File:Our search for a wilderness; an account of two ornithological expeditions to Venezuela and to British Guiana (1910) (14750103634).jpg

Identifier: oursearchforwild00nile (find matches)
Title: Our search for a wilderness; an account of two ornithological expeditions to Venezuela and to British Guiana
Year: 1910 (1910s)
Authors: Niles, Blair Beebe, William, 1877-1962
Subjects: Natural history Birds
Publisher: New York, H. Holt and company

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as well, in literature,art, science and commerce. When our General Blankwent to New York the greatest ovation ever paid anygeneral in the world was given him. New York remainedamazed! Once only did I look amused and I have never quitsrecovered from my mortification at thus disgracing myself.Whatever the faults of the Spaniard may be, he never smileswhen he is not intended to; not even at the laughable mis-takes which we foreigners make when we are learning hitbeautiful language. I try to say in extenuation of myunseemly mirth that the Spaniard has no sense of humorand that we should very much prefer having him laugh atour mistakes an 1 letting us correct them. But all to no pur-pose. I know thai I did not behave like a well conductedVenezolam, and nothing can alter that fact. The three Venezuelans had been put in charge of thePitch Lake, -because their Sisters husbands niecehad power in the court of Castro. Among their regularduties they included singing airs from the operas, reading
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98 OUR SEARCH FOR A WILDERNESS. Don Quixote and the Caracas newspapers and playingdominos. They had provided themselves with elaborate costumes forthe role; they carried big revolvers and wore huge green andwhite cork helmets, khaki riding clothes, puttees, spurs, andcarried riding whips. There was not a horse within fiftymiles! No horse, even had there been one, could penetratethe tiny forest trails about Guanoco. In the dancing sunlight and shadows and the orchid-fragrant air it was hard to picture spilt blood and intrigue andtreachery, and harder still to prophesy the sad times that wereto come upon Guanoco. Yet while we were there the airteemed with revolutionary rumors. The Jefe civil, as thechief magistrate was called, was off day after day investiga-ting first one suspicion and then another, returning utterlyspent with the exhaustion of unresting days and nights uponthe trail. Revolutionists had attempted to land guns on thenear-by roast. There had been a skirmish and several m

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