If Such
Be The Case, And The Vulture Is On The Wing At A Height Of
Between Three And Four Thousand Feet, Before It Could Come
Within The Range Of Vision, Its Distance In A Straight Line
From The Beholder's Eye, Would Be Rather More Than Two
British Miles.
Might it not thus readily be overlooked?
When an animal is killed by the sportsman in a lonely valley,
may he not all the while be watched from above by the
sharp-sighted bird?
And will not the manner of its descend
proclaim throughout the district to the whole family of
carrion-feeders, that their prey is at hand?
When the condors are wheeling in a flock round and
round any spot, their flight is beautiful. Except when rising
from the ground, I do not recollect ever having seen one
of these birds flap its wings. Near Lima, I watched several
for nearly half an hour, without once taking off my eyes,
they moved in large curves, sweeping in circles, descending
and ascending without giving a single flap. As they glided
close over my head, I intently watched from an oblique position,
the outlines of the separate and great terminal feathers
of each wing; and these separate feathers, if there had been
the least vibratory movement, would have appeared as if
blended together; but they were seen distinct against the
blue sky. The head and neck were moved frequently, and
apparently with force; and the extended wings seemed to
form the fulcrum on which the movements of the neck, body,
and tail acted. If the bird wished to descend, the wings
were for a moment collapsed; and when again expanded
with an altered inclination, the momentum gained by the
rapid descent seemed to urge the bird upwards with the
even and steady movement of a paper kite. In the case of
any bird soaring, its motion must be sufficiently rapid so
that the action of the inclined surface of its body on the
atmosphere may counterbalance its gravity. The force to
keep up the momentum of a body moving in a horizontal
plane in the air (in which there is so little friction) cannot
be great, and this force is all that is wanted. The movements
of the neck and body of the condor, we must suppose,
is sufficient for this. However this may be, it is truly
wonderful and beautiful to see so great a bird, hour after hour,
without any apparent exertion, wheeling and gliding over
mountain and river.
April 29th. - From some high land we hailed with joy
the white summits of the Cordillera, as they were seen
occasionally peeping through their dusky envelope of clouds.
During the few succeeding days we continued to get on
slowly, for we found the river-course very tortuous, and
strewed with immense fragments of various ancient slate
rocks, and of granite. The plain bordering the valley has
here attained an elevation of about 1100 feet above the river,
and its character was much altered. The well-rounded pebbles
of porphyry were mingled with many immense angular
fragments of basalt and of primary rocks. The first of these
erratic boulders which I noticed, was sixty-seven miles distant
from the nearest mountain; another which I measured
was five yards square, and projected five feet above the
gravel. Its edges were so angular, and its size so great, that
I at first mistook it for a rock _in situ_, and took out my
compass to observe the direction of its cleavage. The plain here
was not quite so level as that nearer the coast, but yet in
betrayed no signs of any great violence. Under these
circumstances it is, I believe, quite impossible to explain the
transportal of these gigantic masses of rock so many miles
from their parent-source, on any theory except by that of
floating icebergs.
During the two last days we met with signs of horses, and
with several small articles which had belonged to the Indians
- such as parts of a mantle and a bunch of ostrich feathers - ,
but they appeared to have been lying long on the ground.
Between the place where the Indians had so lately crossed
the river and this neighbourhood, though so many miles
apart, the country appears to be quite unfrequented. At first,
considering the abundance of the guanacos, I was surprised
at this; but it is explained by the stony nature of the plains,
which would soon disable an unshod horse from taking part
in the chase. Nevertheless, in two places in this very central
region, I found small heaps of stones, which I do not think
could have been accidentally thrown together. They were
placed on points, projecting over the edge of the highest lava
cliff, and they resembled, but on a small scale, those near
Port Desire.
May 4th. - Captain Fitz Roy determined to take the boats
no higher. The river had a winding course, and was very
rapid; and the appearance of the country offered no temptation
to proceed any further. Everywhere we met with the
same productions, and the same dreary landscape. We were
now one hundred and forty miles distant from the Atlantic
and about sixty from the nearest arm of the Pacific. The
valley in this upper part expanded into a wide basin, bounded
on the north and south by the basaltic platforms, and fronted
by the long range of the snow-clad Cordillera. But we
viewed these grand mountains with regret, for we were
obliged to imagine their nature and productions, instead of
standing, as we had hoped, on their summits. Besides the
useless loss of time which an attempt to ascend the river and
higher would have cost us, we had already been for some
days on half allowance of bread. This, although really
enough for reasonable men, was, after a hard day's march,
rather scanty food: a light stomach and an easy digestion
are good things to talk about, but very unpleasant in practice.
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