, which the rabbit has not,
though the latter beats them in the length of his ears. The colour of
the chinchilla is known to everybody, since its soft, velvety fur is
highly prized by ladies as an article of dress, and may be seen in every
London fur-shop. The animal is of a beautiful marbled grey, white and
black, with pure white feet. The fur of the viscacha is not so pretty,
being of a brownish and white mixture. Its cheeks are black, with long,
bristly moustaches, like those of a cat while its head resembles that of
the hare or rabbit. Both these innocent little creatures live upon the
high declivities of the Andes, in holes and crevices among the rocks,
where they remain concealed during the day, but steal out to feed twice
in the twenty-four hours,--that is, during the evening twilight and in
the early morning. The mode of capturing them is by snares made of
horse-hair, which are set in front of their caves--just as we snare
rabbits in a warren, except that for the rabbits we make use of light
elastic wire, instead of the horse-hair.

Leon was delighted with the excursion, as the vaquero showed him how to
set the snares, and told him a great many curious stories of Puna life
and habits. Some of these stories were about the great condor vulture--
which the narrator, of course, described as a much bigger bird than it
really is, for the condor, after all, is not so much bigger than the
griffon vulture, or even the vulture of California. But you, young
reader, have already had a full account of the vultures of America--the
condor among the rest--therefore we shall not repeat what was said by
the vaquero about this interesting bird.

On the way to the place where the snares were to be set, they passed a
lagoon, or marshy lake, in which were many kinds of birds peculiar to
these high regions. Out on the open water they saw a wild goose of a
very beautiful species. It is called the "Huachua" goose. Its plumage
is of a snowy whiteness, all except the wings, which are bright green
and violet, while the beak, legs, and feet, are scarlet. They also saw
two species of ibis wading about in the marsh, and a gigantic water-hen
(_Fulica gigantea_) almost as big as a turkey. This last is of a dark
grey colour,