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Show TEPPES AND DE~ERTS. 39 involuntarily of tho capability of conforming to the most varied circumstance , with which the all-providing Author of Nature has endowed certain animals and plants. The ox and the horse, like the farinaceous cerealia, have followed man over the whole surface of the globe, from India to Northern Siberia, from the Ganges to the River Plate, from the African sea shore to the mountain plateau of Antisana, (H) which is higher than the summit of the Peak of Teneriffc. The ox wearied from the plough reposes, sheltered from the noontide sun in one country by the quivering shadow of tho northern birch, and in another by the date palm. The same species which, in the east of Europe, has to encounter the attacks of bears and wolves, is exposed in other regions to the assaults of tigers and crocodiles. But the crocodile and jaguar are not the only assailants of the South American horses; they have also a dangerous enemy among fishes. The marshy waters of Bera and Rastro (42) are filled with numberless electric eels, which can at pleasure send a powerful discharge from any part of their slimy, yellow-spotted bodies. These gymnoti are from five to six feet in length, and are powerful enough to kill the largest animals when they discharge their nervous organs at once in a favorable direction. The route from Uritucu through the Steppe was formerly obliged to be changed, because the gymnoti had increased to such numbers in a small stream that, in crossing it, many horses were drowned every year, either from the effects of the shocks they received, or from fright. All other fishes fly the vicinity of these formidable eels. Even the fisherman angling from the high bank fears lest the damp line should convey the shock to him from a distance. Thus, in these regions, electric fire breaks forth from the bosom of the waters. The capture of the gymnoti affords a picturesque spectacle. Mules and.horses are driven into a marsh which is closely surrounded by Indians, until the unwonted noise and disturbance induce the pugnacious fish to begin an attack. One sees them swimming about like serpents, and trying cunningly to glide under the bellies of the horses. Many of these are stunned by the force of the invisible blows; others, with manes standing on end, foaming, and with wild terror sparkling in their eyes, try to fly from the raging tempest. |