\ML THE AUTHORS EXPEDITIONS OVER 150.000 MILES LEO E. MILLER BERKELEY LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA ANTHROPOLOGY THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Theo H. Crook Collecti Bancroft Library Univers-ty of California WITHDRAWN on IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA From a painting by Louis Agassiz Fuertes. The cock-of-the-rock at home. IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA SIX YEARS OF EXPLORATION IN COLOMBIA, VENEZUELA, BRITISH GUIANA, PERU, BOLIVIA, ARGENTINA, PARAGUAY, AND BRAZIL BY LEO E. MILLER u OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY WITH OVER 70 ILLUSTRATIONS AND A MAP NEW YORK CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 1919 COPTRIOHT, 1917. 1918, BT CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS Published October, 1918 Bancroft Iflbrsry ers.ty of California M fo 7 WITHDRAWN ' TO MY WIFE L. E. M. 824 1 1 & c. a IT 1 PREFACE I HAVE frequently wondered how many of the large number of people who visit natural-history museums have any conception of the appearance and actions, in their wilderness homes, of the creatures they see, and of the experiences of the field-naturalists who visit the little-known places of the earth in search of them. My experience as a field-naturalist consists of nearly six years of almost continuous exploration in South America, and embraces practically all of the republics of that con- tinent. The purpose of this narrative is tot follow the course of these explorations into the tropical jungles of the Amazon, Paraguay, Orinoco, and others of South America's master rivers, and to the frigid heights of the snow-crowned Andes. In these jungles one hears the hoarse cough of the jaguar and the scream of long-tailed, multicolored macaws as they fly two by two overhead; the extraordinary chorus of frogs and insects may lull the weary senses to sleep at night- fall, but the dismal roar of howling monkeys is sure to awaken one at dawn. To start at the sudden, long-drawn hiss of a boa or the lightning-like thrust of the terrible bush- master, the largest of poisonous snakes, and a creature so deadly that a man may die within ten minutes after the fatal stroke, and to shudder as the wild, insane cackle of the wood-rails shatters the brooding silence of the forest, are merely incidents of the explorer's every-day life; and so, too, are visits to deep lagoons teeming with crocodiles, can- nibal fishes, and myriads of water-fowl; lengthy sojourns in gloomy forests where orchids droop from moss-draped branches, brilliant butterflies shimmer in the subdued light, and curious animals live in the eternal shadows; and ascents vii viii PREFACE of the stupendous mountain ranges where condors soar majestically above the ruins of Incan greatness. In short, the expeditions recorded in the book lead through remote wilderness where savage peoples and little-known animals spend their lives in stealth and vigilance, all oblivious of the existence of an outer world. The explorations here recounted were undertaken by me as a member or leader of the following expeditions, all of which were undertaken under the auspices of the American Museum of Natural History, New York City: Colombia — March, 1911, to September, 1912; Colombia — November, 1914, to April, 1915; Venezuela — November, 1912, to June, 1913; British Guiana— July to October, 1913; Roosevelt- Rondon South American Expedition, mostly in Brazil but covering a part of Paraguay, with stops in Uruguay and Argentina— October, 1913, to June, 1914; Bolivia — May, 1915, to January, 1916, touching at Panama, Ecuador, and Peru en route; Argentina — January to September, 1916, The purpose of these expeditions was to collect birds and mammals; also to study the fauna in general and to make all possible observations regarding the flora, topog- raphy, climate, and human inhabitants of the regions visited. The personnel of each expedition is given in the proper place in the text. I wish to acknowledge my indebtedness to Doctor Frank M. Chapman and to Colonel Theodore Roosevelt for sug- gesting and encouraging the production of this book, also to Mrs. Alice K. Fraser for the great amount of time and work devoted to typewriting the manuscript. LEO E. MILLEK. CONTENTS PART I COLOMBIA CHAPTER PAOB I. BUENAVENTURA TO CALI AND THE CAUCA VALLEY . 3 II. POPAYAN AND THE CfiRRO MUNCHIQUE . ... 18 III. THE ANDES SOUTHWEST OF POPAYAN; CRUISE OF THE "CALDAS" . . 34 IV. CARTAGO TO THE PARAMOS OF Ruiz AND SANTA ISABEL 47 V. THE CHOCO COUNTRY ON THE WESTERN COAST OF COLOMBIA 64 VI. IN QUEST OF THE COCK-OF-THE-ROCK .... 76 VII. CROSSING THE EASTERN ANDES INTO THE CAQUETA 92 VIII. ACROSS THE ANTIOQUIAN GOLD-FIELDS TO PUERTO VALDIVIA ON THE LOWER CAUCA // . . . . 106 IX. ASCENT OF THE PARAMILLO — COLLECTING ON THE Rio Sucio 120 PART II VENEZUELA X. FIFTEEN HUNDRED MILES ON THE ORINOCO . . . 141 XI. THE MAQUIRITARES' LAND AND THE UPPER ORINOCO 162 XII. LIFE IN THE GUIANA WILDS 180 XIII. FIRST WEEKS WITH THE ROOSEVELT SOUTH AMERICAN EXPEDITION 194 ix X CONTENTS CHAPTER »AOB XIV. HUNTING EXCURSIONS ALONG THE UPPER PARAGUAY 208 XV. A FORTY DAYS' RIDE THROUGH WILDEST MATTO GROSSO . . •. • ' V ^ 223 XVI. THE DESCENT OF THE Rio GY-PARANA .... 240 XVII. DOWN THE COAST OF PERU— LAKE TITICACA AND LA PAZ — THROUGH THE ANCIENT INCAN EMPIRE TO COCHABAMBA 265 XVIII. CROSSING THE BOLIVIAN HIGHLANDS FROM COCHA- BAMBA TO THE CHAPARE 279 XIX. AMONG THE YURACAR£ INDIANS OF THE Rio CHIMORE 303 XX. THE CACTUS FORESTS OF CENTRAL BOLIVIA — COCHA- BAMBA TO SAMAIPATA 321 XXI. A MULE-BACK JOURNEY ON THE SANTA CRUZ TRAIL TO SUCRE 336 XXII. SUCRE, THE Rio PILCOMAYO, AND THE UPLAND DESERT TO THE ARGENTINE FRONTIER 349 XXIII. BIRD-NESTING IN NORTHWESTERN ARGENTINA . . 365 XXIV. THE CHACO — SUGAR PLANTATIONS AND RICE MARSHES — A SEARCH FOR A RARE BIRD 378 XXV. VIZCACHA-HUNTING IN AN ARGENTINE DESERT— GIANT SNAKES 396 XXVI. THE LAKE REGION OF WESTERN ARGENTINA— THE HEART OF THE WINE COUNTRY 412 INDEX 425 ILLUSTRATIONS The cock-of-the-rock at home Frontispiece FACING PAGE Buenaventura -v Cattle grazing in the Cauca Valley 14 Port of Guanchito 14 Cerro Munchique ........... 30 A deserted Indian hut on the Cerro Munchique 30 The CcMas fast on a sand-bar hi the Cauca River ....... 44 Bamboo rafts on the Cauca River . , , , , . . «,*.•* * • 44 The town of Salento . -. . . . . . • •+, .•;& • «.- . ••'«, ' •* ... ,-,%. 50 The lake on the paramo of Santa Isabel 58 Snow on the paramo of Ruiz . : . . ' . . . .. .. . ., . ^ . . . 58 Native of Juntas de Tamana with trail-haunting blacksnake .... 68 The author with natives of Juntas de Tamana 68 Novita, the largest town in the Choco . ,, . . . . .... 72 Threshing wheat • «. * •-*- <'i *.':*;• t. , «, • •. ^8 Indian hut in the Valle de las Papas 78 The village of Santa Barbara 86 A corner of San Augustin 86 A mountain stream, such as the Rio Naranjos, where the cock-of-the- rock spends its existence 88 Tree-fern, typical of the Andean forests 98 The high, flat-topped panorama of the Andes 102 The town of Valdivia 108 xi xii ILLUSTRATIONS FACING PAGE The Cauca River at Puerto Valdivia 108 A naturalists' camp in the forest . . 116 A native hunter with a red howling monkey 116 The porters en route to the Paramillo 124 Cuiia Indians at Dabeiba " 124 Our camp on the Paramillo : 126 Dabeiba on the Rio Sucio , 130 The village of Maipures 156 The Hilo de Oro at the end of the voyage 156 A rubber-camp on the Upper Orinoco 170 Unloading for the portage, Raudal del Muerto 172 The Cerro Duida 172 Wismar on the Demerara River 182 Tumatumari on the Potaro River 182 Camp on the Rio Negro in the Gran Chaco of the Paraguay .... 200 Selling oranges in the market at Asuncion 200 A street in Buenos Aires 204 Porto Gallileo on the Rio Pilcomayo 204 Fort of Coimbra on the Rio Paraguay 206 S. S. Nyoac on the Paraguay River 214 Corumbd 214 Colonel Roosevelt in the Brazilian chapadao 226 A camp in the chapadSo .... . 226 The Falls of Salto Bello of the Rio Papagayo ...... . .230 Camp on the Rio da Duvida . . . . '. "'-. "".* ''. ". . ... 242 A rubber-camp on the Rio Gy-Parana .... 7 254 A rubber-camp on the Lower Gy-Parand V '. 254 ILLUSTRATIONS xiii FACING FAOB Country around Arequipa, showing Mount Misti 268 The expedition en route via hand-car, Changollo to Arce 268 An Indian hut in the Yungas of Cochabamba . 288 The expedition in the Cuchicancha Pass 292 Vampire-bat from Todos Santos . , 300 Tamandua ant-eater 300 Yuracares chewing yucca-roots for making casire 306 Yuracare women and children 306 The great Puya, a species of pine growing in the Bolivian Andes at an elevation of 13,000 feet 324 The plaza at Mizque 326 Vermejo on the Santa Cruz trail 338 Quechua habitation on the upland desert 346 Rio Cachimayo at Peras Pampa, Sucre 352 Bridge across the Rio Pilcomayo 352 Quechua Indians wearing the costume used during the reign of the Incas, five hundred years ago 358 Ploughing at Rosario de Lerma 374 Tilcara, showing the stream and valley and the snow-capped Andes in the distance 374 The lagoon in the Chaco, Embarcacion 380 Paramo above Tafi 380 The great crested tinamou 402 A burrowing owl ...„., ... , . . 402 Skinning a boa * . . 404 Boa sunning itself at the entrance to a vizcacha burrow . . ; . . 404 Oculto, or Tucotuco, a rare rodent with mole-like habits 406 Gray fox, abundant in the semiarid regions ......... 406 xiv ILLUSTRATIONS FACING PAGE Long-tailed vizcacha of the high Andes 410 Short-tailed vizcacha of the Argentine lowlands 410 Rice-fields at the foot of the Andes Mountains, Sarmientos .... 416 MAPS Sketch map of the south-central part of the Amazon drainage system . 241 Routes taken by the author in his South American explorations At end of the volume PART I COLOMBIA CHAPTER I BUENAVENTURA TO CALI, AND THE CAUCA VALLEY THE voyage from Panama to Buenaventura, the more northern of Colombia's two Pacific seaports, requires but two days' time. Owing to numerous reefs and rocks that render navigation perilous along the coast of northwestern South America, it is necessary for ships to sail far out into the Pacific. Banks of low-hanging fog, encountered at frequent intervals, add further to the skipper's difficul- ties. The captain of the Quito followed a simple plan for find- ing port. It was his custom to steam in a southerly direc- tion about forty-eight hours, and then head toward the coast. Once in sight of land, there was little difficulty in getting his bearings, although it frequently meant steam- ing back a distance of ten or fifteen miles. At noon on the second day out we entered what might be called the belt of perpetual rain, and for three hours water fell in such torrents that it seemed a solid wall. When the deluge had ceased and the last wisps of blue-gray vapor melted into oblivion, the shore-line, dim and distant, could be discerned. The faint outline of a rugged coast became gradually sharper; jagged rocks, frowning precipices, and dark, gloomy forests slowly unfolded themselves to the vision. The" magnitude of it all was most impressive. Then followed a ten-mile sail through the placid water of Buenaventura Bay. Numberless brown pelicans fished in the shallows while others, in long files, alternately sailed and flapped through the air on their way to some isolated nook among the mangroves. The dark, hazy shore-line at the head of the bay gradually dissolved itself into lines 4 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA of graceful cocoanut-palms and low, thatched huts flanked by a seemingly endless mantle of green. Huge dugout canoes made from logs of great size swarmed out from the water's edge, their dusky paddlers vying with one another in their efforts to be the first to reach the steamer; then the men quarrelled violently among themselves, and also shouted to the persons on the deck, soliciting luggage to take ashore. Before long, trunks were being lowered into some of these wallowing craft while passengers embarked in others, and the paddle of a mile to shore began. Unfortunately the tide was ebbing, leaving extensive mud-flats exposed along the water-front. As there was no pier it was necessary for the canoemen to carry on their backs the human freight as well as trunks and other luggage through a wide belt of mud and sand. Our party consisted of Doctor Frank M. Chapman, cu- rator of birds, of the American Museum, Louis Agassiz Fuertes, and myself. At Buenaventura we were joined by William Richardson, who had spent many years as a field- naturalist in Central and South American countries. We were starting on a zoological expedition — a quest for birds and mammals, and also to study the country, life-zones, problems of distribution and many other things inseparable from a biological survey such as we proposed to make. The original plans of the expedition called for a rather short stay; but for me, at least, the experience was destined to cover a period of eighteen months and take me to some of the most remote and wildest portions of the country. Viewed from the water, Buenaventura appears most un- attractive. The row of squat, makeshift huts, built on tall poles, extends far beyond the line of high water; as the tide rises the water swishes and gurgles underneath the houses and the occupants travel about in canoes. Farther from the shore the ground is high and the town is more interest- ing, though not inviting. The place bears an unenviable reputation. On account of the superabundant rainfall and hot climate, fevers and other life-sapping diseases are rife BUENAVENTURA TO CALI 5 and few foreigners can withstand the ordeal of a lengthy residence there. This notoriety had reached our ears long before we embarked on the journey; it was, therefore, with a feeling of relief that we learned of the departure of a train for the interior early the next morning. For a distance of twenty-five miles, after leaving Buena- ventura, nothing was visible but swamps filled with man- grove thickets. Then the foot-hills of the Andes appeared, the steady climb began and the character of the vegetation changed. Instead of the low, matted growth of shrubbery, there grew trees and palms of goodly size. Stops for wood and water were made frequently; the train usually halted near a collection of native huts, the occupants of which earned their living chopping wood for the railroad com- pany. Each habitation was surrounded by a small clearing in which broad-leaved banana, plantain, and papaya trees grew in wonderful luxuriance. Jungles of tall bamboo bor- dered the plantations and grew beside the track. Plan- tains and bamboo seem to be the staples of the people. The former they eat, and of the latter their houses are built. The flimsy structures were ramshackle affairs with ragged, thatched roofs, and fitted well into their surroundings. Fre- quently we had a fleeting view of the almost nude occupants of the huts, lolling about in the darkened interior. The first town of any importance was Cisneros. We were delayed an hour at this station because the train from the opposite direction had met with an accident that blocked the track, and, as the people were celebrating one of their numerous fiestas, it was impossible to get men to clear away the wreckage without great loss of time. The railroad continued up the slope, following the wind- ing canyon of the Dagua. It has been said that the cost of constructing it was a million dollars a mile. Tunnels, deep cuts through spurs and ridges, trestles and high bridges followed one another in quick succession. The perpendicular sides of the excavations were covered with long moss and drooping ferns that waved plume-like overhead. Mountain 6 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA torrents poured their crystal streams from openings in over- grown crevices and were dashed to spray on the rocks be- low. Hundreds of feet lower down, the Dagua raged within the narrow confines of a rock-bound gorge. Thick jungles, dark and impenetrable, cover the slopes. We were conscious of the perfume of flowers concealed amid the forbidding masses of deepest green. An iguana, fully four feet long and of a bright green color dashed across the track a few feet ahead of the puffing engine; a moment later and the beautiful creature would have been crushed to death. Over- head, flocks of parrots screamed defiance at the lowly, wheezing thing that laboriously made its way farther and farther into their time-hallowed abode; and toucans, clat- tering their long bills and yelping, performed queer acro- batics in a lofty tree-top. A violent lunge recalled us to earth; the train had stopped for more fuel so the passengers got out and amused themselves touching the sensitive-plants that grew abundantly along the road-bed. Not long afterward we emerged suddenly into a peculiar region. There was an abrupt end to the gloomy forest, and in its place grew straggling clumps of giant cacti. The dividing-line is as sharp as if cut with a knife. The fauna also is different; instead of brilliantly hued tanagers, tro- gons and toucans, there are wrens, finches, and other birds of sombre color. This desert-like belt continued for a dis- tance of some miles, and then forest again appeared, on the top only of the ridges, at first, but gradually extending downward until the slopes were entirely covered. Caldas, the terminus of the railroad, was reached at noon and, after a good deal of bargaining, the proprietor of the Hotel del Valle provided us with a room containing four bare, wooden beds; but fortunately our blanket-bags had come with us, so we rather rejoiced that no bedding was provided by the innkeeper. The buildings comprising the town are scattered here and there in small groups, making it difficult to get a comprehensive idea of their number. The first impression suggests that there is a population of BUENAVENTURA TO CALI 7 a few hundred only, when it is really several thousand. At this time (April, 1911) Caldas was an attractive spot, as its elevation is two thousand feet, and the country imme- diately surrounding it is open; but in recent years sufferers from malaria, yellow fever, and other diseases have gone there from Buenaventura to recuperate, and have left the several maladies firmly implanted in the entire region, mak- ing it most unhealthful. A small tent-show was playing at Caldas, and as this was a most unusual occurrence it created a certain amount of furor among the people. It rained heavily the greater part of the afternoon, but darkness had scarcely crept up from the lowland when troops of people, each one carrying a chair or box to sit on, came tramping from all directions, their bare feet making swishing and gurgling sounds as they plodded through mud and water. The elite — even Caldas boasts of a high-class social set — arrived later and stood during practically the entire performance in order to be the better seen and admired by the "common" people. So far, Richardson had acted as cashier for the party, and it was rather startling to see entries in his journal such as "lunch, $200.00; railroad-tickets, $2,000.00; oranges, $15.00." The Colombian dollar, or pesoy had depreciated in value until it was worth exactly one cent in United States currency. Practically all the money in circulation was in bills of from one to one hundred pesos, the former predom- inating. If one had only a hundred one-peso notes, equal- ling an American dollar, they made quite a bulky parcel; for this reason all the men carry large leather pocketbooks at- tached to a strap slung across the shoulder, and .quite in- cidentally these containers also hold cigars, matches, and various other little articles dear to the hearts of their owners. Richardson had arranged for arrieros and a caravan of pack-mules to meet us early the following morning, but it was almost noon when they appeared. We were in the land of manana, but had not as yet learned to curb our im- 8 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA patience at the hundred and one exasperating things that were constantly cropping out to impede our progress or upset our plans. One of the first things the visitor to Latin- America must learn is to take things good-naturedly and as easily as possible. If one employs servants regularly it is possible to correct many of their customs that are so an- noying to the North American; but the countries, as a whole, cannot be reformed by any one in a single day, and the person who takes things too seriously either lacks a sense of humor or conveys the impression that he is very foolish. Some of the mules were saddled for riding, while others were equipped with thick pack-saddles made of burlap stuffed with straw. Bags and trunks were brought out, sorted as to weight, and then loaded on the pack-mules, being held in place one on either side of the animal with cowhide thongs. Each mule carried about two hundred and fifty pounds. While adjusting cargoes, the arrieros, or drivers, place their poncho over the mules' eyes; otherwise they would not stand for the rather rough treatment to which they are subjected. The road was fairly wide and good. It followed along the gorge of the Dagua, now a small stream. Within a few hours the village of El Carmen was reached arid we dis- mounted to await the pack-train and incidentally to have lunch at the posada, and to see a cock-fight, for the fiesta of yesterday was still in progress in the rural districts. We climbed slowly and steadily upward. At fifty-five hundred feet the zone of clouds and vapor appeared; trees, rocks, in fact everything seemed unreal and ghost-like, enveloped in the thick, blue-gray haze that penetrated clothing and sent a piercing chill to the very marrow. Dark- ness was fast approaching, so we stopped at a wayside hut called El Tigre for the night. The house was damp and cold, as might have been expected, and its occupants were practically without food. A profusion of vegetation grew in the yard; there were roses, geraniums, hibiscus, and BUENAVENTURA TO CALI 9 hydrangeas growing everywhere; monstrous ferns with lace-like leaves formed a thick, velvety background for the brilliant, many-colored blooms. In the garden, black- berries, strawberries, cabbages, coffee, and an edible tuber called aracacha grew; there were also a few stunted banana and plantain stalks, but on account of the cold climate it requires two years for them to mature, and the fruit is small and of poor quality. Thanks to an early start on the following morning, we reached the summit of the range, or the Cordillera Occi- dental, as it is better known, by ten o'clock. The whole slopes are covered with the densest of subtropical jungles. A steady downpour had fallen the entire morning, against which ponchos availed little. A halt of two hours was there- fore called at a rather cheerless inn just beyond the pass, named San Antonio; the senora who conducted the estab- lishment was glad to see us, for Richardson had apprised her of our coming; she soon had plantains roasting on the , embers, and her shop provided sardines for lunch. The descent of the eastern slope now began. The trail narrowed down and was rough; in places the decline was 45°. On both sides rose the living walls of impenetrable, gloomy jungle. One thing could not fail to impress us, and that was the great, breathless silence of the forest. Where we had expected to find multitudes of gorgeous birds, a babble of animal voices and brilliant flowers, there was only the sombre, silent mass of unvaried green. Within two hours we had left the regions of cold and penetrating mists. For the first time we beheld the beautiful valley of the Cauca far below, spread before our vision like a velvet carpet of softest green that reached the very foot-hills of the Central Range not less than forty miles distant. The steady, rhythmic skuff of bare or sandal-shod feet, mingled with the louder tramp of mules and discordant cries of the arrieros, now reached our ears at frequent inter- vals, to be followed shortly by the appearance of pack-trains heavily laden with coffee and hides as they swung around 10 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA a bend in the narrow mountain trail, and we knew that the end of our journey, at least for the present, was near. Downward we rode, always downward, with the valley still several hundreds of feet below, and the mountains towering thousands of feet in the rear. Here and there a bit of humanity flashed into view near one of the lonely haciendas snugly nestling in some seem- ingly inaccessible niche in the mountainside. To our right, a solitary monastery perched upon a barren peak, with its separate narrow trail leading from the dizzy height and winding its tortuous course along the jutting precipice un- til lost in the filmy haze. Ahead, a black mass that dissolved itself into one im- mense flock of vultures appeared on the landscape. This was their season of harvest and the quarrelsome scavengers were reluctant to leave their repast — an unfortunate burro that had been abandoned on the trail. With a feeling of repugnance, we spurred our horses on to greater effort, and at last our anticipations were realized as, rounding an abrupt point, we beheld Cali directly at our feet. A half -hour later we had clattered through a green arch formed by four magnificent ceibas that stood like sen- tinels guarding the approach to the city, crossed the bridge spanning the Rio Cali, wended our way up the stone-paved streets, and drawn rein in the patio of the Hotel Central. Cali is a typical Colombian city. At first the uniformly low, whitewashed buildings with barred windows, thick adobe walls, and pretty patios, or inner courts, thrust them- selves forcibly upon the attention, on account of the sharp contrast to the style of architecture to which the American is accustomed; but later one accepts them as a matter of course quite in harmony with the monotonous and easy- going life of most Latin-American cities. There is nothing particularly modern about Cali; but the city is interesting, perhaps for that very reason. I saw not a single chimney, nor was there a pane of glass any- where except in the huge cathedral facing the verdure-laden BUENAVENTURA TO CALI 11 plaza. Churches are numerous, of massive construction, and built in Spanish style. The bells, of which there are many, are suspended in open niches in the towers, covered with verdigris, and keep up an almost continuous clanging. The streets are narrow and crooked. A stream of water flows through the centre of some of them; this serves both purposes — as a kind of sewage system and also to supply water for various needs, although there is a system of piping in some of the houses, and fountains on a few street corners supply drinking-water to those who care to fetch it. I have seen, on several occasions, children attempting to bathe in the little stream; a short distance below, ducks were swimming in the water; then a person stepping from one of the doorways threw a pailful of garbage into it; finally, some one stepped out and unconcernedly dipped up a pitcherful of the water and took it indoors. It is quite unusual to see any of the women of the upper class on the streets during the daytime, except on special occasions, or while they are on their way to and from church. They remain secluded in their homes, safe from the gaze of vulgar eyes. Embroidering and music are the chief diver- sions, and a large number of them are really very accom- plished in both lines. It was remarkable to notice how many pianos there were, when we consider that each instrument had to be brought over the Andes slung on poles and carried by mules. Practically all work is performed by people of the lower class. They toil day and night and, in most instances, for very little remuneration. One may see them engaged in various occupations at all hours of the day; but during the early hours of the morning, long files wend their way down the streets with the public market-place as the point of focus. The huge brick structure is a busy place. It re- minds one of an ants' nest with its incoming and departing swarms. Inside the building are rows and heaps of fruit, vegetables, meat, bread, and many other articles. A motley crowd of women fills the place to overflowing; each carries 12 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA a basket? or wooden tray, on her head into which the pur- chases are placed, when, after an indefinite amount of bar- gaining and haggling, they have been consummated. In- variably each receptacle contains a curious collection; a number of green and ripe plantains; a slice of pumpkin; a pepper, garlic, and a tomato; a chunk of meat, and a papaya. Perhaps there may also be a bunch of yerba buena and some achiote seeds with which to give a spicy flavor and yellow color to the soup; but these condiments are, unfortunately, used in such quantities that a goodly supply is usually kept on hand even when there is no other food in the house. The nights are delightful in Cali. A refreshing wind springs up soon after sundown; the military band plays in the plaza, lights twinkle and the breeze sighs through the royal palms and orange-trees scattering broadcast snowy petals and heavy perfume. Only the genie are admitted into this little fairy-land. Gayly dressed and highly-rouged women, clothed in the extreme of fashion, parade along the winding walks; but it is considered in bad taste for them to appear without an escort. The poorer class, ragged and barefooted, gathers outside the iron fence and peers through the bars; the children run and play noisily on the neighboring streets. At last the bells in the cathedral boom the hour of ten; the band plays the national anthem, when every one stands, the men with uncovered heads. Then the crowd disperses quietly and orderly. Soon the town is wrapped in slumber with only the sighing wind and the occasional shrill blasts of police whistles to disturb the drowsy solitude. It was said, that Cali had a population of forty thou- sand, but that figure doubtless included the populace of the suburban districts for a considerable distance. The city is bound to grow, however, on account of its favorable location in the fertile Cauca Valley, which is one of the garden spots of all South America. The Cauca River is about four miles distant from the BUENAVENTURA TO CALI 13 city, and the settlement of Guanchito is located on the river-bank. A little toy-like train makes frequent trips back and forth between the two points because the puerto, as Guanchito is commonly called, is of real importance. Steamers and launches from Cartago take on and discharge passengers and freight, and many rafts laden with green plantains and produce arrive daily. The village presents a scene of great activity during the morning hours; clusters of ragged little booths, like mushrooms, have sprung up during the hours of darkness where women, squatting under the shambling shelters, cook sancocho over charcoal braziers; files of peons hurry back and forth as they transfer the car- goes from rafts and canoes to the waiting freight-cars; and there is a great deal of good-natured raillery between the slovenly mozos who liberally patronize the eating and drink- ing places, and the stand-keepers who feign an air of coyness withal. Gradually, as the sun mounts higher the crowds grow thinner. Their morning's work over, the people either depart via the waterway they had coirie, or take the train back to Cali. An interesting ferry service is maintained at Guanchito. A stout steel cable has been strung across the river, and to a pulley running along it, two chains are fastened, their other ends being tied to either end of the boat. The latter is a huge, flat-bottomed affair, capable of holding many people and horses. Before starting across, the up-stream chain is shortened, so that the side of the boat presents a sharp angle to the current, and the craft is speedily pushed to the other side of the river. Extensive marshes border the Cauca, a short distance above Guanchito. During the rainy season the water spreads over many miles of land, and is very deep; but in the dry season it recedes rapidly leaving a number of shallow and well-defined marshes and ponds. Wildfowl gathers in great numbers to spend the hottest months in these friendly havens. There were ducks of a number of species, includ- ing tree-ducks that make a shrill, whistling noise as they 14 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA speed by and then drop on the ground near the marsh, to stand motionless and on the alert for possible danger be- fore plunging into the water. Great gray herons croaked and waded sedately among the rushes, spearing frogs and fish as they went along. The horned screamer — a bird the size of a large turkey — is also an inhabitant of the marshes. It has rather long, but thick legs, that enable it to wade into fairly deep water, but also swims to floating islands of succulent water-plants which form a part of its food. The bird's color is slaty black, the back being glossy; the belly is white; a horn, or caruncle, several inches long grows from the forehead and curves forward. The feathers are soft, and the tissues for half an inch under the skin are filled with air spaces; the natives say that this protects the bird from the bites of poisonous snakes, and it is not impossible that this pneumatic cushion could serve such a purpose, although it is hardly probable. The most remarkable thing about the bird, however, is its voice. Usually a pair sing together; they walk slowly back and forth, throw the head over the back, and emit powerful hoots, booms, and long- drawn, clear, ringing notes that, while harmonious and not unmusical, are nevertheless touched with pathos and con- jure in one's imagination a picture of some trammelled spirit of the wild yearning for redemption. Numerous small birds, mainly tyrant-flycatchers inhabit the thorny thickets growing out of the water, and build their huge grass nests within the safe barrier of thorn-armed branches. The surrounding country of the Cauca Valley is fertile and productive of most of the things essential to the sup- port of a contented and thriving populace. A great deal of the land is used for grazing cattle and horses, but it will soon become too valuable to use for this purpose on ac- count of the limited amount available. A far greater revenue can be derived through cultivation. We paid a visit to a large sugar estate called La Manuelita, near the town of Palmira. La Manuelita is a little world of its own; it comprises fifteen hundred acres of the most Cattle grazing in the Cauca Valley. Port of Guanchito. BUENAVENTURA TO CALI 15 fertile and attractive part of the valley. The ranch-house, occupying a site in the centre, is a rambling two-story build- ing of generous proportions and attractive appearance. The gardens, surrounding it with a riot of color, give it a quaint, old-fashioned charm; there has been no studied effect, no precision in the arrangement of plants Or flowers; oleanders, roses, hibiscus, geraniums, and hollyhocks grow in matted profusion. Clumps of magnolias, chinaberries and oranges conceal the high stone fence. Immediately without the wall surrounding the house is the peon village consisting of some fifty-odd houses of uniform size and ap- pearance, and the sugar-factory. The peons are of Spanish, Indian, and negro blood, or of a mixture of any two or all three, and require constant supervision to secure the best results. All the land is under cultivation, mostly in cane, for the production of which it is well suited. The soil is a rich al- luvial loam. Some of the cane-fields at La Manuelita had not been replanted in ninety years; others on the estate of William Barney, former United States consul in Cali, had been producing one hundred and twenty years, and were still yielding eighty tons or more of cane to the acre. It was said, and all indications substantiate the report, that the entire region was at one time covered by a great lake ! This accounts for the continued productiveness of the soil. Cane grows to a height of fifteen feet, there being a dozen or more stalks to each hill. It requires eight to ten months to mature. The fields are divided into sections and cut at different intervals so as to provide a succession of ripe cane for the mill, and furnish steady employment for the several hundred peons. The factory is modern in nearly every respect; its ca- pacity is from five to eight tons of sugar daily, of good quality. It required a number of years to bring the heavy machinery over the mountains from Buenaventura. The more cumbersome pieces were slowly drawn up the steep slopes with the aid of block and tackle and oxen; the ap- 16 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA paratus was so arranged that the animals could walk down- hill as they pulled, adding greatly to their efficiency. It is necessary to carry a complete stock of duplicate machinery to use in case of an accident; otherwise the factory might have to shut down a year or two while some badly needed article was being secured from abroad. Nearly all machinery is ordered from London, as it can be had more quickly and better packed than from the United States. I heard this same statement in various parts of South America. Although manufacturers were beginning to realize that in order to do business successfully in South America, they must first make a study of general condi- tions, they have not done so in the past, with the natural result that the bulk of Latin- American commerce has been done with the Old World. It is frequently necessary to ship merchandise on mule-back, or in small river-craft a distance of many days after its arrival at a port and before it reaches its destination; it is exposed to varying weather conditions — great heat and heavy rains; the treatment it receives is of necessity very rough. All this means that packing must have been done with great care and in a special manner. The fact that we have not adopted the metric system, and that there have been practically no American banks to discount bills, have been further drawbacks to the establishment of extensive trade relations between the two peoples. Perhaps the most attractive thing of all about the Cauca Valley is its climate. A record of the temperature kept at La Manuelita during a period of ten years shows the greatest uniformity. The difference in the average weekly tem- perature is only 6° the year around. A belt of tall bamboo entirely surrounds the hacienda; the giant stalks of steel-like toughness are armed with long, murderous thorns and form an interlocking mass that is absolutely impenetrable to man. Contrary to our expecta- tions, birds were not plentiful in this land of tangled ver- dure. A few nighthawks dozed on the ground in the deep BUENAVENTURA TO CALI 17 shade, and an occasional yellow-headed caracara (Milvago chimachima) that, perched on the tip of a swaying stalk, gave vent to its feelings in a succession of shrill, long- drawn screams. Farther away, where clumps of woods grew, birds were more plentiful. There were many red-fronted parrakeets nesting in holes in dead stubs. Red-headed woodpeckers (Chrysoptilus p. striatigularis) in numbers hammered on hollow trunks; the strokes are so rapid that the sound re- sembles the roll of a snare-drum. Pigmy woodpeckers (Picumnus) no larger than a good-sized humming-bird, worked industriously on the smaller branches. They are obscurely marked mites of feathered energy, of a dark olive color with a few red dots on top of the blackish head. When the nesting season arrives a tiny cavity is excavated in some partially decayed limb in which two round, white eggs are deposited. These birds are nearly always found in pairs, and when the young leave the nest they accompany the parents, forming small family parties that forage for minute insects among the crevices of rough bark and in decayed wood. Occasionally it seemed as if we were not so far from our northern home after all; for along the edges of the numerous marshes ran an old acquaintance — the spotted sandpiper. In the reeds yellow-headed blackbirds chirped and fluttered; but they are slightly smaller than the North American birds and have even been placed in a different genus (Agelaius). By walking quietly it was also possible to surprise a deer that had been tempted far from cover by the prospects of a luscious breakfast in some little plantation. These animals are so greatly persecuted that they make off at the first sign of danger. CHAPTER II POPAYAN AND THE CERRO MUNCHIQUE AFTER spending a few weeks in and about the Cauca Valley, Richardson and I started southward, while the two other members of the expedition began the homeward journey. I had looked forward very eagerly to my visit to southern Colombia because I knew that the country, towns, and even the people were different from those we had seen heretofore. But, above all, because ahead of us lay a vast region little known zoologically, and we hoped to penetrate into at least the mountain fastnesses west of Popaydn in our insatiable search for the rare and interest- ing wild life that haunted that remote wilderness. We left Cali at noon, May 13, well provided with riding and pack animals, and half-breed arrieros, and started on the well-beaten trail that leads toward the south. At first there was no appreciable change in the valley, but by degrees the stretches of absolutely level-appearing land increased in size; instead of extensive cultivated areas there were pastures of large size, covered with a luxuriant growth of grass. Thousands of head of cattle were sprin- kled over the velvety turf. We rode an hour through one of these ranches just before reaching the river Jamundi. This estate is the property of one Angel Mario Borreo, who is reported to be one of the most influential men in the De- partment of Cauca, and is only one of his "sixteen similar holdings. The Jamundi is not over one hundred and fifty feet wide at the point of crossing, and is spanned by a steel and brick bridge; dense jungles of bamboo line both banks. Just be- yond lies the little town bearing the same name. 18 POPAYAN AND THE CERRO MUNCHIQUE 19 A tent-show had been billed to appear here at some time within the near future, and the arrival of our pack-train was mistaken for that eagerly awaited event. The news spread rapidly and before long the populace had turned out en masse in the hope of getting a glimpse at the wonders our trunks and duffel-bags were supposed to contain. Not until we had taken refuge in the little posada or inn could they be convinced of their error and induced to return to their homes; but another surprise was in store for us. The many and enervating tasks of the day called for our early retirement, and eight o'clock found us in our cots. Great was our surprise to be awakened an hour later by the sound of music at our very door. One of our men was sent to the door to learn the cause of the serenade and was told that the mayor of the town, with a delega- tion of the chief officials and the band, had come to pay us a visit. Of course, there was but one thing to do, and half an hour later found us out on the special seats that had been prepared, in full view of the visitors and perhaps half of the villagers who had accompanied them. Then followed speeches, singing, music, and a few native dances, interspersed with short intervals for smoking, drinking (a goodly supply of aguardiente had been brought along), and conversation. The visitors remained until one in the morn- ing; a rather lengthy call, to be sure, but a pleasant one, and quite characteristic of the friendliness of the Colombians. The next day's ride of ten hours' duration brought us to Buenos Aires, a very pretty little town nestling among and almost obscured by gardens of flowers and orchards of fruit. A heavy rain during the night had filled all the sink-holes in the road with water, making progress slow on the follow- ing day. We rounded Mount Saint Ignacio early in the morning, and shortly after had our first view of the vol- cano Purace; we were to learn more of this mountain in the not distant future. Soon after, the lomas or great barren hills appeared; they form a kind of connecting-link between 20 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA the Coast and Central Ranges. These gently rounded mounds are bare except for a kind of worthless, wiry grass that in some unaccountable way draws enough sustenance from the red-clay soil to maintain its meagre growth. These hills gradually increase in height, but the ascent is by such slow degrees that one is scarcely conscious of any rise at all. There are few houses, and the small number of inhabitants seem to be as sallow and lifeless as the hills themselves. A party of people had gathered at one of the Philippine-like structures near the roadside; they were chatting excitedly and drinking a good deal of chicha. When we dismounted we found that a child had died and was being prepared for burial. It sat propped up in a small, rudely made chair, covered with a piece of white cloth. No one seemed greatly concerned over the death, least of all the parents; on the contrary, they were proud of the angelito, and of the attention the event attracted from the people of the neighboring country. In perfect accord with our expectations, there was little bird-life on the cheerless lomas. A few blue tanagers and Veinte-vi flycatchers (Pitangus) lived in the bushes that lined the infrequent rivulets trickling through narrow gul- lies between the hills. The Veinte-vi was an old acquain- tance; its cheery call is one of the first bird-notes to greet the ear of the visitor to tropical South America. Its local name varies with the locality, and is an attempt by the na- tives to imitate the bird's cry. Thus it ranges from Kiss- ka-dee and Veinte-vi to Dios te di and Christi fui. This fly- catcher is of a rather vivacious disposition, and pairs of them frequently may be seen singing together and beating their wings on the branches. As a general rule these birds are of peaceful habits, ex- cept when nesting; but I have frequently seen them in pur- suit of a carrion hawk at which they darted viciously and continued to follow until lost to view. The diet of the Veinte-vi is varied, and the bird is most versatile in capturing its prey. Thus it will sit on a perch POPAYAN AND THE CERRO MUNCHIQUE 21 above a brook and plunge in after small fish or tadpoles, somewhat in the manner of a kingfisher; it may hover over a field and drop upon an unsuspicious mouse, lizard, or small snake; beetles, grasshoppers, and other insects are overtaken and captured on the wing. When a victim of some size has been captured, it is beaten rapidly upon a branch until its life is hammered out. It also hops about in fields looking for worms and grubs. The nest is a huge domed structure, made of grasses and often wool, and placed in the branches of a tree six to fif- teen feet up. Entrance is gained through an opening in one side, near the top. On account of the great size of the structure, being about twelve or fifteen inches high and eight to ten inches thick, it is very conspicuous; the exterior is carelessly made, with grasses and streamers of nesting material hanging down on all sides. The eggs, two to five in number, although four seem to constitute the usual set, are long and pointed, cream- colored, and lightly spotted with chocolate-brown and pur- ple blotches — mostly on the larger end. Besides these species, there were ground-doves, lapwings, and an occasional sparrow-hawk. The latter is so similar to our common little terror of the air that it is hard to dis- tinguish between the two. Shortly after noon we encountered one of the most ter- rific tropical storms imaginable. Hour after hour a perfect deluge of rain poured down upon us from which rubber ponchos afforded little protection. Flashes of lightning pierced the semiblackness with blinding shafts of light, followed by deafening crashes of thunder — an indication that we were approaching the high zone of bleak mountain slopes and paramos. That night we reached Morales, at an elevation of five thousand nine hundred feet. Fortunately there was no demonstration of any kind to interfere with our much- needed rest. Early the next morning, however, we experi- enced the thrill inseparably linked with the sudden display 22 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA of one of those hidden forces of nature that forever and in- alterably control our destiny. From out of the gray and penetrating mist that seemed to envelop all the world there rose a low, ominous rumbling, distant, yet of thunderous volume; and the mud-walled, grass-thatched inn shuddered violently in unison with the trembling earth. Through the open door of the adjoining room I heard the scratching of matches and saw the flicker of yellow light reflected on the whitewashed wall. A moment later the pious senora, surrounded by her little ones, was kneel- ing before the shrine of the Virgin, chanting a litany in low, monotonous tones. Two tapers flickered hazily. The gaudy tinsel flowers that decked the image gleamed in the uncertain light, but the pitiful squalor, ignorance, and gen- eral misery of the surroundings were mercifully left in dark- ness. Without, all was silent, save for the barking of a pack of stray mongrels which had been asleep on the door-steps of Morales. The village again slumbered, and the chill, damp fog clung to the earth. Alone I made my way up the only street, through the mud, to the eminence on which the adobe church stands, overlooking the valley and affording a view of the tremen- dous range on each side; for it was nearly the hour of day- break and the sun rising above the lofty peaks of the Andes presents a scene of matchless beauty. With the first faint glow of light in the east the banks of vapor became dissipated and gradually disappeared. Peak after peak reared its head above the ocean of snowy white- ness. First of all was Purace, the hoary monarch that dominates the southern part of the Cordillera Central and spreads terror through the land with threats and warnings similar to those we had just experienced. This great vol- cano has been active for untold ages. A huge column of smoke and vapor ascends continually straight into the clouds, and this, reflecting the light of the rising sun, makes POPAYAN AND THE CERRO MUNCHIQUE 23 a magnificent picture. Occasionally at night the eternal fires within the gaping crater may be seen tinting the low- hanging clouds and the snow that crowns the summit, four- teen thousand five hundred feet high, with rosy red. All about, the great barren lomas are strewn with black boul- ders, some of immense size, that serve to remind the way- farer of the cataclysms of bygone ages. Everywhere they dot the hillsides and tower above the trail that winds among them. Just below rises the silent mass of Sotara, crowned with the snow of centuries; the precipitous slopes are seamed and worn by the frequent slides of ice and stones from above, and deep, snow-filled gashes extend far down be- low the glittering dome in a ragged fringe. At night the moonlight steals softly up the frigid heights and reverently bathes the ancient head in a halo of dazzling splendor. As the sun mounted higher and higher the peaks of the Western Range appeared one by one, like islands in mid- ocean, led by the awe-inspiring Munchique and followed by his lesser satellites. Between the two ranges, in the fruitful valley of the Cauca, Popayan still slumbered be- neath a blanket of billowy softness. By six o'clock the arrieros had corralled the mules and riding-horses, and half an hour later we were on the march. Replacing the dry and barren lomas, we now found a bush-covered country with occasional long strips of low forest in the hollows; but the trail was an exceedingly diffi- cult one, owing to the rocky nature of the country and the great boulders that obstruct the way. Frequently a small stream had to be crossed, such as the Rio Piendano, which is spanned by an arched bridge built of large, hand-made bricks, a curious relic of olden Spanish days. Down goes the trail five hundred feet or more at an angle of forty-five degrees, and then up again on the other side, the mules snorting and puffing as they creep along at a snail's pace. All the rivers seem to flow through deep gorges. Only sure- 24 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA footed mules are of service on this trail, each carrying not more than two hundred pounds. The distance from Morales to Popayan is not great; without cargo-mules it is an easy day's ride, but with a caravan of tired, heavily laden animals that have come all the way from Cali it is the part of wisdom to spend the night at the little posada La Venta and ride into the city early the next morning. Here a room and a good meal can usually be had on short notice, but one must carry his own cot and bedding, as luxuries of this kind are not fur- nished in Colombian inns except in the larger cities. We were up and on our way early the next morning, for it was market-day — the day when the inhabitants from miles around flock to the city to buy and sell and to have a good time generally. It was our first visit and we could not afford to miss such an interesting and typical sight. While still several miles distant from Popayan we began to meet small parties of Indians that dotted the trail, slowly wending their way toward the Mecca of the Upper Cauca. By the time we had reached Belen, a settlement of about twenty houses, the trail had widened into a beau- tiful thoroughfare and was crowded with oncoming hordes. These Indians are probably descendants of the ancient Guanacas, while some are doubtless the offspring of the tribe of Paeces which inhabits the Cordillera Central to the north. Many, no doubt, still preserve the original purity of the old stock, but the vast majority have mingled and in- termarried with the native Colombians until one finds every possible stage of intergradation. Before us passed the motliest crowd imaginable, each bearing the fruit of his toil, to be appraised and sold in the public plaza. There were small family parties, the man leading a decrepit mule that threatened to collapse at every step, laden with fruit and vegetables, fire-wood, hemp ropes and bags, calabashes, pottery, or any one of a hundred dif- ferent things. The wife, acting as auxiliary beast of bur- den, carried the surplus. A band passed over the forehead POPAYAN AND THE CERRO MUNCHIQUE 25 supported the heavy pack; usually a small child was car- ried in a sling at her side, while several larger children clung to her skirt or trudged behind. As she walked she worked, spinning from a bunch of wool or cotton tucked under her arm, the spindle, a sharpened stick with a potato stuck on the end, dangling from her hands. The most characteristic occupation of the women is the making of small fibre bags, or muchilas, from hempen cord. They are meshed entirely by hand as the overburdened worker trots along, and when completed somewhat resemble a lady's shopping-bag. If the meshes are close it requires weeks to finish one which would fetch forty or fifty cents. The men are dressed in loose white-cotton trousers that come below the knee; then there is the inevitable square of homespun woollen cloth, usually brownish, gray, or blue, called ruana; the head is thrust through a hole in the cen- tre so that it drapes down to the waist, the corners often touching the ground and giving the same effect as the toga of a Roman senator. At night the ruana takes the place of a blanket under which the whole family sleeps. .A broad- brimmed, high-crowned straw hat completes the outfit. The women are fond of dark-blue skirts (also the product of their industry), pink waists, and shawls of almost any color so long as they have fringes. Their hats are similar to those worn by the men. The feet of both sexes are, of course, bare. Half an hour after leaving Belen we were cantering across the great brick bridge that spans the Cauca and forms the entrance to Popayan. This bridge is really a marvel of ancient Spanish architecture, five hundred feet long, forty feet wide, and supported by a series of arches. Popayan is one of the oldest and most picturesque of Spanish-American cities, though by no means the largest. I doubt if its population exceeds ten thousand. The early history of the city is full of interest, and from it one gains an insight into the conditions attendant upon the conquest and colonization of a large part of South Ajnerica. Spurred 26 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA on by the love of adventure and the lust for treasure, the Conquistador es overran vast portions of the continent, estab- lishing depots here and there from which they could start anew in search of El Dorado, which they were destined never to find. In this manner Popayan was founded in the year 1536 by Sebastian de Belalcazar, the son of a peas- ant from the border of Estremadura and Andalusia, in the south of Spain. After founding Popayan, Belalcazar extended his raids down the river and formed the settlement which to-day is Cali, the largest and most important city in the Cauca. Being a fair example of the usual type of Conquistador, he showed no mercy toward the Indians, but nearly exter- minated them; the country which had been a fruitful prov- ince was turned into a famine-stricken waste. In the meantime Pizarro had sent an officer, Lorenzo de Aldana, to arrest his erstwhile lieutenant; but Belalcazar, satisfied with his conquests, set sail for Spain in 1539 for the pur- pose of securing a charter before he could be apprehended. The city lies high up on the level plain, more than six thousand feet above the sea, surrounded by rugged peaks, some snow-capped, others unbridled as yet by the hand of time, presaging catastrophe and disaster; and still others covered with impenetrable growths of virgin forest, un- trodden by human foot, and known only to the wild crea- tures that lurk within the dark recesses. Above all hang the fleecy clouds that encircle the lofty pinnacles, dip low to meet the earth, and then vanish again into space. About the city prevails an air of calm repose; an air of sanctity and mysticism that radiates into every nook and corner, permeating every fibre. The city is famous as a centre of learning. Its colleges and university, conducted by the Order of Maristas, attract the youths from all parts of the country. There are numerous old churches, all very an- cient, the gilded interiors rankling with the damp of untold years. Bells of antique workmanship, and covered with verdigris, dangle in open niches in the walls or in the low, POPAYAN AND THE CERRO MUNCHIQUE 27 square towers, and hourly call the faithful to prayer in monotonous cadence. The cathedral was completed in 1752 after many years' work. In one of the streets a de- lightful view may be had of three successive chapels, one above the other, and of the streams of pious penitents wending their way up the rocky path. There are also the overgrown ruins of a house of worship, but I could never quite decide whether the edifice had fallen into decay or whether the medley piles of bricks and rubbish between the four crumbling walls were still waiting to be placed in position. The streets, crooked and narrow, are paved with cobblestones. The buildings are of the old adobe type, one-story and whitewashed, with red-tile or sod roofs. Glass is not used except in the churches, but the windows are heavily barred. Recently a few modern brick struc- tures have been erected. A look into the corridors and inner courts, of which there may be several in one house, conveys an insight into the domestic life of the people. The front courts are very attractive with their flowers, shrubbery, and trees, but the rear ones are anything but inviting, the dungeon-like enclosures reminding one of the stories of atrocities and persecutions carried on here in the turbulent times of the Spanish Inquisition. On an average, the people are of a higher class, both in- tellectually and physically, than in most Colombian cities of equal size; comparatively few negroes are seen, and the good health and bright looks of the inhabitants are the natural result of a cool climate and pure mountain air. One day, at noon, as I was photographing in the vicinity of Popayan, after having ridden perhaps five or six miles from the city, I was accosted by an elderly woman who invited me to stop at her humble cabin, where she had pre- pared a really palatable lunch. Her reason for doing this was that she had recognized me as a foreigner. During the course of the meal she tearfully related that she had had a son, of about my own age, who had gone to the States many years before. Had I met him, and could I give her 28 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA any tidings? I could have, but I did not. By a strange and inexplicable coincidence I knew that her son had not left the country. Instead of going to the coast he had engaged in one of the revolutions common enough at that time and had been captured and shot; but what right had I to remove the only support that maintained the spark of life in her aged body? It was only the hope of seeing her boy again that gave her the strength to resist the onslaught of advancing years. Doubtless, she still waits, hoping against hope for the message that will never come. Hers is the mother-love that never despairs. How clearly it shows that human nature is very much the same the world over, even among the lowly ! On June 23 I was fortunate enough, while in Popaydn, to behold one of the religious celebrations formerly all too nu- merous in Latin America. It was the Fiesta del Sagrado Corazdn de Jesus. Troops of soldiers and bands were lined up in front of the cathedral; all were quiet and orderly while the sacred rites were being performed within. Sud- denly the doors burst open, bells boomed and jingled, and the contents of the vast church poured through the portals in a steady stream. First came the altar-boys in white surplices and red cassocks, carrying gilded crosses on long poles and lighted tapers in silver holders, followed by the small children, the girls with tinsel wings, resembling tiny angels. Then came the governor of Cauca, the prefect of Popaydn and their staffs, each bearing a standard. Next in line were the maidens, covered with large black shawls, or manias, with folded hands and downcast eyes which, however, they were not averse to raising to meet the admir- ing glances cast by some of the onlookers. The students from the seminaries and a choir of singers preceded a life- size statue of the patron of the feast, borne aloft on the shoulders of stalwart youths; then came the archbishop and the higher ecclesiastics in tall mitres and gorgeously embroidered and glittering robes. Those of the general public who chose to march fell in line behind the bands that POPAYAN AND THE CERRO MUNCHIQUE 29 followed, chanting prayers. The remainder knelt in the streets with bowed, uncovered heads as the procession passed. All the buildings, even the trees, were gayly decorated with banners, a mixture of the papal and national insignia. Co- lombia is perhaps the only remaining country in the New World in which religion still dominates the government. If we examine a map of Colombia we will find that the Cerro Munchique, the highest of the mountains in the Western Range, lies directly west of Popaydn. There is an exceedingly difficult pass across the Cordillera at this point, leading to a place called the Cocal, still far distant from the coast. A trail was also being opened a short dis- tance to the south leading to the Rio Micai. When this is completed it will require a four days' journey on mules to the river; then two days in canoes on the Micai, said to contain many rapids and to flow through country in- habited by savage tribes, before the coast is reached. A day's ride from Popayan took us to El Tambo, and at noon the following day we were in the Indian village of Chapa at the very base of Munchique. A heavy electri- cal storm delayed our departure until noon the next day. There were but a dozen or fifteen adobe huts in the village, and during the height of the tempest one of these suddenly collapsed into a heap of mud and straw; the occupants barely escaped by fleeing into the deluge when the buck- ling walls apprised them of their danger. After the agitation had subsided the people erected an altar in the plaza for the celebration of a mass of thanks- giving. Each one brought some trinket — a few paper flowers, a picture, a bit of tinsel, or a candle — with which to embellish the sacred structure. Then they all knelt, with bared heads, and in deepest devotion assisted at the religious service; that is, all but a plump Indian woman who boiled chontaduros, or palm-nuts, in a huge kettle, in back of one of the huts and sold them to the worshippers the moment devotions were over. It required fully a half-day longer to reach the end of 30 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA the mule trail, and by that time we had reached an eleva- tion of eight thousand feet. From this point up the mountains are covered with a dense growth of primeval forest. Below this elevation there are occasional strips of woods and patches of brush inter- spersed with clearings. Maize grows splendidly up to an altitude of seven thousand feet; this was proven by the few small fields cultivated by the Indians. The slope was also dotted with areas planted in rice. The ascent of Munchique is very abrupt; there are no streams near the summit,. as the top of the mountain is composed of solid rock that sheds rain as soon as it falls. The highest pinnacle is a flat, bare rock, about ten thou- sand feet above sea-level. Robert Blake White states that from this spot one may "obtain a view over more than fifteen thousand square miles of country. The whole of the Central Cordillera, from the frontier of Ecuador to the confines of the State of Antioquia, with the valleys of the Cauca and the Patia, were visible to the north, east, and south; whilst, on turn- ing to the westward, the Pacific coast from the bay of Tumaco to the mouth of the San Juan River seemed spread out like a map before us. "A more gorgeous panorama cannot well be imagined. The belts of bright-colored vegetation, marked by the val- leys with their winding rivers and streams, were backed with masses of the Cordillera with their varied tints and snow-capped peaks. On the other hand, the dark-hued veg- etation of the virgin forests of the Pacific slopes stretched down to the ocean's margin, which with its thousand bays and inlets and fringe of foam which was quite visible, looked like an edging of lace. The island of Gorgona could be distinctly seen. "The Cerro Munchique should be visited in the dry sea- son, for its peculiar prominence makes it a grand lightning conductor, as we clearly saw from the shattered rock on the summit." Cerro Munchique. A deserted Indian hut on the Cerro Munchique. POPAYiN AND THE CERRO MUNCHIQUE 31 We discovered a deserted Indian hut in the centre of a large, overgrown, abandoned plantation, and made it our headquarters for a week or more. The site was ideal. Tall forest hemmed in the clearing on all sides, and a rivu- let of clear, icy water flowed near the shack. The eleva- tion was eight thousand two hundred and twenty-five feet. Obviously, the place had been unoccupied for a number of years, doubtless owing to the fact that maize and rice would not thrive at this high altitude. However, these same conditions were most congenial to a host of other vegetation. Blackberries and rhododendrons, with lilac, red, white, pink, and yellow flowers formed a solid tangle, acres in extent, and creepers entirely covered the tall, dead stubs, and crowned them with a thick canopy of green leaves from which clusters of orange and scarlet trumpet- flowers drooped. At night the temperature went down to about 45°, but this did not deter giant hawk, owl, and sphinx-moths from appearing at dusk to feast on the nectar of the myriads of flowers. The little stream was the rendezvous for number- less frogs. One hardly suspected their presence during the daytime unless a careful search was made of the rotting wood that littered the ground, and of the tangled, snake- like stems of second-growth sprouts and leaves; but at night the concert was always sure to begin in startling volume. Some of the notes reminded me of our own spring peeper; others were sharp and metallic, like the twanging of a banjo-string; and others were low and mellow like the murmuring of a 'cello. They all blended into a deafening chorus of unflagging animation and unvaried monotony. At first the din was rather disconcerting, but gradually there came to us the realization that this was but the bub- bling over of care-free little hearts rendering a song of hap- piness and thanksgiving to nature for the pure, unsullied joy of an unfettered existence. Birds were not particularly plentiful in the forest. There were, however, a number of interesting forms, particularly 32 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA among the tanagers. One species (Psittospiza riefferi) was about the size of a robin and of a deep grass-green color, with a chestnut-colored face and abdomen; these birds live singly and in pairs in the tall trees and are of a wary dis- position. Another tanager (Sporathraupis) has a bright- blue head and olive-green back; the breast is deep, dull blue merging into golden yellow on the legs. The natives called this bird jilguero, a name applied to the solitaire in other localities. It lives in the lower branches of trees, travelling in pah's or small flocks and feeds on fruit; the song is not unpleasant, but cannot compare with any solitaire known to me. While collecting one morning my attention was attracted by a chorus of chirps and screams, and following up the sounds I reached a tall tree where a peculiar bird drama was being staged. A number of California woodpeckers (Me- lanerpes flavigularis) had drilled numerous holes in the tree-trunk, from which sap trickled in small streams. A dozen or more buff- tailed hummers (Boissonneaua flavescens) had apparently come for their daily jag, for the sap very evidently had an intoxicating effect. Arriving in a bee- line, newcomers landed against the trunk, where they clung like so many moths, the buff-colored tail spread wide and against the bark for support. Their antics as the different stages of hilarity were reached were most amusing. They twittered, fought, turned, and tumbled in the air; others dozed on small twigs, and several fluttered toward the ground in an exhausted condition. This performance con- tinued daily for a week, until the sap suddenly ceased to flow; then the tree was deserted and silent, the capricious band having no doubt sobered up from their debauch and gone back to their normal and more profitable pursuits in life. In getting water from the brook, one of our men dis- covered a narrow trail under a giant log. We justly sur- mised that animals of some sort used the runway in jour- neying to and from the water. A trap was set in the path, POPAYAN AND THE CERRO MUNCHIQUE 33 and next morning a fine white opossum of large size had been safely ensnared. In the days that followed we secured an even dozen of the animals. They proved to be a form unknown to science that now bears the name Didelphis paraguayensis andina. The cook said that they were de- licious eating, and prepared for us an unusually fat indi- vidual; but we found the meat of rather strong flavor, and not very palatable. A solitary weasel (Mustela affinis cos- taricensis) was also taken in the same spot. It would be interesting to know whether this animal came down to drink, or was in pursuit of some of the other creatures that frequented the runway. Weasels are courageous, active, and bloodthirsty little animals; their eyesight is poor, but their sense of smell is keen and they will tirelessly follow their intended victim until it falls into their clutches. I have frequently heard that they attack and kill small deer by clinging to the neck and doggedly chewing their way through the skin until the jugular vein is severed; this does not seem probable to me, however, and it is far more reasonable to believe that rats, mice, frogs, and other small creatures form the bulk of their prey. On account of their slender proportions, they can trail the quarry through small holes and crevices; in addition, they are also expert climbers. On one occasion, while "squeaking" to attract a bird, a weasel came instead, looking for the supposed help- less creature, and ran over my feet without suspecting the fraud. They will fight savagely to protect their nest, usually made in a hole in the ground or hollow stump, and I know of one instance where one of the animals sprang into the face of a native who had trapped its mate at the mouth of a burrow. Nearly a month had passed since we left Popaydn, but the time had been spent so pleasantly and profitably that it seemed scarcely longer than a week. Our scheduled time for the region had been exhausted, however, so we reluc- tantly retraced our steps to Popayan. CHAPTER III THE ANDES SOUTHWEST OF POPAYAN; CRUISE OF THE CALDAS AFTER our return to Popaydn we spent a few days wrap- ping and packing the large collection of birds and mammals that had been secured on the Cerro Munchique; and, dur- ing the odd moments when this work became arduous, we sought information about the mountains south of the place we had just visited. Eventually our quest took us to the governor's palace, where we had the good fortune to meet the executive of the province of Cauca, Doctor Alfredo Carets. The first thing that attracted our attention was a framed poem hanging above his desk; the title of it was "Death to Foreigners"; but the kindly and sympathetic governor soon dispelled any doubts we may have harbored as to his feel- ings. He was a man of great refinement and education, and had travelled extensively in the United States. Our mission interested him greatly. He brought out maps and charts, and then, with the aid of a pair of powerful field- glasses, showed us the places he had pointed out on the drawings. Doctor Garce*s proved to be one of our best and most highly valued friends, despite the rather alarming notice on his office wall. He called on us at the inn several times each day, and admired the birds and mammals we had collected. Our rooms were always in the state of greatest upheaval with packing-cases, equipment, provisions, and a hundred other things occupying each available place; but the governor took it all as a matter of course, enjoyed delv- ing among our possessions in search of things unknown to 34 THE ANDES SOUTHWEST OF POPAY^N 35 him, and probably considered himself fortunate if he could find his silk hat and cane in the place they had been left when he was ready to leave. June 24 found us again upon the trail, heading south- westward. Both the Central and Coast Ranges were visi- ble for many miles, the snow-covered Purace and Sotard dominating the former, with Munchique standing unequalled in the latter. Barren, rolling hills stretched away in the distance like the waves of a storm-tossed sea; this undulat- ing country is the first indication of a connecting-link be- tween the two ranges. For two days there was no perceptible change in the country; but on the morning of the third day, shortly after leaving the settlement of Monos, we entered virgin forest at an altitude of seven thousand five hundred feet. A shel- ter-house, known as San Jose, is just a thousand feet higher up, and at ten o'clock we were up ten thousand one hun- dred and forty feet. From here one has an unrivalled view of thousands of square miles of country. The magnificent valley, appearing greener and more level from our height than was really the case, lay below, and stretched far to the north. The paramos and volcanoes flanking the far side were abreast of our station. Frequently, while in similar positions, there recurred to me the sentiment so aptly expressed by Hudson: "Viewed from the top of a lofty mountain, the world assumes a vastness and varied beauty that revive the flagging spirit and refresh the soul." And quite as certainly there is forced upon our recognition the infinitesimal smallness of man when compared to the immensity of nature — a mere atom existing by virtue of a benevolent force that has so ordained, but that reserves the power to crush the whole fabric of life at a breath. The top of the ridge is ten thousand three hundred and forty feet high, and the vegetation is typical of the tem- perate zone; low, dense bushes, mingled with the gnarled branches of stunted evergreen trees and shrubs, burdened with clumps of red and lavender flowers. Numbers of low 36 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA grass shacks had been built along the trail; some of them were very long and housed the peons working on the road to Micai. Although these structures were of comparatively recent origin, many small rodents had been attracted to them by the corn that formed the principal article of food of the peons. A large brown rat (Oryzomys pectoralis) was very abundant; apparently this rodent had formerly existed in small numbers only, for it was rare out in the open; but the artificial conditions created by the settle- ment of the region had proved so congenial that it increased rapidly. The same is true of several other species of rats that almost overran the houses. In riding or walking along the trail, I frequently encoun- tered a species of snake resembling in coloration a coral snake; however, it was not unusual to find an individual five feet or even more in length, and two or three inches through in the thickest part. They appeared exceeding sluggish and even refused to move although almost trodden upon. We never molested them, as they appeared to be harmless, and were really of striking beauty. Unfortu- nately, we had no way of preserving any. A species re- cently discovered in Nicaragua by Mr. Clarence R. Halter, which is similar to the one we saw almost daily, belongs to the genus Coronella. The birds belonged to a typical temperate-zone fauna. Among them was a new species of beautiful honey-creeper (Diglossa gloriosissima) ; it is black with blue shoulders and a deep-rufous abdomen. They clambered about over the clusters of gorgeous flowers, feasting on the nectar they contained. Another common bird was a tanager (Iridosor- nis) the size of our redbird, but of a bright-violet color that merges into greenish blue on the wings. The head is black excepting the crown, which is deep orange. It is a viva- cious creature, travels in small flocks that frequent the taller shrubbery, but possesses limited singing powers only. During our stay we had occasion to witness a christening ceremony performed by a priest who was travelling through THE ANDES SOUTHWEST OF POPAY^N 37 the region for the purpose of ministering to the people's spiritual needs. The fact had been widely advertised, so early on the appointed day many natives appeared, bring- ing small children to be baptized. About thirty had been brought by noon, when the priest commanded the god- parents to line up, each holding his gaudily dressed and probably fretful little charge. The priest began at one end of the row, dispensing one part of the sacrament to each child as he passed; then he went back and began all over again, giving the second part to each of them, and so on until the rite was completed. It so happened that there was a small child in the hut we had chosen for our several days' sojourn. To honor the gringos who were stopping under her roof, the senora asked Richardson to be the little one's godfather, while I was permitted to suggest the name. We naturally felt as if we should give the baby a present, but a thorough ran- sacking through my effects revealed only a can of talcum powder, which I promptly presented to the mother. A few days later she came to me in distress: "The baby has a slight fever," she said. "I gave it some of the white pow- der you made me a present of, but it did no good. How much is it necessary to take at one time?" The western slope of the range is very abrupt. Large forces of men were engaged in cutting a narrow ledge for a footpath into the face of the steep mountainside. The trail wound back and forth continuously; looking over the rim of the narrow shelf one could count six or eight loops under- neath, one below the other. The work of cutting such a way is hazardous for the men engaged in it. The soil is loose and saturated with water, so landslides were of frequent occurrence; and whenever the irresistible avalanche swept the precipitous terrain, it usually carried one or more of the laborers with it and buried them under tons of rock and debris. It was in- variably hopeless to try to find the body, so the survivors simply erected a cross on the spot. Frequently there were 38 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA several crosses together, and in one place I counted seven- teen standing side by side. Late in the afternoon we reached a lone hut in a small clearing — the hastily erected shelter of a group of peons. The men invited us to stop, and as the locality looked in- teresting we accepted the invitation; but we erected our tent and lived in it in preference to the hut. All the surrounding country was covered with virgin forest. It had never been trodden by man, at least not within many years; there were no side trails of any kind, so that it was impossible to penetrate very far. Among our first mammals were a doe and fawn of a lit- tle forest-deer (Mazama setta). They are commonly known as brockets or spike-bucks, as each horn consists of a single prong. I believe that these deer are not so rare as gener- ally supposed, but they are seldom collected on account of the difficulty of hunting them in the thick jungle. The peons shot the ones we secured. They had discovered a path leading to a small stream, and concealing themselves on the opposite side, waited until the animals came down to drink; then they shot them. The men also brought in a huge bushmaster that they unearthed while clearing away underbrush. The deadly reptile is known as eguis to the natives on account of the black X-shaped marks on its back. The mountainsides were scarred with deep fissures and ravines filled with the darkest and most impenetrable of forests. It was possible to look across from one side to the other, but crossing them was impracticable. Each morning I could see a flock of some thirty-odd swallow- tailed kites soaring just above the trees on the far side of one of the ravines. The magnificent birds resembled huge white-bellied swallows, or swifts, as they circled majesti- cally over the dark forest; they uttered shrill screams all the while. Apparently they fed on the wing, and speci- mens collected by us later had eaten quantities of large beetles and flying ants. At about nine o'clock the band THE ANDES SOUTHWEST OF POPAYAN 39 always resorted to the top of a tall tree that towered far above its contemporaries for a short rest; this was rather unusual, as the birds are rarely seen perched, and the na- tives said they never alight during the daytime. Live birds, or specimens freshly killed, have the glistening black back covered with a beautiful grayish "bloom" or powder that gives it a soft, velvety appearance. However, this disappears soon after death. A species of pigmy squirrel (Microsciurus) lived in the forest, but we seldom saw any of the little creatures scarcely bigger than one of the larger kinds of mice. I have always found these animals much rarer than the ordinary squir- rels; usually they live in pairs. They seem to prefer for- ests abounding in palms and to feed on the various kinds of palm-fruits and nuts. They frequently evince a great deal of curiosity and can be approached to within a short distance before taking fright and scampering out of sight among the leaves. The minute creatures move rapidly and gracefully and make long, daring leaps. In running over the leaves and branches they follow the lateral stems, and on reaching the ends ascend through the tree-top or thick foliage by leap- ing crossways from twig to twig, as if ascending the rungs of a ladder. I kept one that was given to me by the natives as a pet for some time. It made its home in the pocket of my flan- nel hunting-shirt, where it was always sure to find a bit of cracker or sugar, and to which it could retreat when fright- ened. Whenever anything of an unusual nature occurred, the bright, inquisitive little eyes always appeared suddenly so as not to miss a single thing that might be of interest. It never attempted to bite or run away, and seemed per- fectly contented with the company of the friends that fed and protected it. Eventually we started back toward Popaydn. We crossed the high brush-covered divide July 4; a violent electrical storm had been staged on the wild mountain-top as if in 40 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA noisy celebration of the day. It began with a dark mist that covered everything. Then rain and hail fell unin- terruptedly for more than an hour, while lightning flashed and blue-green flames seemed to leap toward the blackened rock. Sometimes the bolts came from above, and again they were below us so that we were enveloped in a weird, ghastly light. The thunder was terrific and kept up a con- tinuous crash and rumble. It was impossible to see any other member of the expedition on account of the thick haze — there was no shelter of any kind — only the narrow shelf-like trail that snaked its way along the steep slope. After the storm we made camp; the men and mules kept straggling in until a late hour; they were very wet and much bedraggled, but apparently none the worse for the nerve-racking experience. Popayan was reached without further incident. Rich- ardson's contract having expired, he determined to leave the country, so we returned to Cali to rearrange the equip- ment and pack the collections; then he left for Buena- ventura to take a north-bound steamer. In the meantime Doctor Chapman, who had reached New York, arranged to send down a man to fill the vacancy left by Richardson. Doctor Arthur A. Allen, of Cornell University, was selected for the place. He reached Cali about the middle of August and accompanied me during the succeeding eight months. In compliance with instructions received from Doctor Chapman, I immediately planned an expedition northward^ then toward the east to make a zoological exploration of the forests bordering the Quindio Pass and of the high paramo of Santa Isabel. The first stage of the journey was down the Cauca River. Regular steamboat service is maintained between Guan- chito and Cartago during the rainy season. The Sucre, a boat of small size, makes frequent voyages, requiring about three days' time each way. On this vessel one may travel in comparative comfort — if one is not too squeamish. We THE ANDES SOUTHWEST OF POPAYAN 41 had to be content with a smaller craft, however, as there was not sufficient water to float the Sucre over the numer- ous sand-bars. The Caldas is a little steel launch of not over fifty feet from stem to stern, with a beam of fifteen feet and drawing eighteen inches of water. When the river is full the Caldas is used to carry freight only, for which purpose she doubt- less serves admirably; but at other times she assumes the double responsibility of carrying both cargo and passen- gers. Of course there is the alternative of going overland; but the trip takes twice as long, and after having spent some time on the muddy trails, the novelty of a river trip is likely to make a strong appeal, whatever the odds. On the announced date of sailing thirty-seven individ- uals of all sizes, ages, and shades of color gathered on the river's bank, each impatient to be the first to cross the narrow plank and board the small craft. There also waited a huge mound of boxes, bags, bales of hides, and other freight; this was loaded first and piled in the front and rear. The engine occupied the centre of the boat, as did the kitchen. When the people were finally permitted to go aboard, there was a wild scramble to the top of the heap of boxes and bundles. To sit up straight under the sheet- iron roof was impossible; fortunately the sun shone inter- mittently only or we should have been suffocated. From the very beginning there was enough of interest to keep one's nerves tensed to a high pitch. The crumbling banks, great chunks of which settled gently into the water as the waves, caused by the launch's propeller, washed away the last bit of restraining sand; the numbers of bam- boo rafts laden with bananas, plantains, and other tropical fruits on their way to the port of Guanchito; the dark- skinned fishermen who cast their nets into eddies and quiet pools, and the washwomen, each smoking an enormous black cigar and beating the clothes upon stones until one expected to see them fly into shreds, were very interesting. There were also hundreds of cormorants and anhingas that 42 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA swain and dived or flew up into the trees; some of them sat on snags drying their wide-spread wings. The banks of the river are very high and abrupt in most places, and the stream runs through a tortuous channel. At each bend the current dashes with great force against the bank, and then rebounds on down-stream. The little Col- das could not hope to battle against the rushing torrent, so she would head straight for the bank; frequently her nose struck the soft sand and held fast; then the current swung her around and back into midstream, where after spinning around a few times she regained her poise and was swept along. As wood was burned exclusively, stops had to be made every few hours for a new supply. The launch, in her crowded condition, had little room for fuel, but the brief pauses gave those on board an opportunity to go ashore — a welcome respite from the cramped position made necessary by the limited space available on the boat. At one of these spots an extensive cacao-plantation lined the bank, the tall madres de cacao reaching high up into the heavens above their lowly but precious proteges. The "mother of cacao," it might be said, is a species of Erithmas planted to protect the delicate cacao-trees from the sun. A colony of snake-birds or anhingas had selected this grove for a rookery. Thousands of the birds sat on the topmost branches while other countless numbers were flying back and forth in endless streams, each bird a component part of a whirling, living mass. The slender body, long thin neck, small head, and sharp bill give the bird a peculiar appearance; when swimming under water with only the neck protruding it greatly resembles a snake— hence the name snake-bird. Each tree within an area of several acres contained a number of nests; they were clumsy structures made of sticks. The eggs, three or four in number, are white and as long as a hen's egg but only half as wide. Later in the day a flock of scarlet ibises approached from down-stream, flew past, and then disappeared like twin- kling bits of flame. THE ANDES SOUTHWEST OF POPAY^N 43 In the early afternoon the Caldas struck a sand-bar with full force. The greater number of the passengers had eaten their luncheon — brought by themselves in small parcels neatly done up in banana leaves — and were quietly dozing. There was a harsh, grating sound, a shock, and the water swirled around and past the boat, which moved not an inch. The engines were reversed and the crew sprang into the river and pushed, but it availed nothing, so after re- peated efforts these attempts were abandoned. Luckily, the craft carried a small dugout canoe, into which the pas- sengers were unloaded, three or four at a time, and taken ashore by two husky negroes who waded to the bank, one pulling and the other pushing the canoe. There was no break in the abrupt banks for perhaps a quarter of a mile, so it was some time before all on board had been landed. The crew then began to dig away the sand that held the launch fast. The spot where the passengers had been landed was an open, treeless plain with not a shelter in sight. At first the heat of the sun was insufferable; then it began to rain as we had never seen it rain before. No one had a poncho, so there was nothing to do but stand quietly and endure the drenching downpour. When the sand had been dug away the launch, suddenly freed, shot down-stream a half mile before a landing could be effected. This of course necessitated a long tramp through deep mud and tall, wet grass, which added to the cheerlessness of the luckless, half-drowned victims of back- ward methods of transportation. The banks were as steep as ever, but a capybara runway, resembling a giant musk- rat slide, had been discovered, and down this we slid, one at a time, into the arms of two negroes who acted as a back-stop below. The delay prevented the launch from reaching Buga, so as soon as darkness settled, she was tied up for the night. A great tree-trunk, embedded in the sand with huge branches swaying high above the water, lay near by. We 44 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA swung our hammocks between the sturdy limbs, covered them with mosquito-nets, and spent a miserable night; those who attempted to sleep aboard had a harder time of it by far. We were off with the first streak of dawn, startling flocks of muscovy ducks and herons from near the banks. A faint blue mist was rising slowly from the water, and the ah* was chill and damp. The mantle of silence that falls over tropical South America at nightfall had not yet been lifted. For some little time we glided on, farther and far- ther, it seemed, into a great vacuity that led to some vaguely defined sanctuary of everlasting peace and obliv- ion. Then, without warning, a sound so terrible rent the vast solitude that it seemed as if some demon of the wilds were taking a belated revenge for the few hours of quiet in which the earth had rejoiced. At first there was a series of low, gruff roars that would have done credit to the most savage of lions, and made the very air tremble; but this was not all. Added to the majestic frightfulness of the jungle king's voice was a quality of hate and treachery, of unfathomed rage and malicious bitterness. Then followed in quick succession a number of high-pitched, long-drawn wails or howls of tremulous quality that gradually died, ending with a few guttural barks. This uncanny performance lasted a number of minutes; but having perpetrated this outrage upon a heretofore peaceful world, the weird chorus suddenly stopped. The mists of night had lifted, revealing clumps of tall bamboo and the beginning of heavy forest. In the top of the very first trees sat a group of large monkeys, red, with golden backs, properly called howling monkeys; they were the authors of the terrific chorus we had just heard. How an animal that rarely attains a weight of thirty pounds can produce such loud sounds is most remarkable; the hyoid bone is developed into a huge cup which gives reso- nance to the voice. The howlers are rather sluggish and The Caldas fast on a sand-bar in the Cauca River. Bamboo rafts on the Cauca River. THE ANDES SOUTHWEST OF POPAYAN 45 seldom descend from the trees. Their roaring, which can be heard several miles, resounds through the forest morn- ing and night; whether it is merely a form of amusement with them, or is used to intimidate enemies, seems to be unknown. Very little is known about the habits of howling mon- keys, despite their abundance and wide distribution. They are usually found in small family parties, including young of various sizes; but I have noticed, on various occasions, that the females desert from the troop when their babies are males and do not rejoin it until the young are half- grown, perhaps fearing that the old males will kill them; but I do not know if this is always the case. C. William Beebe, in the course of a lecture at the Ameri- can Museum, stated that he had on several occasions watched troops of these animals feed, in British Guiana. The older ones sent their small young to the tip of the slender branches that they, themselves, could not venture upon on account of their weight, to pick fruits; then they pulled the little ones back and robbed them of their food. This was repeated a number of times. The second night we tied up near a heavy growth of forest, at a place called Riofrio. This is one of the few sections of the Cauca Valley still retaining its original stand of virgin jungle. We slung our hammocks between the trees. The nets furnished ample protection from the mosquitoes, but not from an army of foraging ants that chanced our way. From across the river came the whine of an ocelot, and the sharp snort of deer, while more than once we were awakened by the pattering and shuffle of cautious feet close at hand, some light, some heavy as if belonging to a large animal. Contrary to her custom, the Caldas steamed on after dark on the third night of her voyage. A train of bright sparks trailed far behind, and when the wind blew it carried them into the boat where they set fire to clothing and bag- gage alike. Within a short time we had reached the port 46 IN THE WILDS OP SOUTH AMERICA of Cartago, found the arriero who was awaiting us with the animals, and were off for Cartago a league away. The town was enveloped in inky blackness, and fast asleep, notwithstanding the early hour. A stray dog barked and a mule whinnied, but there were no other signs of life. CHAPTER IV CARTAGO TO THE PARAMOS OF RUIZ AND SANTA ISABEL DAWN revealed the fact that Cartago was not materially different from Cali. It was not so large, however, and the temperature was much higher. Upon our arrival the pre- ceding night we had finally succeeded in arousing a sleepy landlord, who admitted us to a dusty, bare room in the Hotel Colombia. We had learned long before this time that the word "hotel" usually meant a roof only over one's head and perhaps food, so we at no time travelled out of sight of our baggage, with which we could make ourselves fairly comfortable under almost any circumstances. The country surrounding Cartago is level and of a dry nature; at any rate, it does not compare at all favorably with the Cauca Valley at Cali. We saw few evidences of cultivation and the number of cattle and mules grazing on the scanty vegetation was very small. The outskirts of the city are picturesque. The huts are low and lightly built of slabs of flattened bamboo; fences made of split bamboo neatly woven in a basket pattern surround them, and cannon-ball trees rear their slender, awkward branches laden with great glistening spheres of green fruit, high above the narrow, muddy sidewalks. When the huge calabashes are ripe they are collected and used as containers for water, wash-basins, bowls, and a variety of utensils; narrow sections that have been split carefully and resemble miniature pointed barrel-staves even serve the purpose of spoons. A small marsh lies just in back of Cartago. It was filled with several species of aquatic plants — mostly water-hya- cinths and wild lettuce on which cattle fed, half submerged 47 48 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA in the murky water. Swarms of mosquitoes issued from the stagnant borders and invaded the town at nightfall, but this was by no means the only breeding-place of the obnoxious insects. Drinking water, kept in uncovered kegs and pots, teemed with larvae, and glasses full of it set before us in one of the shops were fairly alive with wrigglers. One thing impressed me as being really appalling, and that was the number of infirm beggars in the streets. In most Colombian towns beggars are permitted to ply their profession only one day each week and are required to wear a cardboard license tag suspended from a string around the neck; but it seemed as if they were out in full force every day in Cartago. Some of them presented an offensive appearance; they were suffering with leprosy and other terrible diseases, and were in such a pitiful plight that one was literally touched at mere sight of them. They always asked alms in the name of the Virgin and all the saints, and if results were forthcoming heaped a copious blessing on the donor; but in the event that nothing was given the benediction was in some instances replaced by such a tirade of profanity that one quickly realized what a good opportunity to acquire merit had been neglected. We left Cartago as soon as possible and after a half- day's ride over gently rolling, brush-covered country reached the Rio Viejo. A good-sized dwelling known as Piedra Moller stands near the river; there one may obtain men and dugout canoes with which to cross the stream. Beyond the river the trail passes through a little valley or depression about four leagues across. Tall brush, some first-growth forest, and extensive jungles of bamboo flank the narrow passageway. I counted no less than forty spe- cies of birds during the afternoon and heard the notes of several others that I did not recognize. Small green parra- keets (Psittacula conspicillata) were exceedingly plentiful. They always reminded me of English sparrows— not in ap- pearance but by their actions. Flocks of them sat on tele- graph wires or house-tops, chirping and chattering inces- CARTAGO TO RUIZ AND SANTA ISABEL 49 santly, or fed on fruits or seeds in the bushes. They are also abundant in towns and villages and nest under tile roofs, in hollow posts, and in holes in walls. The people are very fond of the little " love-birds" as they are called and keep them in their patios as pets. At Balsas, which served as the first night's stopping- place, we discovered a whippoorwill's (Stenopsis ruficervix) nest in a clump of bamboo. The single egg had been de- posited on the leaves near a bamboo sprout that was rap- idly pushing its way upward like a huge stalk of asparagus. The incubating bird fluttered away as we approached, but we returned the next morning and Allen secured a photo- graph of her on the nest. Noon of the next day found us at Finlandia, an inviting village with a population of about four hundred, and situ- ated at an elevation of six thousand four hundred feet. All this country is the foot-hills of the Central Andean Range. Rounded hills follow one another in a succession of gentle billows, the sides of which are so gradual that one hardly realizes there is a steady ascent. The forest that covers the ridge on the other side of Finlandia is of a heavy, subtropical character — the first of its kind we had encoun- tered on this trip. Red howling monkeys were roaring in the ravine below, but the birds of the forest belonged to a fauna different from the one we had just left. The palm-filled valley of the Boquilla had been reached by night. Salento, with its low, whitewashed houses, was clearly visible on top of the next ridge. It required just thirty minutes next morning to reach the town after a climb of nine hundred feet. We did not stop at the settle- ment, but continued up the time-honored trail leading to Quindio Pass; within a short time forest of the most promis- ing kind had been reached and camp was being made in a sheltered spot about half a mile above a lone house called Laguneta. The pack-animals were sent back to Salento, where there was an abundance of pasturage, until they should be required again. 50 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA The woods at Laguneta were rather open and there was little underbrush. The trees, however, were burdened with moss, bromelias, orchids, and other epiphytes. Climb- ing bamboo and creepers filled the few clearings with im- penetrable thickets. Most of the vegetation had small, harsh leaves, and the stems were gnarled and stunted. Clusters of fruit resembling pokeberries, on which numer- ous species of birds fed, grew on tall bushes near the for- est's edge. Begonias covered with red and white flowers filled the hollows. The Laguneta region was remarkable for the number of ant-birds found there (Grallaria, Chamceza, etc.) that are rare in collections on account of the difficulty of collecting them. We secured fifteen different species in the neigh- borhood. As they live in thickets and on the ground, the only knowledge one has of their presence is their strange whistling notes, distinct in each species, that come from some gloomy spot deep in the tangled vegetation. Gral- laria squamigera was to me the most interesting species. It is a huge, heavy-bodied bird, olive above and tawny barred with black below. From a distance the coloration reminds one of a large immature robin, but the tail is very short and protrudes only about half an inch beyond the lower coverts, and the long legs measure fully five inches. The plumage is long and full. Occasionally we saw the shy creatures as we worked in front of our tent in the after- noons; we always made it a point to be very quiet and the reward came in the way of shadowy forms that unconcern- edly pursued their lives among the logs and brush without suspecting our presence. This shows the advantage of camping in the midst of the wilderness, where one is sure to see and hear wild things at the most unexpected times — experiences that are lost if one does not spend his entire time in the very heart of their environs. Squirrel Woods is the name we applied to a spot below Laguneta and several miles nearer to Salento. On the up- ward journey the place had been singled out as being un- CARTAGO TO RUIZ AND SANTA ISABEL 51 usually attractive for a week's collecting, owing to the number of birds and particularly of squirrels seen from the trail. This, however, proved to be the one place in all Colombia where we were not welcome, and in this regard it is unique in my two years7 experience in that country. After leaving the Quindio trail we followed a narrow path through fields and forest for nearly a mile. It led to a neat, new cottage surrounded by pastures in which there were cattle and horses. The owner and his wife, middle- aged Colombians of the mestizo class, but of better appear- ance than the average, did not seem overjoyed to see us; they had no room, they said, for strangers. Explanations %and the display of credentials bearing flaring, important- looking seals were of no avail; the people did not care to have the drowsy tenor of their ways disturbed by a couple of gringos. The region, however, was too alluring to fore- go, so we camped beside the house and took possession of the veranda for sleeping-quarters. There we remained a week, much to the displeasure of our unwilling hosts. We had supposed that the presence of a wheat-field sur- rounded by primeval forest had led to an increase in the number of small mammals indigenous to the region, but this assumption proved right in so far as squirrels only were concerned. A granary had been built in the centre of the clearing, which was of considerable extent; bundles of grain were piled in it from floor to roof. Squirrels of three spe- cies came from the woods, and ensconcing themselves in the structure feasted on the wheat. They ran the entire distance between the forest and the house on the ground, taking advantage, however, of any logs or branches that littered the place. They were especially plentiful in the early morning and just before sundown. If one crept cau- tiously to the border of the field he was sure to see dark little forms scamper over the ground and disappear in the storehouse. The animals were very tame at first and did not leave their shelter until one was but a few yards away; then they appeared on all sides and ran quickly to the pro- 52 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA tecting woods. Later they posted a sentinel or remained on the alert, for no sooner did we reach one side of the clearing than all the squirrels hurried away on the oppo- site side, being careful to keep the granary between them- selves and us. There were many stray dogs in the neigh- borhood; they pursued the squirrels while making their pilgrimage across the open space, and devoured any they succeeded in catching. There were also other marauders that exacted a heavy toll in grain from the farmer. Yellow-throated woodpeck- ers (Melanerpes flavigularis) and green and yellow jays (Xanthoura yncas) were always about and frequently came to grief in our traps set for small rodents. A species of pigmy opossum (Thylamys caucce) lived in the woods. It is the size of a mouse, but has a longer tail. The slate-colored little animals prefer small cavities in tree- trunks for their homes, where they spend the days curled up in sleep ; if disturbed they are very sluggish and may be taken in the hand, their only concern being to find a dark spot where they can snuggle up to one another and go to sleep again. At night they are more active and go on foraging expeditions for fruit, insects, and almost anything of an edible nature they can find. The camp pet at this time was a young sloth (Cholcepus andinus). The slow-moving little beast reminded one of a " Teddy Bear," and when it clambered among the branches of a tree it always recalled to me Hudson's description to the effect that he "hugged the branches as if he loved them." Our pet had been brought in by a native hunter who had shot the mother and found the young one clinging to her long, gray hair. It was easy to handle owing to its inactivity, but occasionally it struck viciously with its front feet, each armed with two formidable claws, and also snapped suddenly in an attempt to bite, its strong teeth enabling it to inflict severe injury. It ate quantities of tender green leaves at regular intervals, but it was always necessary to first sprinkle them liberally with water and CARTAGO TO RUIZ AND SANTA ISABEL 53 then feed them to the little creature one at a time and in quick succession. I have kept a number of sloths at various times and found that they thrived on young shoots and buds of many trees and plants, such as cacao, cabbage, lettuce, and almost any succulent vegetation. I know of no animal that appears more stupid and lifeless than a sloth. They move with great difficulty and in a sprawling posture on the rare occasions when they descend to the ground, on account of the peculiar formation of the feet; nor do they attain any great speed while moving in the tree-tops, where they always maintain an inverted posi- tion except when climbing up or down a trunk. When resting they roll up into a ball, and as a species of green alga not infrequently grows on the fur, they are very in- conspicuous among the leaves and moss-covered branches of their home — at least when viewed from below. But from above they do not always escape the sharp eye of the harpy-eagle, which is their chief enemy. In spite of its lifeless appearance, it would be difficult to find a mammal more tenacious of life; in this respect it resembles the reptiles. Sloths will withstand the most frightful wounds and frequently make their escape after having been shot many times. The natives are very fond of the flesh and not infrequently capture the animals when cutting down trees in clearing land; a favorite way to kill them is by drowning, but this is a lengthy and barbarous process, as it requires a long submergence before the crea- tures cease struggling and life is extinct. People of the lower class attribute peculiar powers to the sloth. They say that when one of the animals finds it necessary to descend to the ground it is unable to climb back to its lofty perch; but a friendly cloud is always hov- ering near by which envelops it and carries it back to any desired station in the tree-tops. In some localities they also attribute the wild call of the giant goatsucker to the sloth, The only time I heard the latter utter any sound was when a mother called to her young that was a few feet 54 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA away; she gave a fairly loud 'peep' and her offspring at once went to her. After a time our work at Squirrel Woods was completed, so, much to the relief of the inhospitable couple, we left the place and returned to Salento, where we had better fortune and were well cared for by one Colonel Martinez; his wife had come from Bogota, was a well-educated woman, and, what interested us more just then, was a splendid cook. The family conducted a fairly good posada and shop and had various other business interests, including several worthless mining claims along streams flowing into the Quindio River just below. A few excavations had been made into the hillsides; the largest was known as La Mina del Gallo and had yielded hundreds of tons of rocks and earth; but as not a speck of the elusive yellow metal they so eagerly sought had been forthcoming, the mine had been abandoned, and owls and bats inhabited the dark tun- nel. The greater part of the mining population had de- serted Salento for a place about ten miles distant, where extensive cinnabar-fields had been discovered. They ex- pected to acquire fabulous riches extracting the mercury from the deposits. Some Englishmen headed by a man named Lloyd-Owen were also interested in the enterprise, but I learned later that the prospect failed. At dusk we occasionally had a brief view of the Nevado del Tolima far to the east. The snow-capped summit is over eighteen thousand feet high, but we could never see more than a small portion of it on account of the ridges that surrounded it. At night the snowy dome gleamed white and frosty beneath a brilliant moon, and chill winds blew from the frigid heights and roared through the town. The paramos of Ruiz and Isabel, composed of high, cold valleys, plateaus, and snow-covered peaks are south of the Tolima. We straightway resolved to visit that region, and as the rainy season with its severe electrical storms was fast approaching, no time was lost in starting on the expedition. My experience on the Cerro Munchique was still too fresh CARTAGO TO RUIZ AND SANTA ISABEL 55 to make me want to duplicate it or expose any other mem- bers of the party to a similar ordeal. September 12 found us wending our way along the Quin- dio River toward its headwaters. The valley floor is cov- ered with grass that is kept close-cropped by cattle and horses. Low shrubbery grows along the river-bank; the stream — not over one hundred feet wide — is clear and swift and the icy water rushes over a boulder-strewn bed. A scattered growth of tall palms dots the entire valley and extends up the mountainsides to an elevation of about nine thousand five hundred feet. The trail is so indistinct that Allen and I, who were rid- ing in advance of the pack-mules, lost it and spent two hours in a vain endeavor to recover the way; then we saw the cargoes and peons far below, resembling moving black dots, and hurriedly rejoined them just as they were leav- ing the valley for the abrupt slope. The trail from here onward was steep and rough. Before us stretched a seem- ingly endless succession of ridges, farallones, tall rocks, and high precipices that reach a climax in the brown paramo of Santa Isabel, backed by walls of gleaming snow. In looking back over the way we had just come we could see the Quindio and the thousands of palms growing in its val- ley spread before us like a map. The lower slopes were barren, having but recently been burned over; fire was still raging in a number of places and the hissing and popping of burning vegetation could be heard frequently with distinctness. Tall, smouldering stumps were clustered here and there like blackened chim- neys from the tops of which wisps and columns of smoke ascended into a hazy sky. The pungent odor of burning green plants was at times almost suffocating. Forest begins at nine thousand five hundred feet. It is at first somewhat open and reminded us of Laguneta. The rich mould of the forest floor was very deep and caused us much anxiety lest some of the pack-animals be lost, for they sank into it to a great depth, and there was constant 56 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA danger of their floundering and pitching headlong down the mountainside. The arrieros took the utmost precau- tions, but even then one of the mules became overbalanced and fell off the trail. Fortunately the trees grew close to- gether and one of the packs became wedged between two of them and halted the rolling creature a short distance below. It struggled there with feet in the air until the peons released it and led it back to the trail. Toward evening we reached a native hut — the second since leaving the valley. The elevation of the place was ten thousand five hundred feet. A large clearing in which white clover grew abundantly surrounded the house. The inhabitants also had other clearings farther down, where they planted corn and wheat. They were all suffering with colds and the dreaded dengue, from which I was fortunately able to give them some relief with the aid of our medical kit. In return for this service they treated us most courte- ously and placed one of their two rooms at our disposal, although it happened that a score or more of chickens occupied the same quarters. The night was cold and damp. Next morning the wretched people gave us milk and cheese and we purchased several dozen eggs — certainly a great luxury in such an out-of-the-way place. They also showed us the skin and feet of a tapir one of the men had killed in the forest above. The hide had been used to make bottoms for chairs and was of a black color. They reported the presence of two species of bears, one entirely black and the other the tolerably well-known spectacled bear. Although the latter is the only species of bear sup- posed to exist in South America, I have been told repeat- edly by the people that a large black bear is found in the high Andes and have seen skins that appeared to bear out their statements. After leaving the house next morning we soon reached heavy mountain forest. A deserted hut stood near the border of it, so on our return from the paramo we spent several days there. The chief attraction about the place CARTAGO TO RUIZ AND SANTA ISABEL 57 was the abundance of white-throated sparrows (Brachy- spiza capensis capensis). Their cheerful little song cannot fail to endear them to any one with even a limited aesthetic nature. Whether one hears it in the hot, tropical low- lands or on a bleak mountain-top twelve thousand feet above sea-level, the happy little melody is always the same. Nor is the music confined to the hours of daylight only. I have frequently heard it in the darkest hours of night, ring- ing clear and sweet from somewhere out in the all-pervad- ing blackness. These birds are fond of the proximity of man and are most abundant where he has chosen to break the soil and erect his abode. As a general rule they are not gregarious, but I have seen them congregate in flocks of many thousands to spend the night in some particularly attractive spot in places where sleeping sites were limited in number. Farther south these sparrows also gather in flocks of varying size during the winter season. The nest is a neat, cup-shaped structure made of fine grasses; it is placed in a low bush or on the ground. Two or three pale-blue eggs thickly spotted with brown are laid and not infrequently two broods are reared in a season. During our stay at the solitary house on the edge of the great forest a white-throat or chingolo came daily and perched on the bannister of our porch to pour out its over- flow of happiness. We grew very much attached to the confiding feathered mite and eagerly awaited its frequent visits. After a short time I discovered the runway of some small rodent under the porch and set a trap to catch the animal. Not long after we heard the dull snap of the spring, and upon investigation found the limp body of the unfortunate songster. The place seemed deserted without the sprightly little bird and we never ceased to miss it. The belt of forest through which we penetrated before reaching the paramo was magnificent. A species of orchid bearing long spikes of yellow flowers was in full bloom; there were many hundreds of the thick-leaved plants, some perched on lofty branches, others growing from crotches 58 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA but a few feet above the ground, but all surmounted by a glorious halo of golden blossoms. We left the forest with its giant moss-covered trees, en- snaring creepers, and breathless silence that suggests a thousand mysteries, at about noon. It ends abruptly and is replaced by a narrow strip of low, dwarfed trees and bushes with small leaves that are either very stiff or are covered with thick down. There were also clumps of blue- berry-bushes, but the fruit was woody, bitter and inedible for human beings. Lupines and gentians grew in the hol- lows and numerous composites thrived on the slopes; among the latter was one with showy purple flowers that the peons called "arnica." After a stiff climb of an hour we gained the summit of a rise; the whole panorama of the paramo was spread out before us — a marvellous series of brown plateaus, sunken valleys with tiny rivulets meandering through them, and stern ridges dotted with blackened, rocky peaks. The snow-fields of the higher altitudes were entirely obliterated by banks of cold, gray clouds. The word paramo means an elevated plain, barren of trees, uncultivated, uninhabited, and exposed to the icy blasts of wind from the higher elevations. This description exactly fitted the country before us. We descended into one of the valleys, at the head of which lay a placid lake of small size, and made camp at the base of one of the pro- tecting walls of rock that flanked it. The elevation of the valley is about twelve thousand seven hundred feet, and the main peaks of the range hemming in the paramo rise to a height of sixteen thousand feet or more. Long, wiry grass covered the valley floor; the top was bent over, forming a billowy expanse of brown, variegated here and there with a diminutive patch of green. Lifting any one of the tufts disclosed a labyrinth of tunnels and runways apparently made by small mammals; but, strange to say, we saw a small number only of rabbits, and few rats came to our traps. If the network of tunnels harbored The lake on the paramo of Santa Isabel. Snow on the paramo of Ruiz. CARTAGO TO RUIZ AND SANTA ISABEL 59 other creatures, they effectively succeeded in evading our every effort to discover them. Probably the denizens of this underworld had learned the value of extreme caution and wariness because numbers of eagles (Lophotriorchis) were always soaring overhead ready to pounce down on any of them that for an instant relaxed their vigil A large part of the soil was springy beneath our step; it was undermined by numberless rivulets which trickled from the dopes and made their way to the stream in the centre of the valley. These wet places were covered with extensive areas of daisy-like plants having clumps or ro- settes of stiff leaves; the squat, green hummocks were strong enough to support one's weight, but walking over them was always accompanied by the feeling that they might give way suddenly and precipitate one into the deep mire. Sphagnum flourished along the edges of the marsh where it was not too wet. The peculiar, gray, mullein-like plant called frattejon thrives in rocky places that were sheltered to some extent; but chimps of the plants also braved the open, wind-swept slopes and grew to the very edge of the snow-fields. The heavy, orchid-laden forest through which we punned just before reaching the paramo encroached upon the val- ley's lower end, but for a short distance only. There were well-worn trails made by tapirs and deer that came nightly to feed on the abundant grass, for despite the dry and with- ered appearance of the upper layer there was a deep carpet of tender green shoots underneath. There was an abundance of birds on the paramo, espe- cially along the bush-grown banks of the streamlet; but all were of dufl colors — slaty blue, gray, black, or deep brown, that harmonized well with the bleak surroundings. Their habits reminded us of open-country birds of the northern United States. Gray flycatchers ran over the ground; at frequent intervals they mounted high in the air, like horned larks, for which we at first from a distance mistook than. A small wren-like bird, black with brown flanks (Scytalopus 60 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA sylvestris), lived in the taller herbage. It had a piping note that could be clearly heard fifty yards away, but the agile bird was hard to see on account of its obscure color and mouse-like habits that kept it constantly in the thickest cover. Numerous marsh-wrens (Cistothorus cequatorialis) in- habited the sedges, scolding and nervously flitting about. More interesting than the foregoing, however, were large Andean snipe (Gallinago nobilis) bearing at least. a super- ficial resemblance to the American woodcock. Single in- dividuals or pairs of these birds were found running over the bogs and drilling in the soft earth. In many places the ground was perforated with dozens of the deep, symmetri- cal holes where the tireless workers had labored diligently for a meal. Shooting them was good sport. They sprang into the air with a piping bleat and then sped away in a zigzag course for fifty or a hundred yards, dropped back to earth and instantly merged into their surroundings so completely as to be invisible. The finches were perhaps better represented than any other family of birds. A few goldfinches, in small bands, frequented the flowering shrubs. A kind of slaty finch (Phrygilus unicolor grandis) was far more abundant and fairly evenly distributed over the entire paramo. We dis- covered a nest of this species among the grass at the base of a frailejon; the structure was beautifully made of down taken from the leaves of the plants that sheltered it. It contained two pear-shaped eggs of a greenish color heavily speckled with fine dull-brown dots. From a distance the small lake at the head of the valley appeared to be a promising field for investigation. It yielded, however, but a solitary Andean teal greatly resem- bling the gad wall (Chaulelasmus) , that was swimming on the unruffled water, and when this had been taken our work in that particular spot was completed. The bottom of the pond was covered with a solid mass of long algce far out as we could see; these concealed any aquatic life that may have existed in the chilly depths. CARTAGO TO RUIZ AND SANTA ISABEL 61 The weather was usually agreeable during the greater part of the day, the thermometer registering in the neigh- borhood of 76° at noon, and dropping to 30° at night. It rained little, but banks of clouds rolled in frequently and precipitated a superabundance of moisture. One day Allen and I undertook an exploration trip to the snow-line. We started at daybreak, taking with us our guns, an abundant supply of ammunition, cameras, and a small parcel of lunch. We made straight for the head of the valley, passed the lake, and had soon reached the top of the weathered ridge that formed the first barrier to our progress. From the summit, fourteen thousand four hun- dred feet up, we could see numerous other isolated depres- sions like the one we had just left; in one of them was a newly made trench — probably the work of some venture- some miner who had drifted to this lonely place in search of gold. So far we had had not a glimpse of snow on ac- count of the heavy mist. We followed along the top of a hogback running northward and gradually leading to higher country that flattened out into a marshy plateau on its farther end. Progress was difficult. At each step the bog quivered within a radius of several yards and the clumps of matted vegetation depressed by our weight were quickly covered with water that oozed from below. This was an ideal spot for snipe and several sprang up as we painfully picked our way over the treacherous ground; but the great exertion and high altitude had a demoralizing effect on our aim, with the result that we were relieved of a good deal of ammunition without securing a single bird in return. A high wall of bare rock rose just beyond the confines of the bog, and gaining the top of it we were up fifteen thou- sand feet. It was covered with blackened rock fragments —mostly the result of weathering, but some of them prob- ably detached from the many towering crags and columns by the shattering force of lightning. The highest point in the wall is fifteen thousand two hundred feet. As we rested a moment to recover our breath, a procedure necessary 62 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA every twenty steps, the fog suddenly lifted and disclosed the snow-bound slopes of Ruiz a short distance away. Be- tween us lay a valley flanked by perpendicular walls of rock and hundreds of feet deep. The snow apparently ex- tended down two hundred feet lower than our station, making its lower limit fifteen thousand feet. We stood lost in admiration at the marvellous spectacle that unfolded itself before us. The hurrying curtains of clouds revealed ever-changing scenes. One moment miles of slopes covered with a white mantle of snow stood out in bold relief; the next, they were whisked from view and bare pinnacles of dark rock, like the spires of a cathedral, appeared momentarily high above, their ragged outlines softened by a veil of thin blue haze. Again, the lower edges of the panorama came into view, revealing glaciers and avalanches of snow and rocks perched on the brink of the wall ready to plunge with a boom into the deep valley. The floor of the valley was a series of ponds and morasses. Ducks disported in the cold water, all oblivious of our presence, and apparently safe in their, at least to man, in- accessible retreat. A raging torrent tore along the base of the wall, adding its roar as a fitting accompaniment to the general awe-inspiring character of its desolate and inhos- pitable surroundings. A whisp of vapor borne on a chill wind hurried across the intervening chasm and blew into our faces. Time had passed faster than we realized and we discovered that half of the afternoon was gone. Hurriedly we began to retrace our steps along the wall of rock and through the treacher- ous bog. By the time the sharp ridge was reached, clouds in such volumes had rolled in over the paramo that every- thing was obscured outside of a radius of a few yards from us. There was no trail of any kind, and even the most familiar rocks assumed strange shapes swathed in the dank vapor. A compass is useless under such circumstances. Before long we reached the interlacing mass of ridges and, after holding a consultation, followed along the top of one CARTAGO TO RUIZ AND SANTA ISABEL 63 that seemed to lead in the right direction. We stumbled along for two hours or more, and then realized that we were lost. Darkness was fast approaching and a raw wind swept down from the region of perpetual ice and snow. We began to look for a sheltered spot in which to spend the night, for it now seemed certain that each step was only taking us farther from camp. Just then a rift in the clouds appeared, and before it again closed we caught sight of a faint glimmer far below and to the right. That could mean but one thing: it was a reflection from the lake at the head of "our" valley. For more than an hour we had been travelling in exactly the opposite direction. We gave up the thought of a bed of frailejon leaves without regret and stumbled down the steep slope straight for the spot where the lake had flashed into view. After many col- lapses from thirst and fatigue we reached the brook with its crystal, ice-cold water; then progress was easier, and within another hour the glow of the camp-fire appeared through the haze, and soon we were snugly ensconced in the depths of our blankets. A few days after our journey to Ruiz the weather changed greatly. Low-hanging fogs covered the paramo day and night; lightning flashed among the clouds, and frigid gales roared over the plateaus. These were signs of the coining winter and warned us to leave the paramo before it was too late. Soon there would be only snow and ice, pene- trating mists, the reverberating roll of thunder, and blind- ing displays of electricity. The elements would be un- leashed and in all their grandeur, and awe-inspiring fright- fulness take possession of the upper world. Life would then be unendurable, so we accepted the warning and re- turned to Salento. CHAPTER V THE CHOCO COUNTRY ON THE WESTERN COAST OF COLOMBIA UPON returning to Cartago from our expedition to the bleak paramo of Santa Isabel, we began preparations for a visit to the notorious Choco, which lies along the western coast and within the San Juan River watershed. This sec- tion of the country presents the other extreme in climatic conditions. It has been rarely visited by naturalists on account of its inaccessibility; and the few who have suc- ceeded in forcing their way within its inhospitable borders have found it impossible to remain any length of time. Malarial and yellow fevers are endemic among the natives, but quickly sap the vitality and life of newcomers into the region; ram falls daily — four hundred inches being the average precipitation for one year — and the heat is so in- tense that when the sun appears during the intervals be- tween showers the whole jungle is converted into a steam- ing inferno. Small wonder, then, that the fabulous wealth in gold and platinum of the Choco has been little more than touched. Our plans called for an overland trip to Novita on the Taman£ River; after reaching that point local conditions would have to guide our subsequent movements. Trail there is none, but a footpath, often so faint that it loses itself among the vegetation or in the beds of streams, serves the purpose of partially guiding the stalwart negro who carries the mail to Novita at infrequent intervals, as well as others who undertake to cross the Western Range into the tropical lowland. The townspeople of Cartago had heard a good deal, in a general way, about conditions existing in the Choco, but 64 THE CHOCO COUNTRY 65 they could give no information of practical value. We haunted the market and other places where peons congre- gate in numbers in our endeavor to secure porters for the trip. The few who reluctantly expressed a readiness to go did not seem physically fit for such strenuous work, so I rejected them. One day a caravan of oxen arrived from the settlement of Salencio, and I hastily engaged them for the return trip, as these animals, while slow, are sure-footed, and can pick their way through mud and jungle that horses could not penetrate. Leaving Cartago, we crossed the arid Cauca Valley; the land west of the river is more rolling than on the opposite bank, but the character of the plant life is much the same. Within an hour Ansermanueva, a cluster of twenty or thirty adobe hovels, was sighted in the distance, but the trail divided just before reaching the village and we fol- lowed the southern branch. Beyond this fork the climb into the mountains began; there are two ridges, six thou- sand eight hundred feet and seven thousand five hundred feet high respectively, with a ravine of five thousand eight hundred feet between. The " cloud" forest does not begin below the top of the first ridge; then there is an abundance of mosses, ferns, bromelias and other epiphytes forming a growth that is both rank and beautiful, and equalling in density that found in any other region. The greater lux- uriance of the flora on the western slope indicated a heav- ier rainfall on that side; this is accounted for by the fact that the summits of the various ridges stop the moisture- laden winds from the Pacific, to a large extent, and cause them to precipitate the water on the ocean side of the divide. Within two days we arrived at Salencio, small, dilapi- dated, situated on a little plateau between the peaks, and inhabited mainly by half-breeds. We were advised to wait until the weekly market-day, when many people from the surroundings would come to town, and it would be possi- ble to secure porters for the continuation of the journey. In the meantime we made short excursions into the neigh- 66 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA boring forest; they yielded several novelties, among them a splendid example of the military macaw (Ara m. mill- tans). This gorgeously colored bird is rare, indeed, and we have never seen more than two at the same time. Spec- tacled bears were said to be common and to come to the clearings when corn is ripe; the number of pelts exhibited by the inhabitants amply verified their assertion. When Sunday came, and with it the gathering of people always present when market is held, we had no trouble in engaging the required peons, each of whom agreed to carry a pack of seventy-five pounds. Early the next morning they appeared, eager and ready for their undertaking. They shouldered their loads and started away at a fast gait, while we brought up the rear of the column to pre- vent straggling. The way lay across a low, forested ridge, and then ad- hered closely to the bamboo-covered banks of a small stream called locally Rio Cabeceros or Rio Vueltas, but which is really the headwaters of the Sipi River. At one time we waded in the knee-deep water a distance of over three miles, as it was easier than to force a way through the matted plant life on either side. I soon discovered that the porters did not possess the endurance of those we had previously employed on other expeditions, and I believe this was due to the fact that the use of coca leaves is un- known in this part of Colombia. Whenever our peons had an abundance of coca to chew they seemed tireless in the performance of their work; those not given to the habit required large and frequent meals, ate panela all day long as they marched, and were capable of covering a short dis- tance only in the course of a day's walk. We were com- pelled to halt early and chose the top of a knoll for a camp- ing site. A steady downpour of rain had fallen the entire after- noon, which continued throughout the night, and this, coupled with the severe cold (the elevation being seven thousand two hundred feet) and the desirability of pre- THE CHOCO COUNTRY 67 paring hot food, caused us to long for the comforts of a huge camp-fire. Dry wood was out of the question, but the men cut down a tree, the green wood of which burned readily, and had soon started a fire adequate for working purposes. Their ponchos, which had become saturated with water, were of no service in keeping them warm, so they sat up the entire night, singing, telling stories, and drinking hot coffee in their endeavors to remain cheerful and keep warm. On the following day the vegetation was far more dense, and advantage was taken of numerous narrow fissures in the mountainside roofed over with logs and moss; through these tunnels we crawled on hands and knees, but that was easier than forcing a way through the tangled mass of plants growing above. When camp was made that night the base of a tree was selected for a fireplace. At first glance it seemed that the diameter of the vine-covered trunk must be at least ten feet, but this was a delusion. After the men had vigorously plied their machetes on the creepers, moss, and ferns, a stem not over two feet across was revealed; they cleared away the lower tangle, leaving a protecting umbrella-like canopy overhead that shielded the entire party from the rain while they cooked their food. We crossed three ridges in all, the elevation of each being slightly in excess of seven thousand feet, with depressions of from two thousand feet to three thousand feet between them. All are heavily forested, the growth above four thousand feet being subtropical in character, while that lower down is typical of the tropics and comparatively open. At the end of the third day we heard the welcome roar of water, and not long after halted on the bank of the Hdvita River. A naked negro came from the far side in answer to our calls, and ferried us across the stream in a huge dugout canoe. There we found a settlement of half a dozen bamboo huts filled with lazy negroes clothed in scanty attire. The place is called El Puente. About one 68 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA hundred yards below the group of hovels, the Havita is joined by the Rio Ingara. The water of both streams is swift, cool, and of a bluish-gray color. Each of the streams is about seventy-five yards wide just above the junction. After crossing another ridge which required two days' time, we reached Juntas de Tamana", on the south bank of the HaVita, a stone's throw above the point where this stream empties into the Tamana, and but four hundred feet above sea-level. Excepting only the little clearing in which the fifteen dilapidated negro abodes stand, the en- tire country is covered with a forest of tall trees; there is little undergrowth, but many of the lower branches are covered with epiphytes, and long vines or "forest ropes" dangle down from the interlocking tree-tops to the very ground. The negroes of Juntas are a miserable, sickly lot. They suffer from lack of food, for the simple reason that they are too indolent to grow in sufficient quantities the plantains, yuccas, and other plants that thrive with a minimum of attention in such a favorable location. Instead of making clearings and cultivating the fertile ground, they prefer to lounge in their hammocks and take a chance at starving to death. At irregular intervals, when the pinch of want is too great to endure longer, the men paddle in canoes to their fincas to cut sugar-cane, gather plantains, and to pick palm-nuts in the forest. Upon their return the family gathers about the food and eats until not a vestige remains. So effectively do they attack the mound of provisions that one might easily imagine a swarm of locusts had paid the region a visit. A day or two after our arrival at Juntas a two-year-old child belonging to one of the families died. The news spread rapidly and by night the entire neighborhood had turned out for a wake. We followed the crowd. The baby, hi a white dress, with bright red and green ribbon trimming, lay in a wooden box on the table. A canopy of muslin had been erected above the bier which was strewn THE CHOCO COUNTRY 69 with wild flowers. The room was packed to suffocation with the black forms of the populace, which glistened in the dim, flickering candle-light. At first bottles of aguar- diente were distributed, and every one had a number of liberal-sized drinks. Then the older folks withdrew against the four walls and, squatting on the floor, sang or lamented as fancy dictated. The younger people divided into two parties and played games around the coffin. One of them was a kind of charade and, when the guessing side solved the riddle, they pursued and caught the others, amid loud shouts and laughter. I feared constantly that they might upset the coffin. Occasionally some one would stop long enough to pet or caress the dead little form, and address a few terms of endearment to it, such as pobrecito, angelito, or tan lindito. The revelry lasted until daylight; then a procession slowly wound its way to a newly dug grave and deposited its burden, leaving the only little mound visible that side of the Tamana. Christmas was drawing near. We were surprised to see the women apparently making preparations for a celebra- tion, which is most unusual in South America. They worked several days cutting the weeds around the village and cleaning up the place. When we asked about it, they said it was not on account of the approaching fiesta, but a form of penance they performed annually in atonement of their sins. Apparently the men were without blemish, for they gazed upon the workers and addressed jocular remarks to them from the comfortable retreat of their ham- mocks, even enumerating particular misdeeds and sug- gesting special forms of penance that might be effective. The next stage of our journey had to be performed on the river. We secured a huge bongo and stalwart negro paddlers, and December 21 found us speeding down-stream toward Novita. The Tamana is a rapid stream, varying between one hundred and three hundred yards in width. Its bed is strewn with boulders, causing rapids easily navi- gable on the downward voyage, but difficult and dangerous 70 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA to negotiate when bound up-stream. Then there are deep passages between high, crumbling banks, where the water glides silently onward like an olive-drab stream of molten glass. The densest of tropical jungles lines both banks; its matted walls facing the river are interrupted by small clearings at infrequent intervals, where low hovels stand surrounded by the rich foliage of banana and yucca plants. Chonta-palms, with bristling, spiny stems, rear their plumed heads above the other forest-trees, or droop over the water in a graceful manner, forming a dainty filigree against the brazen sky. The brassy, merciless sun blazed down with unrelenting vigor, and we were glad when dark storm-clouds obscured the sky and provided a greatly needed respite. It was possible to proceed only to a point called Cabe- ceros, below which rapids of a formidable character obstruct further navigation. The few negroes living on the river- bank can usually be induced to assist in making the por- tage, men and women alike undertaking to carry packs to Tambito at the foot of the rapids. Here it was necessary to secure another bongo and the trip was resumed. The Tamana" grows wider constantly. Cataracts are of more frequent occurrence and present greater hazards in their navigation. The bongo, made of a huge tree-trunk and measuring thirty feet in length, and a yard in width, was most seaworthy; but frequently it shipped water in alarming quantities, and scraped and bumped over the hidden rocks until we expected the craft to be rent asunder and flounder. During the greater part of the afternoon we were in sight of a high, isolated mountain, appearing on the map under the name Cerro Torra. So far as I can learn no explorer has ever succeeded in gaining its summit, and when I be- held the vast stretch of impenetrable jungle extending from the river to apparently the very top of the mountain, I could readily understand why the few men who had at- tempted this piece of exploration had failed in their under- taking. THE CHOCO COUNTRY 71 Late in the afternoon we landed at Novita. I was some- what surprised at the size of the town, which consists of about fifty hovels. The white population, which was very small, consists mainly of traders, and is more or less tran- sient. I was told that they remain in the region a year or two to buy gold and to sell their stock of provisions and merchandise at exorbitant prices, and then return to a more healthful climate — to suffer many years afterward from the effects of their sojourn in the Choco. Novita is essentially a mining town. A good deal of gold and platinum are washed out of the small streams that form a network in the surrounding country. The ne- groes and Indians bring in the precious metals in small quantities — wrapped in leaves — and trade them for tinned food and cloth. However, the town seemed to be on the decline in favor of Condoto, Pueblo Rico, and Quibdo, where richer mineral deposits had been located. The forest contained comparatively little wild life, and that was typical of the Pacific tropical faunal zone. We daily took long tramps and discovered numerous things of more than passing interest. Among them was a colony of nesting black-and-yellow orioles (Icterus). The birds had selected a solitary ceiba-tree standing in the centre of a banana-field. It was seventy feet to the lowest limbs and the trunk was so thick and smooth that no predatory ani- mal could climb it, which insured the safety of the colony from such a source of danger. The nests, like huge pears, dangled from the tips of the branches; I counted one hun- dred and four, and there must have been many others con- cealed by the foliage. The adult birds were busy and excited, and were coming and going in steady streams, keeping up their noisy chattering all the while. We found numerous bits of egg-shells, white with black dots, on the ground, indicating that the young were just hatching. One evening as we were returning from a long hunt,. we noticed lines of bats emerging from the little church stand- ing on the edge of the village. Next day (Christmas) I 72 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA visited this rendezvous accompanied by several negro as- sistants. The bats were all concealed within the board walls, so that it was impossible to get at them, but the negroes unhesitatingly tore away the slabs of flattened bamboo and soon had the room filled with a squeaking, fluttering swarm which they attacked with sticks. This method of attack proving too slow, they grabbed guns and fired into the masses amid wild shouts of merriment. When the pandemonium was over and the heap of slain had been collected, they respectfully removed their hats and in pass- ing out of the church reverently bowed the knee before the altar. We had been cautioned to be on the alert for snakes. The 'deadly bushmaster or vermgosa was said to be par- ticularly abundant. While hunting one day, Allen shot a hawk and placed it in the back pocket of his hunting-coat. To all appearances the bird was dead; while crawling through a thicket a short time later he felt a sudden sharp sting in his back and, throwing up his hands in terror, yelled, "Oh, Lord ! one got me at last," thinking, of course, that he had been struck by a snake. Hurriedly removing his coat, the discovery was made that the supposedly dead hawk had been stunned only and, reviving, had promptly dug its talons in the first thing that offered a firm hold. One may well imagine the unpleasantness of such an ex- perience. Occasionally we saw a species of blacksnake that grows to a length of more than twelve feet. It is perfectly harm- less, but has the disagreeable habit of haunting trails and footpaths near the villages. When a pedestrian approaches it rears its head several feet above the ground and calmly gazes into his face. The first few times this happens, the sudden, upward lunge of the big head, the rapidly playing tongue and the beady eyes give one a decided shock and provide ample cause for flight. Later, one becomes more or less accustomed to it. This snake was also plentiful in tropical Venezuela and Bolivia. THE CHOCO COUNTRY 73 It was impossible to secure fresh meat at Novita; salt beef was imported in barrels, but it was of such poor qual- ity that we could not eat it. We therefore depended on toucans and parrots for our meat-supply, and found both species very palatable. The paper money used throughout the greater part of Colombia is not recognized by inhabitants of the Choco. It rots in the wet, hot atmosphere and for that reason is valueless. Neither are gold coins wanted, but some of the shopkeepers accepted them at a twelve per cent discount. The money that finds favor is composed of silver coins from Mexico and practically all the other South and Cen- tral American republics; it is valued according to size, the "dollars" passing for forty cents, the halves for twenty, and so on. I found a number of United States half-dimes circulating at two cent, and dimes at four cent values, and "collected" all that came within reach. After a few days' hunting around Novita we secured another bongo and resumed our journey down-stream. The Tamana empties into the San Juan, about ten miles be- low Novita. The latter river is wider and deeper, but there is no change in the country bordering it. All day long we glided steadily onward, stopping at noon only for a brief respite from the burning sun. At dusk we landed to spend the night near a negro hut. The floor was raised five feet from the ground and the ragged, thatched roof nearly touched it; there were no walls. Altogether it was a most primitive dwelling, in which the dusky forms of the occupants moved like shadows against the dim light of their cooking fire. Noanama was reached the next day. It is not quite so large as Juntas de Tamana, and stands on a bluff overlooking the river. The inhabitants are all ne- groes; the males wore breech-cloths only, while the costume of the women consisted of a narrow cloth fastened around the waist with a string. Both men and women spend a few hours each day washing gold on the river-bank, secur- ing enough from this work to pay for provisions brought 74 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA from Buenaventura. When they have accumulated a small quantity of the fine, sparkling flakes they embark in their canoes and make their way to the seaport in three days, there to do their trading. It was impossible to hire them for any kind of work; one woman had flour, but could not bake bread for lack of fire-wood, because no one would carry it from the forest one hundred yards away. Indians came to the village daily. They wore many ornaments of beaten silver about their necks and wrists; some of them also had earrings made of the same metal, the size of door- knobs; they were so heavy that a framework of sticks placed at the back of the head had to be used to support their weight. I was greatly amused by the actions of one stalwart young brave who, with his wife and baby, came to the settlement each day. While in town, where he might be observed, he paid no attention whatever to his family; he walked several paces in front of the woman, who, of course, carried the baby, and not once even conde- scended to glance in their direction. However, when they reached the river-bank or some other secluded spot where he was safe from prying eyes, he snatched the infant from the mother's arms, kissed it, tossed it into the air and acted exactly like any other fond parent. If any one approached, he hastily returned it to his wife and resumed his taciturn expression. At times a small steamer, the Fluvial, from Buenaven- tura, visits the settlements on the lower San Juan. We waited in vain ten days for her appearance. However, a launch belonging to a miner, a Mr. Stapleton, chanced to pass, and the owner kindly offered to take us to the coast. The San Juan grows constantly wider. Its banks are dotted with the conical huts of Indians; the floors are always raised on poles, high above the ground, to escape the floods and insects. As we sped down the river many of the naked, painted savages rushed out in their canoes, paddling and yelling like demons in attempts to overtake the launch. I do not THE CHOCO COUNTRY 75 know what object they had in mind as we always out- distanced them. We also saw others catching crabs in places where the high, sheer banks were honeycombed with holes made by these crustaceans. They had slender, sharp- ened sticks with a barb on the end, which they inserted in the burrows and then withdrew with the struggling victims impaled on them. We reached the mouth of the San Juan in two days' time. The river is very wide at this point and dotted with low mangrove islands. A sand-bar almost completely blocks the estuary, and when we left the next morning we had great difficulty in finding a passage. Then followed a wild, careening dash of forty miles in the open ocean. The launch was but twenty-one feet long, and we were com- pelled to go out of sight of land to avoid rocks and reefs; but dusk found us well within the confines of Buenaventura Bay, ploughing through the placid water at great speed and frightening up innumerable flocks of brown pelicans that much preferred to float comfortably on the unruffled surface, and took wing only as a last resort to escape being run down. Buenaventura had never seemed attractive or inviting to us before, but after a month in the steaming coastal land, with its almost constant downpour, insect pests, and terrific heat, it appeared to be altogether delightful. We returned to Cali and spent weeks on our backs suffering from the fevers with which we had become inoculated. Allen's attack was so severe that he was compelled to re- turn to the United States two days after reaching San Agustin on our next expedition, and just before the dis- covery of some of our most valuable material. CHAPTER VI IN QUEST OF THE COCK-OF-THE-ROCK ON my fourth visit to Popaydn we had to remain in the city the greater part of a week, arranging for the continua- tion of our journey across the Central Andes to the head- waters of the Magdalena. Hereafter we were to travel on foot, partly due to the fact that some of the trails were im- passable, both to riding and pack animals, and partly to enable us to be in a position better to study the wild life of the region we traversed. I was accompanied on this particular expedition by Doctor Allen and Mr. J. T. Lloyd, of Cornell University. On February 27 we left Popayan on foot, the mule-train following some little distance behind. The route lay through undulating country, rather well cultivated, where there were numerous huts at which we found shelter for the nights. At one of these stopping-places the natives were engaged in thrashing beans. The pods had been heaped upon a straw mat and the family were beating them with heavy flails. Wheat was thrashed in the same man- ner, but after the grains had been beaten loose from the chaff large pans full were held high above the head and poured out in a thin, steady stream; the wind blew the chaff from the falling column and the wheat dropped upon the mat. At another hut men were manufacturing "ca- bulla" by stripping off, between two sticks, the fleshy part of the leaves of the yucca-plant. The tough fibres remain- ing were mixed with horsehair and braided into strong ropes. Food was scarce, the natives subsisting upon the inevitable "sancocho" of boiled green plantains, and corn- meal "jarepas." However, we managed occasionally to pick up a fowl, some green corn, and once we succeeded in 76 IN QUEST OF THE COCK-OF-THE-ROCK 77 purchasing a live sheep; this, in addition to the provisions we carried, enabled us to fare passably well. On March 7 we had reached the top of a ridge ten thou- sand three hundred and fifty feet high, having passed the little villages Timbio, San Miguel, Santa Barbara, and La Vega. La Vega means " fertile plain," and the surrounding country fully justifies the name. Far as the eye could see the gently sloping mountainsides had been divided into a network of small, irregular plots by rows of high, thick hedges. Wheat, corn, cabbage, and rice flourished under the cultivating hand of the Indian; there were also small flocks of sheep, and occasionally a few head of cattle. Small mud-walled huts, singly and in clusters/dotted the maze of green landscape, and over all breathed an air of quiet and contentment. The trail had gradually led upward, though often de- scending into gorges and ravines a thousand feet deep. We had passed through patches of barren country, and then entered a wilderness of lovely flowering rhododen- drons. The masses of red wild oleanders were beautiful, but the lanes of a species of shrub covered with small waxen blossoms of purest white, mingled with deep-green foliage and the fronds of monstrous subtropical ferns, surpassed any picture that pen can describe or the imagination con- jure. From afar we could hear the steady buzz of bees and other insects that swarmed about the flowers, and fre- quently a humming-bird whirred into the arena, hovered a few moments, and then sped away; myriads of nocturnal insects appeared at night, and great sphinx-moths took the place of the hummers. The top of the ridge is covered with tall, magnificent forest. We saw numerous signs of bird and animal life. Toucans of several species yelped and clattered their bills in the tall trees above. There were also yellow-shouldered troupials, blue and yellow cotingas, brown creepers, bright- colored hummers, and many dragon-flies. The latter pos- sessed a special interest for Lloyd, who immediately erected 78 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA breeding-cages and began to study their life history. The larva of the dragon-fly resembles a good-size black beetle and lives in water. It is the possessor of a voracious appetite, feeding upon aquatic insects, the larvae of mos- quitoes, and even upon members of its own kind. Finally it rises to the top, hatches, and continues the cycle of its existence as an aerialist, the terror of the winged insects upon which it preys. Penelopes, small turkey-like birds, were abundant, and proved to be excellent eating. One day we succeeded in taking two specimens of a rare, beau- tiful tanager (Serricossypha albocristata) that lived in small flocks hi the tall tree-tops. It was as large as a robin, of a velvety blue-black color, with a white crown and breast of deep scarlet. With such a display of lovely colors one might expect harmony in song; but apparently the vocal ability of the gorgeous creature was limited to a few shrill "peeps" like those of a strayed pullet. Deer also were abundant, and one day we caught a fine cat of the ocelot family. We pitched camp in the heart of the forest. The vege- tation was really wonderful. In spots the lower growth consisted entirely of climbing bamboo, so dense as to be im- penetrable; the moss carpeting the ground was often knee- deep, and the trees seemed to be breaking under the weight of the creepers, orchids, mosses, and lilies that burdened every trunk and branch. It rained a good deal, and when the downpour stopped there was always the drip, drip of water that had been absorbed by the spongy masses over- head. The forest zone extends along the top of the ridge for three or four miles and down about one thousand five hun- dred feet on the other side, but the slope immediately below this line is either bush-covered or cultivated, and bears every evidence of having been cleared. Fifteen hundred feet lower down we came upon the little settlement Alma- guer, which boasts about one hundred adobe houses and two severely plain little churches, but all are whitewashed Indian hut in the Valle de las Papas. IN QUEST OF THE COCK-OF-THE-ROCK 79 and present a clean appearance. The main industry is the making of Panama hats of a rather coarse kind. Many In- dians visit the town on market-days, bringing coca leaves, lime, and sera, a kind of vegetable wax, obtained from a berry that grows in the mountains and used for making candles. Pigeons are very fond of the berry, and as they ripen the great band-tailed species congregate in flocks to feed upon them, becoming so fat that they finally pay with their lives for the short season of feasting. The candles made of sera are green, but burn well and are generally better than the ordinary tallow dip. The lime, or " mam- be, " is used for chewing with the coca leaves, which is a confirmed habit in this part of the country. As elsewhere, the weekly market at Almaguer is a day of great activity and is looked upon almost hi the light of a fiesta. Early in the morning, usually at four o'clock, a cow is killed in the plaza and all the inhabitants gather around to watch the skinning of the carcass. At eight o'clock the plaza is rilled with tradespeople, usually women, squatting on the ground with their wares spread before them in wooden trays, bags, or baskets. All that these simple people deem necessary to existence, and even some luxuries, may be had. There are rows of venders of bread, cakes, and dulces; others with vegetables, rice, coffee, corn, and cheese; occasionally peaches, apples of an inferior quality, oranges, and a few plantains are brought up from some sheltered valley; but the greatest space is always taken up by the coca merchants, who unquestion- ably do the most thriving business, as every one takes advantage of market-day to have their "mambero" re- plenished. Sometimes a buyer of hats visits the market. On such occasions the day is ushered in with an unearthly hammering noise that proceeds from all the houses, and in- vestigation will disclose the women industriously pounding the Panamas into shape on a wooden block. Later they carry them to market on their heads, where the buyer, after a casual examination, makes an offer which varies from 80 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA forty cents to a few dollars, according to the texture of the hat. At night the temperature falls rapidly as the cold winds sweep down from the mountains and howl through the streets. We have every reason to remember our night's experience in Almaguer. The pack-animals had failed to catch up and we carried nothing with us, so we spent the long, cheerless hours until sunrise shivering in our bare, dusty room in the posada. The first night from Almaguer was passed at an old mill on the banks of the Caquiona, built by monks many years ago. They had thoughtfully provided a large room to house the Indians who formerly came to have their wheat and corn ground, even to the extent of providing rough bunks; and just outside stood a massive stocks, doubtless also provided for the use of the Indians, but it must have detracted somewhat from the effect of the hospitality ex- tended by the good monks. There was plenty of tender, luscious grass for the mules. Near the river large numbers of butterflies settled on the moist sand to drink; the boul- ders on the bottom of the clear, cold stream had many houses of the caddis-fly cemented to them — little pebbly mummy-cases in which the owner lay snugly ensconced in the silky lining and quickly repaired the break if we opened them. The next day we passed San Sebastian, the last settlement, and climbed steadily higher toward the cold, bleak paramo that marks the dividing-line between the Cauca and the Magdalena. After four days we reached the marvellous Valle de las Papas, just below the mist-enshrouded paramo, and took refuge in the pretentious house of old Pedro, a full-blooded Andaquia, while preparing for our final dash across the great barrier. The Valle de las Papas is a great level stretch of marshy land covered with a growth of tall grass and small clumps of forest, between ten thousand and eleven thousand feet up. The tops of the ridges hem it in on all sides and some- IN QUEST OF THE COCK-OF-THE-ROCK 81 what protect it from the icy winds. It is said that the ancient Indians cultivated the potato in this valley; hence its name — "The Valley of Potatoes." An elaborate net work of canals or drains runs through the valley, but the climate and soil are such that I doubt if cultivation could be carried on to any great extent. Often, for many days at a time, rain and hail fall steadily and the mist is so thick that one cannot venture far on the treacherous boggy soil. Yet. strange to say, cattle thrive wonderfully on the high pla- teau, and their rearing is the occupation followed by the few Indian families who live on these heights. Beautiful orchids abound in the trees, especially in the forest that reaches up to the valley; we saw many of yellow, purple, and snowy- white. Some of the trees are of the evergreen family, in- cluding a kind of holly. There were many indications of deer and tapirs, although we shot none. Large snipe and ant-thrushes were plentiful, and on the streams we saw a number of peculiar little torrent-ducks, or merganettas; large white gulls, which the Indians say are old birds that come up from the sea to die, soared high overhead. At one end of the valley lies a small lake, of which we had an occasional short view when the clouds drifted up the slopes. All about grew clumps of frailejones. Two streams leave the grassy borders of the lake, mere rivulets ten or twelve feet wide, through which we waded daily; one flows down the extreme eastern slope and develops into the mighty Caqueta that helps to swell the yellow flood of the Amazon; the other breaks through the ridges to the northeast, and dashing down the mountains in a series of rapids and cascades forms the Magdalena, which empties into the Caribbean many hundreds of miles away. Allen was suffering considerably from the fever con- tracted in the Choco four months before. Instead of being benefited by the high, cold climate as we had hoped, his condition grew steadily worse, so we found it necessary to continue our journey sooner than we had anticipated. I hastened back to San Sebastian to engage Indian porters, 82 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA as mules are unable to carry packs beyond this point, and was assisted in my mission by the schoolmaster, who took a sympathetic interest in our undertaking. He was a pa- thetic example of a man who might have accomplished great deeds had the opportunity presented itself. One of his most highly cherished possessions was an old magazine containing illustrations of an aeroplane and an article on wireless telegraphy. With a great deal of difficulty I succeeded in arranging with a dozen Indians to carry our luggage across the cor- dillera the following week. They were of splendid phy- sique and as fine a looking lot as I had ever seen. The price agreed upon was about seventy-five cents per arroba of twenty-five pounds, each man carrying from two to four arrobas. The journey would require five days, and each man was to carry his own food for the trip in addition to the pack. The charge was high, judged by local standards, but on account of the rainy season the trail was all but im- passable; also, it was the Semana Santa, one of the greatest fiestas of the year, when all good Indians should roam the streets, dulling their senses with an excessive use of coca leaves and guarapo, and fighting, while the women spent the greater part of the days in church acquiring grace for themselves and their delinquent husbands. A small ad- vance was made to each man to enable him to purchase a supply of ground corn, cane-sugar, and coca. Acceptance of this advance is considered equal to signing a contract, and they rarely, if ever, go back on the deal. On Wednesday, April 3, the day set for our departure, the men appeared, each provided with a board and strong cords. The packs, consisting of boxes, steamer trunks, and bags, were tied to the boards which fitted the men's backs; a broad band was passed over the forehead and two bands across the chest. Each man carried in his hand a forked stick, or "mula," as a means of aiding him in going up and down the slippery inclines and in walking the logs that crossed the streams. IN QUEST OF THE COCK-OF-THE-ROCK 83 After a short, steep climb we were out on the bleak paramo, in the midst of the rain, hail, and mist. The wind blew a gale and the cold was intense. Through an occa- sional break in the banks of fog we had glimpses of the valley on each side filled with dense clumps of frailejones. We continued on in the face of the blinding storm for sev- eral hours, but with the coming of darkness the trail left the wind-swept zone and started downward, winding along the canyon of the Magdalena; in the failing light the scenery was bewitchingly beautiful. High, rugged peaks, sheer cliffs, and black masses of forest towered above the spar- kling stream that bounded from rock to rock in a succession of falls. Allen and Lloyd had gone on ahead, and after dark I came upon them camped in a unique spot. They had thrown their blankets on a ledge in the face of a cliff that towered several hundred feet above them. A tiny waterfall dashed over the edge of the precipice, cleared the ledge, and joined the greater torrent below. The regular night's stopping-place is known as Santa Marta, which the Indians reached at nine that night. Immediately after arriving at the camping site the por- ters boiled corn-meal, which they ate with brown sugar. Each man had brought a sheepskin to use as a bed, and these were dried beside the fire while their food was cook- ing. Before starting in the morning they had another meal of mush and sugar. During the gruelling day their mouths were kept well filled with coca and lime, and the apparent amount of sustenance and endurance derived from the herb is extraordinary; nor does it seem to have any bad after- effect, though in Almaguer I saw a number of shaky old women with bloodshot eyes and blackened lips and teeth, said to be due to the result of excessive indulgence in coca. The second night we failed to catch up with the men who had gone on ahead. We had waded streams and knee- deep mud the greater part of the day as the result of the steady downpour which rendered the trail indescribably bad; everything was drenched and it required more than an 84 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA hour of hard work to start a small fire. However, the day dawned bright and, sunny, and we lingered to watch the tribes of feathered folk that began feeding and chattering in the tree-tops. The ripening fruits had attracted great black guans, trogons with rose-colored breasts and metallic green backs, and wonderful curve-billed hummers with long white tails. Along a stretch of bamboo we saw scores of large, pearly butterflies flapping about lazily, the irides- cence of their wings flashing like bits of rainbow in the sun- light; but not a glimpse did we have of the main object of our long wanderings — the rare and elusive cock-of-the- rock. In the afternoon the rain again fell in unrelenting tor- rents, and we camped beneath a wall of rock hundreds of feet high, which the Indians called the Pena Seca, or dry- stone. Great vines with bunches of scarlet flowers drooped a hundred feet below the top, like gigantic serpents, but not a drop of all the downpour reached us. The base of the cliff was blackened from the numerous camp-fires kin- dled by Indians on their way to Tolima in quest of salt. By way of divertiseinent our Indians gathered incense, which is a kind of gum that collects on certain trees, and which they intended to take home with them for use in the santa iglesia. I watched the social bees that live in com- pany with termites building tubular entrances that may extend out eighteen inches or more like a coiled pipe-stem to their apartment in the nest; apparently the two differ- ent inmates of the common domicile never clash. The third night we reached the hut of an old Indian who called himself Domingo, and who was as surly a crea- ture as ever walked the earth. As he refused us the hospi- tality of his hut, we camped outside his gate. We now occasionally passed through a cleared spot where grain and vegetables grew; cattle grazed on the long, ten- der grass, and dark-brown, wild-eyed children peered at us from under the fringed, low grass roofs of shambling Indian huts. On the top of every knoll was a row of tall wooden IN QUEST OF THE COCK-OF-THE-ROCK 85 crosses, some newly erected, others decaying and ready to topple over; it is the custom of the natives to erect a new one each year on Good Friday, permitting the old ones to remain standing. We had reached the frontier of Huila. On Easter Sunday we had our first glimpse of San Agus- tin, which was decidedly disappointing. All that we could see as we descended the last steep slope was a cluster of some fifty-odd mud huts protruding from the centre of a wide, barren plain; there is no forest within a mile in any direction, and very little cultivation is carried, on in the immediate vicinity. The town is very old; the inhabitants are mainly of Spanish descent, but scattered throughout the surrounding country can be found small clearings, orfincas, cultivated by full-blooded Indians. These latter are of a reticent though friendly disposition, emerging from the seclusion of their forest-bound homes only on market-days to dispose of the products of the soil and of their flocks. In recent years the name San Agustin has come into prominence on account of the prehistoric ruins and mono- liths that are found in its vicinity, and which are supposed to be of very great antiquity, dating back to a culture that has entirely disappeared and of which nothing definite is known. Even the Indians who to-day inhabit the region have no traditions or folk-lore of the vanished race, and scientists who have examined the ruins have, up to the present time, been unable to account for their origin. It has been suggested that they may represent the work of the tribe of Andaquias, but this statement is disputed by Carlos Cuervo Marquez, who points out that the mute reminders of an ancient civilization already existed in the same un- known condition at the time the Conquistadores overran the empire of the Chibchas. The thing that first attracted our attention was the row of twelve stone images that stand in the centre of the plaza facing the village chapel, which vary in height from two to eight feet and are carved from sandstone and granite. Gi- gantic heads, with round faces and staring, expressionless 86 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA eyes, are set upon short, square bodies. Some are crowned with hats or head-coverings that range in pattern from the Turkish fez and sugar-loaf to curious curved caps that may have been intended to simulate the rainbow. Many of the figures are quite naked, while others are clothed in a narrow band, or loin-cloth. The teeth of many of the human beings represented are prominent, and each has two pair of great pointed canines like those of a beast. This row of images was placed in its present location by order of the priest who had charge of the parish; we may imagine at what cost of labor when we realize that many of the stones weigh several tons. Of course, there are no trails, and the only way was to drag them out of the forest with ropes. One of the monoliths represents a woman with a small child in one arm and a club in the other hand raised in an attitude of defense; on one is carved a woman meshing a muchila, and on another a man is holding a fish. There is the hewn figure of a large monkey crouching over a smaller one, and some distance away stands an owl holding a snake in its beak. A flat slab in a recumbent position bears the engraved figure of a woman and possibly served as the covering of a coffin or a grave. Then there is the statue of a woman with a mallet in one hand and a chisel in the other, thought to represent the goddess of sculpture. It seems not improbable that the greater number of the images represent idols which were worshipped by the ancient people. The most interesting examples are to be found in the forest above San Agustin. Under the giant cedars and tall cecropias that cover the slopes one finds works of a more pretentious nature, scattered among the dense low palm growths and covered with creepers and epiphytes. There a huge stone tablet may be seen, supported on four richly carved stone columns six feet high, which probably served as an altar for the offer of sacrifice; or it may have been the entrance to a temple. Near-by is an underground gallery leading to two large caves in which are carvings of the sun The village of Santa Barbara. A corner of San Augustin. IN QUEST OF THE COCK-OF-THE-ROCK 87 and moon with rays darting in all directions. There are many other statues within a radius of several miles, and doubtless a systematic search of the region would reveal rich archaeological treasure-troves. Numerous mounds and caverns furnish abundant evidence of the existence of ruined temples and the remnants of works of art that have yielded to decadence with the passing of the centuries. Most of the known statues have been undermined by fortune-hunters and have toppled over; others have been broken by the excavators in their mad search for the small gold replicas or ornaments that are found in the graves, while several have been demolished by order of the clergy. The only thing that prevents the removal of the stones themselves is their great weight and lack of transportation facilities. The ruins about San Agustin possess none of the ornate massiveness of those found in Guatemala and Yucatan, but rather has the work been executed along severe lines and in bas-relief; nor are they nearly so well preserved, which might tend to show that they date back to an earlier period. Hieroglyphics are almost wholly wanting. Doctor Karl Theodor Stoepel, who spent some time in San Agustin pre- vious to our visit, has traced a similarity between one of the monoliths and an example found in Pachacama, Bo- livia. In one or two instances the work resembles that of the Aztecs. Just how to account for the advance of civilization to a point where art and architecture were encouraged, and which supported a well-organized form of government, and then to explain its complete extinction, is a question on which students of the subject are at variance. Religion in some form or other has always wielded a powerful influence upon the life and customs of primitive nations; one evi- dence— almost invariably the deities and the temples erected for their veneration represent the supreme efforts of the ancient artists and alone have withstood the weath- ering of ages. This points strongly to the supremacy of a 88 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA sacerdotal order; but whether the reigning classes who withheld their knowledge from the common people for selfish purposes were annihilated by an uprising of the ser- vile hordes or by an outside invasion, or whether some great cataclysm of nature extinguished the progress of ages at a stroke, may forever remain a secret. The bird life around San Agustin was varied and abun- dant. Trees were in blossom, especially one with a feath- ery, pinkish flower (Mimosa), and to this scores of hummers came. One species had a slightly curved bill and was green in color, with a patch of deepest purple on the throat; an- other of a blue color had tail-feathers six inches long. In the ravines there were many chachalacas that kept up a demoniacal cackling. The bushes were full of finches and lovely velvety red tanagers, while honey-creepers came to our table daily and gorged themselves on sugar. In the forest we saw many large, woolly monkeys, some bluish, others silvery gray. There were kinkajous, agoutis, and peccaries. The two-toed sloth was abundant; the flesh of all these animals was greedily eaten by the natives. Numbers of large lizards or iguanas prowled about the town and feasted on the tiny chickens and ducklings. A flight of locusts covered the entire upper Magdalena, and for days the air was black with the pest; millions would rise from the ground in a steady cloud in front of us as we walked along through the fields. In a few days not a speck of green remained. The hungry, insatiable hordes moved on, but behind them remained a wide, brown desert, filled with sorrow and desolation, for the crops of corn, yuccas, and bananas had been destroyed and there would be famine for many months to come. We scouted the forests daily, confining our search to the untrodden ravines of the Rio Naranjos, a turbulent, wicked stream that joins the Magdalena a short distance below. Great precipices flank its sides and the water rushes through dark, narrow gorges. Everywhere the river-bed is dotted with great boulders against which the water dashes with a A mountain stream, such as the Rio Naranjos, where the cock-of-the-rock spends its existence. IN QUEST OF THE COCK-OF-THE-ROCK 89 force that sends clouds of spray into the air. The slopes of the mountains and ravines are covered with a dense palm jungle, the trees laden with bunches of purple berries. It is in places such as these that the cock-of-the-rock spends its existence. After several weeks of the most strenuous work our efforts were rewarded: we came suddenly upon a flock of male birds in the top of a palm, the bright scarlet color of the wonderful creatures flaming among the deep- green fronds in a dazzling manner as they flitted about, and with outstretched necks and raucous "eur-rr-ks" sur- veyed the disturbers of their time-honored solitude. We were the first human beings to penetrate their jungle fast- ness and excited curiosity rather than fear. The mere sight of these beautiful birds in their wild surroundings was worth all the discomforts of the long journey. In size they are no larger than domestic pigeons, but the color is of a most intense and brilliant scarlet, with wings and tail of black; the upper wing-coverts are of a light shade of gray, and the eyes and feet are golden yellow; a flat crest an inch and a half high completely covers the head and hides the yellow bill. The female is of a dull shade of brown. We wanted to find their nests and to study their home life, of which little was known; also to secure material for the museum group. With the aid of Indians, and ropes made of creepers, we began to explore the face of the cliffs, some of which were a hundred feet high. On many of the steep slopes the palms grew so close together that we utilized them as ladders. As it rained nearly every day the footholds were very slippery, and many times one or an- other of the party fell, being saved from being dashed on the rocks far below only by the rope that bound us together. One day, as we crept along slowly and painfully, we flushed a bird of sombre brown from a great boulder that rose from the centre of the stream. We waited breathlessly while she fluttered about in the palms and then returned to the rock. She flew many times back and forth; carry- 90 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA ing food in her bill, and at last I discerned a dark object against the face of the rock upon which the bird centred her attention. There was no longer cause for concealment, so we moved to the edge of the torrent and saw the grass and mud nest plastered against the face of the rock; below raged a whirlpool, and on each side there was a waterfall. A more inaccessible spot could not have been chosen by the bird, whose haunts had never been violated. After a consultation the Indians decided to build a raft, and accordingly cut down trees and lashed the trunks to- gether, but no sooner had the craft been launched than it was caught by the raging swirl and spun about until the creepers parted and we found ourselves struggling in the whirlpool. A great liana which had been securely tied to the raft and fastened on the bank swept past, and this proved to be our salvation. A tall tree was now felled, and its course so directed that the top should fall across the inaccessible rock island, but it fell several yards short and again we were outwitted. The sun was now directly overhead, and the fierce rays entered the narrow confines of the canyon so that it was stiflingly hot. Angry peals of thunder warned us of the approaching storm, and red howling monkeys, disturbed from their midday rest, roared dismally. Above, the river flowed like a greenish stream of molten glass; below, it dashed through the gorge with a dull roar, and to the tow- ering boulder in the centre clung a treasure, to possess which men had risked then- lives; but on the very verge of success we seemed likely to fail. Even the Indians, pioneers of the jungle, shook their heads doubtfully and wanted to return. We tried the only remaining resource. With poles and lines two of the Indians and myself picked our way to a number of small rocks that jutted out of the angry flood at the very mouth of the gorge. The other Indian spliced to- gether joints of slender bamboo and climbed out into the branch of the fallen tree which had lodged against some rocks. From this precarious position he made repeated IN QUEST OF THE COCK-OF-THE-ROCK 91 thrusts at the nest; finally it fell and began its maddening career in the whirlpool. Around it went, many times, and then shot straight for the gorge, swerving toward the rock on which Juan stood. As we shouted encouragement Juan dived. In spite of the fact that he was a powerful swim- mer we doubted if we should ever see him again, but after what seemed minutes he reappeared, battling furiously with the flood that sought to sweep him into the mael- strom. We threw him a line and dragged him ashore. In his mouth he held the precious nest, a young bird, drowned, still clinging to the grass lining. Later, and under circumstances hardly less thrilling, we found other birds and nests with both eggs and young, but we took only those that were absolutely necessary. The others, and there were many, we left to the eternal mys- tery of the wilderness, to dance in the shadows and to woo their mates beside the rushing waters; to rear their young and to lead the life that was intended for them from the beginning. CHAPTER VII CROSSING THE EASTERN ANDES INTO THE CAQUETA OF the many little-known places in South America, the least known lie eastward of the eastern base of the Andes. One such region is the Caqueta of Colombia. We had been considering the feasibility of undertaking a trip into this country, but the departure for home of my companion, Doctor Allen, and Mr. Lloyd, from San Agustin, left me alone in the field, and I doubted the advisability of taking the journey without their assistance. From all the infor- mation I could gather, the crossing of the Eastern Range presented great difficulties and would have to be accom- plished on foot. The rainy season had set in, adding to the difficulties of travel. Also, the rivers were swollen to such an extent that there was danger of our being stopped at any one of them; or, far worse, of being unable to recross them upon our return. However, a nearer view invariably changes the perspective, so I determined to approach the region as near as possible, gather all the data available, and then follow the course that seemed best. Accordingly, we bade a reluctant farewell to San Agustin one Sunday morning. The entire village turned out to see us depart and gave us numerous tokens of their good- will and friendship in the form of embroidered handker- chiefs, panama hats, food, and pets. An old Indian sol- emnly presented me with a small monkey, which he said could cry if spanked thoroughly; he offered to give a dem- onstration of the creature's accomplishment, but I assured him that his word was sufficient. A parrot was contributed by another person who said it would be good company, as it "conversed" well. The Vaya con Dios! of these simple, 92 CROSSING THE EASTERN ANDES 93 honest folk was touching, and we took away with us only the most pleasant memories and friendliest feeling. After a three days' ride through level plains and gently rolling grasslands we forded the Rio Suaza and drew rein in the town of Guadaloupe. It stands at the foot of the Cordillera Oriental. A trail was being constructed from this point across the mountains and into Amazonian drain- age; however, work had little more than begun, and the reports of the route we had from the villagers were not very encouraging. There was nothing of particular interest about the vil- lage. We moved to a site known as La Danta three thou- sand five hundred feet up the slope. There was abundant woods all around in which we hunted with good results nearly three weeks. One day a party of Indians made camp on the bank of a creek not far from La Danta, and immediately built a rock and mud dam across the little waterway. Then they crushed a great many leaves of the yucca-plant and threw them into the stream. The milky juice quickly mingled with the water, and soon scores of catfish came to the top, stupefied 'by the poison, and floating on their backs. They were gathered by the basketful and taken away by the Indians. These catfish, living in rapid mountain streams, are provided with a sucking disk which enables them to attach themselves to a rock to rest; otherwise they would be washed down stream, as they are not very powerful swimmers. The cost of being married is so high in some South Ameri- can countries that in many cases the ceremony is dispensed with. Occasionally, however, bands of missionaries visit a region and attempt to undo the wrong inflicted by the local padres by uniting in marriage free of charge all those who appear before them for that purpose. The padres are not always to blame; frequently the inhabitants are simply too indifferent or lazy to go through the formalities, or there may be no one in their midst to look after their spiritual wants. 94 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA While we were at La Danta a half-dozen priests came to Guadaloupe and urged the paisanos to take advantage of this opportunity to become united in wedlock according to the ritual of the church. The people listened to the exhor- tations, promised to heed the admonitions, and — failed to show up at the proper time. Then the padres lost patience and talked the matter over with the jefe. The latter sent out soldiers to scour the country and bring in all the offend- ers living together within a radius of many miles; the pairs were frequently brought in handcuffed together, all objec- tions and excuses being promptly overruled or ignored by the officiating clergy. Then they were lined up and mar- ried. Several weeks later I was the guest of a very high gov- ernment official in another state. In the course of dinner conversation the senora asked me in the most casual way: "Tell me ! In your country, do people get married, or asi, no mas like here?" The last phrase was accompanied by a dainty snap of the fingers. I am afraid I said: "Asi, no nfol" From peons working on the new road we learned that their operations had extended to a point near the top of the range, and that a tambo, or rest-shack, had been built there to shelter the laborers. We immediately started for the place and by dint of hard travel reached it in one day's time. The shack bore the name Andalucia and was seven thousand nine hundred feet up. The peons gladly shared their quarters with us, and we divided our rations with them, which must have been a welcome change from their everlasting boiled corn and panela. The weather at Andalucia was most severe; fog, strong wind, almost continuous rain, and a freezing temperature reminded us of conditions on a paramo at the worst season of the year. Also, the forest was dense, and the vast num- ber of fallen trunks and branches rendered the greater part of it impenetrable. Birds were scarce and hard to find, but small mammals were plentiful. CROSSING THE EASTERN ANDES 95 The foreman of the work gang had cleared a few acres of land and sowed wheat, but the chances of harvesting a crop were very small, because it seemed as if all the rats and mice for miles around had located the spot and promptly migrated there to unearth the seed and cut down the ten- der shoots. Water for drinking and cooking was secured from a deep pit dug in the slope. One of our first cares always is to in- vestigate the water-supply of the region in which we are working; an inspection of the excavation near the tambo re- vealed a most astounding state of affairs; three earthworms, as large as good-sized snakes, make the reservoir their home. They resembled the well-known "shiners" that ap- pear on our lawns after a shower; but the size ! The larg- est, by actual measurement, was thirty-seven inches long and four inches in circumference. When I asked the cook for an explanation as to why he did not remove them and keep the water clean, he promptly informed me that they were cojures (cohoories) that he had dug up in the woods and placed there for safe-keeping until he had time to use them on a fishing trip in the low country. Needless to say, per- haps, his pets promptly disappeared; he always insinuated that they had met with foul play at my hands ! One day a person of distinguished appearance rode up the road and introduced himself as General Rafael Santos, of Bogota". He had heard that we were in the locality and wanted to get into the Caqueta. Could he be of any ser- vice to us? As he was in control of the work being done on the new trail, he certainly was in a position to be of great help. He told us of conditions on the eastern slope and also of the country we were so eager to see; before leav- ing, one of his peons was despatched down the trail to in- form his scouting-parties that we would follow within a short time, and for them to have camping-places prepared for us. We lost no time in starting on the trip. I had with me several natives who had been with the expedition some 96 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA months, and their number was augmented by men from Guadaloupe who were eager to have a hand in the under- taking. Every one walked, the peons carrying the packs; but mules were driven ahead to test the trail, and also for use after we reached the level low country. The heavy subtropical forest that begins at La Danta continues on to the top of the range, and down the other side in an unbroken mass of solid, living green. There were practically no signs of life, but the wind blew less violently and the cold was less intense and not so penetrating as at Andalucia. The slope is less abrupt than on the western side. On the second night a palm-leaf lean-to called El Paraiso was reached. The elevation was two thousand four hundred and twenty-five feet. A number of bedraggled and dis- contented laborers had erected this shelter and said they would stay there without doing another stroke of work until their pay, several months overdue, should arrive. Perhaps they are still camping there, unless the prospect of starving to death forced them to move, as we had heard several times that the foremen were in the habit of drawing the money for all the men under them, and then decamp- ing for parts unknown. Beyond "the paradise" the way lay through a region that might well be called El Infierno. There was an un- broken succession of pools and sinks so that we struggled onward hour after hour through water and thin mud sev- eral feet deep. Contrary to our expectations, we had been able to use the mules for very light packs on parts of the previous day's journey; but now they floundered and caused so much trouble that we heartily regretted not having left them behind. On the following days the country was dotted with steep, rocky foot-hills, alternated with deep, muddy depressions. Rain fell almost continuously, but it served to keep away troublesome insects. The peons were cheerful withal and seemed to enjoy the experience in spite of the hard work. CROSSING THE EASTERN ANDES 97 However, it was with a feeling of relief that we emerged from the mountainous country and entered a stretch of level forest, the elevation of which was one thousand feet. From the edge of this "plateau" we had our first view of the Caqueta" — a perfect ocean of forest stretching out ahead as far as the eye can see, which on clear days is a distance of many miles. The sight is most impressive. Not a single rise is visible above the uniform expanse of green, as the trees appear to be all of the same height. We stopped at the first native hut encountered, which was but a ten-minute walk from the settlement of Floren- cia. There was a clearing of considerable size; the greater part of it was overgrown with grass and weeds, but there were also fields of cane and plantains. The latter were the finest I have ever found in all South America — eighteen inches long and sweeter and better flavored than the best bananas. It was almost impossible to grow sugar-cane in any quantity; capibaras were abundant along the streams and made nightly inroads on the plantation, devastating large areas on each visit. The great Amazonian forest extending on all sides was full of surprising sounds emanating from a fauna entirely new to us. For the first time we heard the clear, ringing whistle of the "false bell-bird" (Lathria tinerea). The penetrating whoo-ee-whee-oo filled the woods with music as the birds called to one another, but the obscurely colored singers were hard to see among the dark branches. The song contains several low, churring notes that are lost from a distance. The abundance and variety of wild life was so great as to almost bewilder us and we worked day and night preparing the wealth of material that came into^our hands. Work- ing conditions were most unfavorable; it rained daily; sand-flies took away a great deal of the pleasure that each day brought in the form of new and interesting creatures, while mosquitoes and fleas insisted on gaining an entrance under the nets and making the nights disagreeable. Every 98 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA member of the expedition suffered from malaria during our entire stay in the Caquetd region. Notwithstanding these handicaps, we lost not a single day, and the collec- tions rapidly grew to record-breaking size. It was, of course, necessary to depend to a certain ex- tent upon native hunters. They were always carefully in- structed as to the area they should visit and how to work it; from the results they obtained I could usually tell whether directions had been followed. One of these caza- dores was a lazy, thoroughly good-natured half-breed named Abrdn. He came in daily with a tale of woe, recounting in detail the great distance he had covered, the hardships of such a long tramp through the jungle, and — bringing few specimens. I pretended to believe his stories, knowing full well all the while that he had really selected a comfortable spot a mile or so away and then settled down on a log for a quiet day of smoking and day-dreaming. When any ani- mal came within sight he shot it. In this manner he se- cured many of the shy, ground-haunting species, such as rails, tinamou, and ant-birds that one seldom sees while moving about through the forest. This was exactly what I wanted. It is all but impossible to find a native hunter with patience enough to sit and wait for these things, so while Abrdn thought he was playing an easy game, he was in reality the most valuable peon in the outfit. His brother Moists was of the opposite temperament; he walked many miles each day and considered it beneath his dignity to shoot anything but large, brilliantly colored birds, such as parrots, macaws, cotingas, and tanagers, or monkeys — in short, game worthy of a man's efforts. The two brothers made an ideal combination. Moists had spoken frequently about a marvellous bird called tente which he said was found in the region, and of which he was determined to secure one as a pet for the pa- tron. One day he brought in a queer, frightened little crea- ture— all legs and neck — that he proudly introduced as the tente. It was a young trumpeter (Psophia). After being Tree-fern, typical of the Andean forests. CROSSING THE EASTERN ANDES 99 tied up a few days it grew very tame and was given full liberty about the place. It walked slowly and in dignified fashion, catching flies and pecking at insects on the ground or walls; but if a dog should chance to pass near by it darted at it with outspread wings, making a loud, mmbling sound deep down in its breast; the dog always fled in terror. The bird increased rapidly in size and before long the beautiful metallic-blue throat-feathers appeared. When we emerged from the hammocks in the early mornings it was always there to greet us with low bows, spread wings, and deep murmurings. In travelling, a large-meshed fibre bag served as its container; upon being turned loose when camp was made, it first carefully dried its plumage before the fire, then strutted around a while, and finally flew into the branches of the nearest tree to spend the night. We kept this interest- ing little pet until our departure from Colombia, and then gave it to an acquaintance in Neiva, where it was well cared for. A colony of cultivator-ants had taken possession of a patch of young cecropia-trees near the house. They car- ried particles of earth to the branches and formed them into large balls in which the seeds of a succulent plant were sowed and cultivated. The earth was kept loose and mois- tened and the bunch of tender shoots resembled a clump of mistletoe. In this manner an abundant food-supply was assured. Florencia was a small village of adobe and bamboo huts, built in anticipation of the opening of Colombian Amazonia, when the new trail across the Andes should be completed. The region is undoubtedly rich in natural resources, and there seemed to be a possibility that the dreams of these pioneer settlers might some day be fulfilled. However, five years later, while aboard the S. S. Vauban, bound for New York, I chanced to meet among the passengers a Colombian with whom I had become acquainted in Florencia. He stated that the climate there had proved so unhealthful that most of the people had died or gone away and the 100 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA settlement was all but deserted. The elevation of the site, though thousands of miles from the Atlantic Ocean, into which its rivers drain, is only six hundred and seventy-five feet. During our stay in the vicinity we had occasion to wit- ness a celebration of the feast of San Juan. On the eve of the festival a pig was slaughtered in each hut; those who had none went into the jungle and shot a wild one. The dressed carcass was placed in an oblong wooden bowl, sur- rounded with plantains, yuccas, and yams, and then baked four hours in a mud oven. The roasts were delicious and every one ate until not a morsel remained, which was far into the night. Next day the fiesta proper began with a bull-fight, local talent, shirtless and in tattered drawers, sup- plying the places of the gorgeous toreadores, banderilleros, and matadores. This was a fine chance for the youths to display their courage to the weaker sex, which had gathered en masse to witness the performance, and, if one enjoys such spectacles, he would doubtless say that the showing made was quite creditable. The men charged the bull, flourishing their bright-colored ponchos, and when the ani- mal turned the tables and chased them they fled to shelter, as is the custom of the profession. We did not remain to see the finish, but later in the day the women were roasting chunks of beef over open fires. The merrymaking con- tinued for several days, and the latter part of the period consisted in drinking aguardiente, with the resultant fight- ing that always marks the wind-up of such affairs. The alcalde was a leading spirit in the activities of the festive occasion; he had been a priest at one time, but was excom- municated for preaching sermons of too liberal a nature. Then he married and was rearing a family. He told us that he owned a ranch called La Morelia, two days' distant from Florencia, and offered to send us there; so we accepted his courtesy with pleasure, as we were eager to see the country farther in the interior. A faintly defined footpath led to La Morelia. The forest CROSSING THE EASTERN ANDES 101 is comparatively open, that is, free from dense undergrowth. The trees are tall and there are a few tree-ferns and palms; many climbing lilies and other epiphytes grow on the trunks and branches. Moss is lacking; near the streams bamboo, wild cane, high grass, and briars, united by creepers, form dense jungles that are hard to penetrate. Streams and rivers are numerous and we were at once impressed with their size and depth. Crossings were effected in dugout canoes. While the current is swift, the waterways are so silent that one is not aware of their existence until reaching then- very borders. We saw little of the Huitoto Indians inhabiting this dis- trict. They seem to remain in seclusion in their forest homes and rarely venture into the path of the settlers. Those we encountered were of low stature, yellow in color, and had features so nearly resembling the Japanese that they might be easily mistaken for that race. They are of a shy and retiring disposition. Their ornaments were very elaborate, consisting of anklets, amulets, and necklaces of colored seeds and jaguar and monkey teeth, skilfully wrought into pleasing combinations. The hut at La Morelia was of large dimensions, built entirely of bamboo, with palm-leaf roof. An unusual fea- ture .was that it contained two stories, the lower used to ..store grain and plantains, the upper serving as living quar- ters. A clearing about one hundred acres in extent sur- rounded it; most of it was grass-covered, providing pastur- age for a few head of cattle, the remainder was under culti- vation. The several acres that had been given to growing plantains produced so abundantly that hundreds of bunches -were going to waste. If left to mature on the plant the .fruit bursts and is destroyed by insects. The choicest clus- ters were cut green and then placed in a down-stairs room of the house to ripen. At night hundreds of small bats .visited the enclosure to feed on the mountain of rapidly .yellowing .fruit. 'We desired some of the creatures for our collections, but found it difficult to catch or shoot them in 102 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA sufficient numbers. Finally we evolved the plan of sus- pending a fish-net from the ceiling and tacking out the edges so that it formed a cone with a wide b?s^. A choice bunch of the ripest plantains was placed in the centre for bait. Bats soon gathered about the trap in swarms. At first they were suspicious and circled around the net with- out attempting to alight; but as their hunger increased so their caution decreased in like proportion, and before long they were striking the conical arrangement from all sides and madly endeavoring to scramble through the small meshes. Some succeeded in forcing their way through the openings and immediately fell upon the bait with ravenous appetites; the vast majority, however, became helplessly entangled in the meshes. Newcomers arrived in a steady stream; they paid no attention to our pres- ence nor to the lights we carried, but frantically hurled themselves into the midst of their struggling brethren, until the net was covered with screeching, scrambling masses. The house was within a stone's throw of the Rio Bodo- quera — a stream two hundred yards wide. One night a jaguar attacked the cattle and chased them on to a sand- spit that projected out into the stream. We heard the mad bellowing of the frightened animals as they stampeded past the shack, hotly pursued by the snarling jaguar. A few shots sufficed to frighten the big spotted cat back into the jungle, but the cattle refused to leave the strategic po- sition, to which they had retreated. The river was rising rapidly, endangering the panic-stricken creatures. Every hand turned out; we took lanterns with us and, manning the canoes, paddled to the far side of the peninsula and at- tempted to drive them back to the mainland. All our efforts were in vain. The work was very exciting, as en- raged members of the herd charged the lights repeatedly when we approached close to them. Finally the water became so deep that the animals had to swim, and then they made for the far side of the river and disappeared from The high, flat-topped panorama of the Andes. CROSSING THE EASTERN ANDES 103 view. It took several days to round them up, but a num- ber were never seen again. One day a Franciscan priest stopped at the rancho for a short rest. He was engaged in opening a trail to Mocoa. About twenty peons accompanied him, carrying his outfit. His robe was in tatters and his feet were bare; he had spent months in the jungles and showed the effects of hard usage. Each of his men carried an animal of some kind on top of his pack. There were monkeys, parrots, macaws, and a curious little creature belonging to the agouti family (Myo- procta) that they called tin-tin. We had seen numbers of the latter along the river-bank, where they lived in bur- rows. The flesh is white and of fine flavor. In spite of the hardships the priest and his party had endured they were in the best of humor, and after an hour's halt shoul- dered their packs and resumed the march. No one will dispute the fact that men of this type have done a great deal toward exploring unknown parts of South America; usually they are the real trail-breakers and lead the way for the pioneer settlers who are to follow. The bird-life of the Caqueta" is typical of the Amazonian forest, and many of the species are found on the lower river two thousand miles away. This is caused by the uniform- ity of topographical conditions, and the lack of a barrier that would interfere with the range of a species. On all of our visits to the headwaters of the Amazon's tributaries, in Colombia, Bolivia, and Brazil, a large proportion of the mammals collected were new to science and differed greatly from those found lower down the river's course. Such large animals as spider-monkeys (Ateleus), "flying" mon- keys (Pithecid), and cats represented forms heretofore un- known to science; the smaller mammals also were new in many instances. Of course, we must not lose sight of the fact that the power of flight gives greater mobility to the birds and accounts for the wider range of some of them, but not for the equally vast distribution of the ground- inhabiting and almost flightless species. 104 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA After a strenuous three weeks at La Morelia we returned to our first stopping-place near Florencia. The rainy sea- son was at its worst, and low clouds covered the forest day after day, while torrents of water fell almost continuously. The journey back to Guadaloupe was far more difficult than had been our entrance into the region, for the greater part of ik lay up-hill and mud and water had accumulated in spots until it was waist-deep. The cold grew more in- tense as we neared the top of the range. We were never warm or dry until we reached our destination. The maximum time allowed for work in Colombia had expired. Although I had spent over eighteen months in the republic, they had flown all too rapidly, and I heartily regretted that it was not possible to visit the numerous other places that invited exploration. The next best thing was to hope for a return trip in the future — a hope that was realized several years later in our expedition to the Antio- quian Highlands. The homeward trip was accomplished without noteworthy incident. At first there was a ride of five days' duration down the desert-like valley of the Magdalena to Neiva. The river is not navigable in this part of its course on account of rapids and shallow water. At Neiva a champdn, or flat-bottomed freight-boat, was secured. The crew of twenty men rowed it down to Giradot in three days; it takes them thirty days to pull the craft back up-stream to the starting-point. The remainder of the journey to Puerto Colombia was merely a matter of travel on river-steamers and train, and required two weeks' time. In summarizing the work of the expedition to the Ca- quetd, Doctor Chapman, in "The Distribution of Bird Life in Colombia," writes as follows: This "work during the rainy season in the humid Ama- zonian forests of the Caquetd, where with only unskilled native assistance he secured eight hundred and thirty birds and mammals in thirty days, is a feat in tropical collect- CROSSING THE EASTERN ANDES 105 ing." And "this locality . . . was one of the most pro- ductive of any visited by American Museum expeditions, and many species were secured which have not heretofore been recorded from Colombia." CHAPTER VIII ACROSS THE ANTIOQUIAN GOLD-FIELDS TO PUERTO VALDIVIA ON THE LOWER CAUCA PUERTO BERRIO is not the most attractive spot in Co- lombia, but it is nevertheless of a great deal of importance. All steamers plying on the Lower Magdalena stop at that port, the up-going ones after a six days7 voyage from Bar- ranquilla to discharge freight for Medellin, and those bound down-stream to take aboard gold and other products of the Antioquian highlands. The arrival of the steamer always causes a great deal of confusion. Debarking passengers are required to look after their own luggage, which is not a simple matter, as it is invariably covered with mountains of boxes and bags on the lower deck; and after it has been located it is necessary to secure peons to convey it ashore, the ship's crew invari- ably refusing to render this service. There is always a rush for the little hotel "Magdalena," built on a slight bluff overlooking the river. Accommoda- tions are limited, and those who arrive first naturally have the advantage of selecting the cooler rooms in the upper story. However, the advantages gained are partly imagi- nary, at best. The climate is insufferably hot in the day- time, and mosquitoes filtering through rents in the nets protecting the beds are most annoying at night. Nor is it possible to seek the cooling comfort of a bath; a small, corrugated iron building in the garden is supposed to pro- vide for this need, but a tank containing water for the shower is placed on the roof in the full glare of the tropical sun, and the water becomes heated to such a degree that it is almost scalding. The town of Puerto Berrio is situated a few hundred 106 ACROSS THE ANTIOQUIAN GOLD-FIELDS 107 yards below the landing. It contains about a hundred low buildings, many of which are utilized for shops where merchandise and, more important at least to transients, a great variety of fruit may be had. All the buildings are low — some constructed of adobe with red tile roofs, others of nothing more substantial than bamboo, and grass or palm-leaves. Beyond the town is a low, rambling shed used as a slaugh- ter-house. When one tires of watching the blue tanagers, orioles, and yellow warblers quarrel in the cocoanut-palms near the hotel, he may tempt his aesthetic taste by walking to the pavilion of bovine death, and look upon the hun- dreds of black vultures sitting on the roof, strutting and hopping over the ground, or tearing at the hides that have been stretched out to dry. These birds are so typical a part of most towns and villages of tropical Colombia that one soon learns to accept them as a matter of course. They act as scavengers. Without them the settlements would reek with foulness. Puerto Berrio marks the beginning of a narrow-gauge railway, and each morning at six a passenger-train leaves the station for Cisneros, covering the first stage of the journey to Medellin. Almost immediately after leaving the port, the road plunges into the finest type of Magda- lena Valley forest. We therefore debarked at the first set- tlement, called Malena, only fifteen minutes after leaving the starting-point. My assistant on this expedition was Mr. Howarth S. Boyle, of Elmhurst, Long Island. At Malena the tropical forest reaches the height of its development. There is a clearing large enough only to provide room for the village of some twenty houses, and the stately living wall of trees hems it in on all sides. The people are most obliging, and while there is no posada, or inn, of any kind, a Mestizo family volunteered to permit us the use of part of their dwelling. A short tour of inspection confirmed our first impression of the region; it was a naturalist's paradise. One had only 108 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA to go to the outskirts of the town to find birds in greatest abundance. A number of tall dead trees had been left standing in the clearing, probably because it was easier to merely girdle them and let them die than to cut them down, and many blue and yellow macaws and Amazon par- rots were nesting in cavities high up in the trunks. They had young at the time of our visit (March), and screamed and fluttered about the nests all day long. No one thought of disturbing them. Rough-winged swallows and martens nested in the same stubs, and apparently lived in perfect harmony with their noisy neighbors. A shallow, narrow stream of clear water flows through the clearing, and a belt of woods and low sprouts mantles each bank with dusky green. This was the favorite resort of many small birds; oven-birds and ant-wrens ran about in the deep shade, while night-hawks, aroused from their slumbers, flapped noiselessly into the air and dropped again a few feet away. Scores of parrakeets chattered in the branches overhead, while flocks of large, spotted wrens (Heleodytes) added to the chorus with their incessant scolding. If we remained close to the stream we were sure to sur- prise herons of several species, and black ibises wading in the shallow water. A species of ani (Crotophaga) fluttered in the overhanging bushes; they were awkward though beautiful creatures, the size of a blue jay, with brilliant, black iridescent plumage; the mouth was pure white, while the eyes were of a pea-green color. If our tramp led to the heavy forest, the character of the birds changed. Giant orioles (Ostinops), grackles, and chachalacas always remained near the border of the taller growth, and toucans in flocks seemed to prefer the protec- tion of the more inaccessible cover. The forest is magnificent, and is composed largely of ceibas with thick, white trunks and wide-spreading tops. Many tagua, or ivory-nut palms, grow beneath the tall trees; their fruit is one of the important articles of export The town of Valdivia. The Cauca River at Puerto Valdivia. ACROSS THE ANTIOQUIAN GOLD-FIELDS 109 from the Magdalena Valley and, during August and Sep- tember, many thousands of bags are shipped down the river to Barranquilla. Wild life, however, was compara- tively scarce in the forest proper, with the single exception of mosquitoes, which were present in unlimited swarms, even in the daytime; and small troops of brown marmosets that showed themselves at rare intervals. While crossing the clearing one day a flock of blue and yellow macaws passed overhead; we needed a pair for the collection, so I took a quick shot at the birds as they flew by; however, I succeeded only in wounding one of their number, which flew to the ground in a long slant and alighted so far away that it was useless to try to follow. On reaching home at noon, I was greatly surprised to find the bird perched on a ladder in the very house we were occupying. It had dropped in the yard, and having been seen by some children, they tried to catch it, whereupon it took refuge indoors and kept them at bay with its angry screams and attempts to bite. The evenings at Malena were fully as profitable as the mornings. We always spent a pleasant hour or two at dusk, walking along the railroad. Pools of water had col- lected in the hollows where earth for the road-bed had been excavated, and many water-birds came there nightly to fish or catch frogs. Great blue herons, bitterns, and occa- sionally a cormorant or anhinga were surprised at their nocturnal feasts. When we returned after dark we started numerous goatsuckers, which had settled in the open lane to catch insects and to sing; this habit of resorting to open places, especially trails and roadways, has earned for them the name guardacamino (road-guard) among the natives. Malena was such an unusually interesting place that we expected to remain there several weeks; but, unfortunately, an epidemic of dysentery had invaded the Magdalena Val- ley, and the village was soon writhing in the throes of this fatal disease. Sickness and death in the family of our hosts made it necessary for us to continue on our way. 110 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA It requires exactly six hours to reach Cisneros, the end of the railroad, from Puerto Berrio. The altitude of the terminus is three thousand seven hundred feet above sea- level, and as one approaches it the heavy forest gradually disappears, to be replaced with a lower growth of brush and bushes; finally the hilltops are barren. At Cisneros one may secure riding-animals, a carriage, or a motor-car, according to the mode of travel preferred, for the short ride across the ridge to Botero, from whence the journey may again be resumed by train. The road is splendid, and as the highest point, called La Quiebra, is only five thousand four hundred and twenty-five feet up, a canter on a spirited horse across the divide is most enjoy- able. Botero is very similar to Cisneros. There are two small hotels where the traveller may rest in comfort until the train leaves for Medellin, which is at 4.30 P. M. Numerous villages are scattered along the railroad, which follows closely the course of the Medellin River. The country is green and apparently fertile. Thickets of wild cane grow near the stream, and the talley is dotted with clumps of tall, slender willows; so dense is the latter growth in some parts of the region that it forms groves and woods. Two and a half hours after leaving Botero the train arrived at Medellin. Medellin is the third largest city of Colombia, and boasts of a population of seventy thousand. The city is not modern but very picturesque, and lies in a depression almost completely surrounded by mountains. We were fortunate enough to make the acquaintance of the American consul, Mr. H. B. Meyerheim, who rendered the expedition invaluable service during our entire stay in Antioquia. The people of the state differ from the Colombians liv- ing in other parts of the country in that they possess more initiative and business ability; and for this reason they are frequently referred to as the Jews of Colombia. Some authorities go so far as to assert that they are really de- ACROSS THE ANTIOQUIAN GOLD-FIELDS 111 scendants of a colony of Jews that settled there many years ago. For this belief there seems to be very little foundation. The fact that the climate is bracing and that it requires a greater amount of work to gain a living in the semiarid country probably accounts for the increased de- gree of energy displayed by the inhabitants. Our first expedition was to a point in the mountains southeast of the city, known as Santa Elena, and only a few hours7 ride on mules from Medellin. After crossing the ridge we found ourselves on a high, wild plateau, which had at one time been covered with forest; but the trees had been felled on the greater part of the area, and only small, scattered patches of woods were left untouched. There are numerous little huts in this upland country, and at one of these we decided to remain for as long a time as the coun- try proved a profitable collecting ground. On account of the great change in the flora, occasioned by deforestation, a corresponding change had taken place in the bird life. But little remained of the subtropical fauna we had expected to find; however, there were black thrushes, several species of tanagers, toucans, trogons, and motmots, besides many commoner species. Weasels were abundant and occasionally blundered into our traps; these animals are very easy to call up, and if one sits quietly and imitates the screams and squeaks of a wounded bird, it is often possible to attract a weasel to within a few feet, and at times it will run across one's lap in search for the sup- posed victim. There were also squirrels of several species, and tiger-cats. Many flowering shrubs dotted the roadside, imparting a blaze of color to the muddy highway; some of them were covered with brilliant scarlet blossoms, and others with snowy trumpetflowers of great size. In addition to this wealth of native flowers, the people cultivated plots of gladioli and roses, both of which attained great size and beauty in spite of the cold, wet climate. We continued on across the highland from Santa Elena 112 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA to a place called Barro Blanco, passing through the villages of Rio Negro and Carmen on the way; but the character of the country did not change appreciably ! One of the prod- ucts of the high, bleak region that immediately attracted our attention was a variety of maize; this thrived even on rocky ground. The ears were large and well-formed, and the huge, even grains were of a milky-white color and of splendid flavor. Large flocks of pigeons came to the corn- fields to feed and furnished splendid shooting; they fly down the mountainsides at terrific speed, and the rushing noises made by the wings can be heard at a great distance. On the edges of the fields grew small trees (Ficus) bearing quan- tities of white berries; birds of many species, including fly- catchers, came to feed on them. After completing our work in the Santa Elena region we returned to Medellin. Then we took the train as far as a station called Barbosa, and started overland for the Lower Cauca. We brought both pack and riding mules with us on the train, as it was difficult to obtain them at Barbosa, and when everything had been unloaded at the station, packs were adjusted and the mules started up the exceed- ingly steep ridge to the north. The altitude of Barbosa is four thousand six hundred and twenty-five feet above sea- level, but there was no break in the narrow, rocky trail until we had reached the summit, eight thousand one hundred feet up. A few miles beyond the top lies the village of Don Matias, almost concealed in a deep depression and surrounded by fruit-trees. The trail continues to wind across a rolling, arid country. Boulders of great size are strewn on the ground; they are of a most peculiar forma- tion, consisting of concentric layers of stone, one or two inches thick. Water is scarce, and we passed only one stream, and that of small size, called the Rio Force. Seven leagues is considered a good day's travel in Co- lombia, on account of the mountainous nature of the country and poor trails. However, on our first day out ACROSS THE ANTIOQUIAN GOLD-FIELDS 113 from Barbosa we covered only five leagues, and spent the night at a hut called Sabanete, nine thousand feet up. Early the following morning we reached Santa Rosa, the centre of the Antioquian gold-fields. The town is of con- siderable size, but stands in the middle of a bleak, arid plain, and is about as cheerless a place as one could find. The surrounding country is exceedingly rich in gold, and numberless mines pierce the flat, stony surface, and pene- trate into the hillsides. The only drawback to mining operations on a gigantic scale is the lack of water. During the rainy season the inhabitants of Santa Rosa gather water in barrels and every available sort of container, and then wash gold out in the street in front of their homes, or in the back yards. Despite its many natural disadvantages, Antioquia is one of the richest states in Colombia, and pro- duces a great proportion of that country's yearly output of gold, which in 1916 amounted to $5,400,000. The country beyond Santa Rosa is practically unin- habited for a distance of ten or twelve miles; after that a growth of low woods gradually appears, and with it an abundance of bird life, such as California woodpeckers, green and yellow jays, black thrushes, warblers, and par- rots. This was in great contrast to the arid country we had just left behind, where practically the only sign of life was an occasional hawk hovering in the air for many min- utes at a time, in the hope of surprising an unsuspecting lizard or some small rodent among the rocks below. It was in this forest that we again encountered a number of one of the most beautiful birds found in the entire region — the white-crowned tanager (Serricossypha albacristata) . A flock of sixteen sat in the top of a bush and kept up a continuous shrill peeping. The third night after leaving Medellin we reached Yaru- mal, a large town built on a steep, rocky slope. From a distance it seems as if the houses were standing one on top of another, and it is difficult to understand what prevents the whole town from sliding down the steep mountainside. 114 IN THE WILDS OP SOUTH AMERICA The "Hotel de la Madre" is one of the institutions of Yarumal. It is conducted by an old negress who looked us over suspiciously and found it hard to decide whether or not to admit us. While deliberating and fumbling about her shawl she scratched her finger severely on a pin; to this I immediately applied a few grains of permanganate taken from my snake-bite lancet. This won her favor, and we were given a room. Later she confided to us that two Englishmen had stopped there the week before. "We were frightened to death when we found out that they were Englishmen," she said, "because England is at war, you know. But what do you think ? They paid their bill next morning and left without hurting anybody. However, we made up our minds to be careful about admitting strangers in the future." One may ride from Yarumal to Valdivia in one day; but we broke the trip by stopping at a large wayside inn called La Frijolera. It was in the midst of a splendid forest growth, the elevation being five thousand feet. From a distance the forest looked most promising, but on account of the density of mosses, ferns, and creepers forming the undergrowth it was all but impenetrable. We located a grove of guavas a short distance from the house, and this proved the most prolific hunting-ground. It was always possible to shoot squirrels there, as they came out at all hours of the day to feed on the ripening fruit. Many birds also flocked to the low trees for their daily sustenance, and even opossums lurked about the roots and brush to pick up the sweet morsels dropped by the furred and feathered flocks feasting in the branches. At La Frijolera we engaged a native hunter who owned a famous hunting-dog named Golondrina (meaning swal- low). Words can hardly be found to convey an accurate picture of the hunter, but the dog's name at once suggests its chief accomplishment. Day after day our man took his dog afield in search of agoutis, but he always returned empty-handed, explaining that while he had started a num- ACROSS THE ANTIOQUIAN GOLD-FIELDS 115 ber of the animals we wanted, Golondrina could never see them, and so she failed to catch them. However, one day he saved his reputation as a hunter by making a difficult trip of ten miles to a steep, heavily wooded ravine, and shooting a number of red howler monkeys. A few days later the dog accidentally came across a peccary, which some native hunters were pursuing, brought it to bay on a rock, and kept it there until it could be shot. This place presented rare opportunities for hunting by night. A road had been cut through the forest, dividing it in two clean-cut sections. However, the tips of wide- spreading branches from each side of the clear swath met in several places, forming an aerial connection above the road. These are known as "monkey bridges" because night monkeys and other animals utilize them in crossing from one section of the forest to another. As there was a full moon it was only necessary to sit quietly on a stump near one of the bridges and wait. Before long a rustling sound would come from the tree-top, so slight as to be scarcely audible, and occasionally a deep, low grunt; then silent, shadowy forms emerged from the blackness of con- cealing foliage and slowly made their way across the springy passage. Kinkajous also used these bridges, and as the na- tives prized the skins of these animals highly for making chaparejos, they conducted a regular business of hunting them on moonlight nights. After shooting in one spot for several nights in succession, it was necessary to leave it undisturbed for some time, as the animals became wary and sought other bridges. The town of Valdivia is located on a little ridge four thousand two hundred feet up, about ten miles from Puerto Valdivia, which is on the Cauca River. All the intervening country is wooded. We reached the port on a Sunday afternoon. The people from a distance of many miles around flocked to the spot on this day for the purpose of having a "good time," so that there were upward of a hundred natives in and about 116 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA the one corrugated iron and bamboo building comprising the puerto, dancing, drinking, fighting, and trading at the little shop. The owner of the house received us courteously (and where in all Colombia was courtesy wanting?) and we soon made ourselves comfortable in the large wareroom which formed one end of the structure. There was no thought of work that day, for everybody crowded about to have a good look at and welcome the gringos, but we made the best of the occasion and secured a good deal of information concerning the surrounding country. The Cauca, a swift, muddy stream four or five hundred feet wide at this point, is hemmed in on both sides by the steep slopes of the Western and Central Andean Ranges, the forest extending down to the water. It is navigable from here on down to a small settlement called Caceres, but rafts and canoes only are employed in making this journey, which requires half a day going down and two days coming up. The natives are a careless lot while on the water, and numbers of lives are lost annually. About the first thing we saw was the body of a man floating down the river, with a vulture perched on it. We asked Don Jose, owner of the place, why he did not send some of his peons in a canoe to recover it. He replied that if he did he would be required to care for the body until a government official from Yarumal came to view it, and then he and every one present would have to go back with the coroner to give their testimony as to the finding of the cadaver. This entailed so much trouble that it was customary not to pay any attention to such occurrences. In few places have I seen such an abundance of interest- ing fauna as at Puerto Valdivia. The forest was teeming with birds; mammals were plentiful; shoals of fish and even caimans swarmed in the river; there were also insects enough to cheer the heart of an entomologist. In such a region the naturalist has no idle moments. When we tired of working with birds and mammals, which were of chief interest to us, we had only to step to the ACROSS THE ANTIOQUIAN GOLD-FIELDS 117 river-bank, where vast swarms of brilliantly colored butter- flies settled in thick masses in the mud or rocks to drink. A single sweep of the net often ensnared several score of the insects. A species of Urania of a black and green color predominated, but a Diana, deep red above and spotted with silver dots on the under-side was not uncommon. Fish could always be secured in abundance. If we at- tempted to catch them with hooks we usually landed cat- fish or small eels. It is unlawful to use dynamite in Co- lombia, but Don Jose had a goodly supply stored away and did not hesitate to use it when occasion required. The peons detailed for that purpose selected a spot in the river where logs and brush had grounded to form a drift, or where the water eddied against a sharp bend; they tied a rock to the explosive, lit the fuse and threw it into the water. After a few moments, during which the water hissed and bubbled as the gases from the burning fuse rose and escaped, a dull thud followed and, almost immediately, the surface was littered with numbers of dead and stunned fish. They were invariably a species of "Pacu" (Prochilodus nigri- cans), weighing from one to four or five pounds, and proved to be excellent eating. Not far from the port is an old cacao-plantation which has apparently been deserted for a number of years. The trees are tall and covered with moss, while the sheltering cochimbas or madre de cacaos form a high canopy of inter- locking branches. To this cool retreat almost every species of bird common in the region came to feed or to pass the noonday hours. There were buccos and wood-hewers in abundance — the former dull, stupid birds, which sat quietly on the lower twigs in the hope that some insect would wing its way not too far from their ever-hungry mouths; the latter, agile and alert as they scampered up the moss-cov- ered trunks, eagerly examining each crevice for a hidden grub or an ant. Gorgeous trogons with resplendent green backs and blood-red breasts flitted among the lower branches, and little parrots of bright green with gold- 118 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA colored heads screamed and fluttered in the leafy branches high overhead. Where ferns and brush grew thickest, near the numerous ravines, flocks of yellow manakins (Manacus) sputtered and whirred in the semidarkness; they proved to be an undescribed form. Mammals, too, were not lacking. Of chief interest were giant black weasels with white throat patches (Tayrd). These are truly dreadful creatures — at least to the animals on which they feed. They are of powerful build, the neck muscles being particularly well-developed, and I can pic- ture them as a dangerous antagonist even to a deer or a peccary. The smallest of ant-eaters (Cycloterus didactylus) was also found in this region. This little animal, while not rare, perhaps, is seldom seen on account of its diminutive size and arboreal habits. It is of a beautiful golden color, and the fur is so fine and silky that could it be obtained in quantities sufficient for commercial purposes it would per- haps rival in value the highest priced fur in use to-day. The creature lives in the tree-tops and is diurnal in habits. It moves along the branches with great rapidity, either in an upright position or inverted like a sloth, the prehensile tail being used constantly. Ants form the food, and as these ascend even the highest trees, the little ant-eater has a never-failing and abundant supply; they are gathered up hurriedly as the little creature moves quickly along. One day an army of carnivorous ants invaded our quar- ters while we were busily occupied preparing the specimens collected during the morning. The first intimation we had of the arrival of the ravaging host was when scores of cock- roaches suddenly appeared and frantically ran up the walls of the room. Not long after, several centipedes eight inches long joined the fleeing cockroaches, and before long a num- ber of scorpions followed in their wake, hotly pursued by the multitude of ants. There was nothing for us to do but follow the lead of the panic-stricken insects, so we hurriedly transferred our collections to a zone of safety outdoors, ACROSS THE ANTIOQUIAN GOLD-FIELDS 119 and waited a few hours until the ant army had completed its work and gone on its way. The natives welcome these visits as the ants act as scavengers and rid the house of vermin. While at Puerto Valdivia we were presented with a young night monkey not larger than a good-sized mouse. It was a most interesting pet, and readily took to a diet of con- densed milk, which it drank from a spoon. My companion, to whom the little animal belonged, kept it on the window- sill, from which point of vantage it took a lively interest in all that occurred within its range of vision. It so happened that there was a very small crack in the sill, and this proved to be a matter of the utmost concern to the tiny monkey. Hundreds of times each day it crept timidly to the crack and peered down into it anxiously, although there was only darkness below. When we held the pelt of an animal near it paid no attention whatever to it, with the single excep- tion of the skin of one of its species, which it recognized immediately, and to which it clung tenaciously. When we left the hot climate of the Lower Cauca and started on the return journey to Medellin the little creature was unable to withstand the cold of the higher altitude and died. The purpose of our zoological exploration of this section of Antioquia was to secure material that would throw light on the geography of the country farther north; for, beyond the general knowledge that the junction of the Cauca and the Magdalena mark the breaking down of the Cordillera Central, we knew comparatively little of a definite charac- ter about this part of Colombia. It was not until several months later that our work farther west — on the Paramillo and the Rio Sucio — provided the material which, viewed from a distributional standpoint, furnished the clews that aided very materially in solving our problem. CHAPTER IX ASCENT OF THE PARAMILLO— COLLECTING ON THE RIO SUCIO THE return to Medellin from Puerto Valdivia occupied five days. We again went to our former headquarters, the " Gran Hotel," and spent a few busy days packing the large collections brought from the Lower Cauca. Then we began to gather provisions and cargo mules for a second expedition. Upon leaving Medellin we started northwestward, hav- ing in view an ascent of the Paramillo, a lofty spur of the Andes, jutting out of the Western Range slightly below latitude 7° south. This region, so far as I am able to dis- cover, had never been explored. At first the trail is wide and very good, so that within four hours after starting we reached the summit of the first ridge, eight thousand seven hundred and fifty feet up. A great cleft in the bare, rocky peaks forms a natural pass and saves a climb of at least an additional thousand feet. The slope on the other (western) side is more gentle. We were immediately impressed with the barren nature of the country, for, with the exception of a few patches of low brush, and clumps of withered grass, there was no vegetation. An occasional glimpse of the Cauca River, far below, presented the picture of a broad yellow ribbon lying upon a brown, rocky plain. That night we reached San Geronimo, a small town well down in the valley. Limited plots of ground are irrigated in the vicinity of the settlement, where rice, corn, and pas- turage are cultivated by the inhabitants. Yellow-rumped tanagers, anis, and finches (Sycalis) make this little oasis their home, and add greatly to its attractiveness. Next morning we were in the saddle before six o'clock. 120 ASCENT OF THE PARAMILLO 121 A few hours later, after crossing a low ridge, we came sud- denly upon Sopetran, a beautiful little town completely hidden in groves of palms, mangoes, and other lovely trees. The cluster of some hundreds of snow-white houses with red roofs, wide, well-kept streets, and the abundance of multicolored birds fluttering and singing among the deep green foliage, render Sopetran one of the most attractive towns of its size I have seen in tropical America. At noon we reached the Cauca and crossed that sluggish, muddy stream on a suspension bridge about eight hundred feet long. The cables are anchored in picturesque brick piers built into the face of the steep banks, and hundreds of swallows utilize as nesting sites the small openings where the wires enter the masonry. Gravel flats flank the sides of the river, and bare, sandy islands divide the water into several channels. The elevation is approximately two thousand feet. One league beyond the Cauca lies the town of Antioquia. If Sopetran is the last word in attractiveness, Antioquia must be placed at the extreme other end of the scale. The wide, arid valley supports no vegetation except occasional clumps of cacti and dwarfed mimosas, which rather add to its desert-like appearance. The heat is almost unbearable, as the Western and Central Andes, hemming in the valley between huge walls of pink clay and sandstone, shut off all ventilating winds. Although it was still early in the afternoon, we decided to spend the rest of the day in Antioquia, as the pack-mules seemed nearly exhausted; but it was not long before we heartily regretted not having avoided the town and made camp out in the open plains. Our arriero had guided us to the little hotel, where a matronly senora received us with evident joy and a great deal of ceremony, probably because we were the first guests in some time; we soon discovered, however, that she was not the only one to whom our visit gave pleasure. Fleas in droves appeared from the cracks in the brick flooring and made their way through leggings, 122 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA trousers, and all other wearing apparel as quickly and easily as the proverbial rat running through a cheese; and when we entered our room, vermin of a still more objectionable character rushed joyfully from the beds, walls, and chairs to gloat in hungry anticipation at their prospective victims. We erected our cots in the patio and spent a long, long night out in the open. Buriticd was reached on the following day. Immediately after leaving Antioquia, a mere ledge of a trail begins the ascent of the Coast Range, and while a good deal of anxiety was felt for the safety of the pack-animals, it was never- theless a relief to escape from the cheerless desert wastes and the intolerable heat of the low country. The altitude of Buritica" is six thousand two hundred feet. On account of the jaded condition of the mules, we spent a half-day in the town, and also lightened the cargoes by leaving at the inn all equipment intended for a subsequent journey in another direction. We had, of course, never visited Bu- ritica" before, but I had not the slightest hesitation in leav- ing with perfect strangers a good deal of valuable material. The honesty of the Colombians is well known, and we did not lose a single thing by theft during the entire two years I spent in that country. At Tabacal, a half day's ride from Buriticd, we lost sight of the Cauca River. Our view was shut off by an indepen- dent ridge of mountains several thousand feet high, which rises out of the valley between the range we were on and the stream. A slight change was also perceptible in the character of the country; extensive areas covered with brush now dotted the slopes, although at infrequent inter- vals; and on the extreme tops of both ranges a thin fringe of green was plainly discernible. The country is also very rough and broken, and there are a number of ridges to be crossed, many of which are two thousand feet high. Sev- eral separate mountains, not connected with the main ranges, stand here and there like giant, man-hewn mono- liths, rising from a basal elevation of three thousand to ASCENT OF THE PARAMILLO 123 eight or nine thousand feet, which magnifies their tre- mendous proportions. On the fifth day we reached an altitude of eight thousand feet, and entered a fine strip of forest, the first we had seen on this journey. This is the beginning of the forested zone, and close scrutiny revealed the fact that it begins at pre- cisely the same height on both the Central and Coast Ranges, and continues to the very top of the mountains, several thousands of feet higher up. We travelled along the top of the ridge for some miles, and then again de- scended abruptly to the barren valley where the little vil- lage of Peque is situated, and where our journey by mules ended. Peque contains about fifty dilapidated mud huts, and its population is mostly of Indian descent, but includes some pure-blooded Indians. We had a letter of introduc- tion to one of the latter, Julian David, who is the chief man in the town, and he rendered us every assistance. He called together a number of sturdy young half-breeds and requested them to join the expedition; in other words, told them to carry our packs to the top of the Paramillo. The men eagerly agreed to do this, for they had never before been in the service of strangers, and the trip to the high country and also the society of gringos promised interest- ing possibilities. We spent a few days investigating the neighboring country, while the men had their wives pre- pare the provisions for their use during the trip. Some of the country surrounding Peque once doubtless bore a light forest growth, with heavier forest in the ravines; but by far the greater part is naturally barren or covered with brush thickets. I was told that at the time of the Spanish invasion forty thousand Indians inhabited the region, and as the several mountain streams supply an abundance of water, and the soil responds fairly well to cultivation, there seems to be no reason why it should not have supported an extensive population; at the present time only a few hundred people are left, the others having 124 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA gone to swell the ranks of victims exacted by the lust of the conquerors. The forested zone, beginning at eight thousand feet on the ridge we had just traversed, gradually extends its limits downward as one goes farther north, until at Peque it reached as low as five thousand feet in the deeper and well- watered ravines; and, as previously stated, at Puerto Val- divia it reaches the very edge of the Cauca. One day an inhabitant of Tabacal rushed into our room and begged me to show him the wonderful diamond ring he said I wore while in his village; he had been away at the time, so had not seen it, but tales had reached his ears upon his return of the marvellous brilliancy of the stone which lighted up the whole street as we walked along. At first I wondered from* what sort of an hallucination the man was suffering, for neither my companion nor myself carried any diamonds with us; finally I remembered that, in trying to find our way through the street at Tabacal, we had used a small electric flash-light to avoid falling over the pigs or into the mud-wallows; whereupon I demonstrated its mysterious powers to him, and he started back on his two days7 walk a better-informed but never- theless a most-disappointed man. A stream of clear, cold water flows around one side of the hill upon which Peque stands, and to this we went nightly for a swim. Don Julian could not quite believe us when we told him of the purpose of our nocturnal prowls; so one night he accompanied us to the stream and, wonder of wonders, we actually did go into the water. I invited him to join us, but he said: "No, such a thing is unheard of; and, besides, an Indian is just like a cat; when either one gets wet it dies!" When the half-breed porters who were to carry the equip- ment finally had their charque and jarepas all ready, they shouldered their packs and started for the mountains. As there was no trail, an additional man was engaged to go in advance and clear an opening with his machete. ••• £- *--#• V' fjfr." ••• •"•'•- ' .- . '1 The porters en route to the Paramillo. Cufia Indians at Dabeiba. ASCENT OF THE PARAMILLO 125 A three hours' walk brought us to a point called El Madero, because a few trees had once been cut down there for their lumber, but the clearing was overgrown with black- berry-briars, brush, and guavas. Then we plunged into the unexplored forest. It was our plan to follow along the top of an undulating ridge which one of the men said was the shortest and easiest route to the Paramillo. He knew from experience, having once visited the region some sixteen years before. It was during the course of a revolution; his father was pursued by the opposing forces and fled into the forest, taking his son, who was then a small boy, with him, and eventually reaching the Paramillo, they spent some time there in con- cealment. At first the forest was fairly penetrable, but soon the moss-draped, liana-garlanded walls closed about us in a compact mass; ferns, palms, and arums sprang up from the ground in a matted jungle to join the heavily laden branches above. Then our trail-cutter was pressed into service, and plied his machete with deadly effect on the vegetation, with the result that a narrow tunnel was opened, through which we walked or crawled as occasion might demand. On account of the long climb, having ascended five thou- sand feet during an eight hours' march, we made camp at three o'clock at an elevation of ten thousand feet. This gave us an opportunity of observing a few of the birds living in this untouched wilderness. There were wood-hewers and yellow-headed tanagers; parrots and blue-throated jays. A large harpy-eagle sat majestically on a low branch, surrounded by a flock of California woodpeckers, which screamed and scolded and darted at his head; but he sat perfectly motionless, utterly disdainful of such ignominious prey. There was no water on the ridge, but a supply was secured from a ravine a thousand feet lower down; it was the last we had until we reached the Paramillo two days later. 126 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA The second day's march we hoped would be over a gentler slope, but it was soon discovered that our ridge consisted of a number of knolls rising from five hundred to a thousand feet above the mean level, and the forest grew denser con- stantly. Every foot of the way had to be cleared. In places we actually walked over the top of the vegetation; the branches were covered with a solid tangle of creepers, climb- ing bamboo, bromelias, and moss, and formed springy aerial bridges. More frequently it was easier to burrow under- neath, so tunnels many yards long were cut, through which the porters crawled on hands and knees. The tops of some of the eminences were void of trees, their place being taken by jungles of bamboo, wild oleanders, shrubs, and clumps of tall, coarse grass with blades eight feet high and six inches wide, the edges of which cut like knives. That night we camped at eleven thousand three hundred and fifty feet up. The men eagerly cut down clumps of bromelias, hoping to obtain water from the bases of the leaves, but all they found were a few drops of vile, black liquid filled with drowned insects. Although we had travelled steadily for ten hours, I doubt if we had covered more than three miles. A few hours after starting, on the morning of the third day, we emerged suddenly from the gloom of the forest. In- stead of the tall, overburdened trees, there were extensive areas covered with brush, evergreens, stunted pines, and ferns. Beyond stretched the bleak, wind-swept slope of the Paramillo. At sight of this, the porters struggled on frantically, for the attaining of the goal meant a release from their heavy burdens — and water. That afternoon the last knoll had been crossed and the packs deposited on a rocky flat which was to serve as a camping-site. Each man started in a difference direction in search of a brook, and by dusk a pot-hole at the bottom of a ravine, and only a few hundred yards from camp, had been found containing several hundred gallons of pure, icy water. Never was a discovery more earnestly welcomed, and the men sprawled around the edges of the pool and drank their fill; then it ASCENT OF THE PARAMILLO 127 was arranged that they should stay with us for the night, start back to Peque the next morning, and return for us after ten days. Our cook was of course to remain with us. The Paramillo region is composed of a series of sharply inclined peaks, the highest of which has an elevation of thirteen thousand feet, and is interspersed with ravines and deep fissures. The surface consists mainly of dark sandstone, so shattered over vast areas that a thin litter of particles covers the fundamental rock. Occasionally a thin vein'of white quartz crops out to the surface, especially where, as often occurs, the strata stand in a perpendicular position. At night the temperature dropped to 28° F., and ice half an inch thick formed on the reservoir; in the morning the ground was white with frost. The sparse vegetation on the slope consists of frailejones, blueberry-bushes and tall, tough grass; stunted trees and bushes, all covered with moss, grow in the deeper ravines. Hunting in these latter places was a never-ending source of delight; there was no water so it was possible to walk unrestrictedly underneath the green vault of brush which fringed the sides and met overhead. Many little mammals' trails zigzagged over the moss-covered rocks, and burrows opened into the steep banks; if we stole noiselessly along, or better still, sat quietly for a few minutes, the inquiring eyes of a paca, a large, spotted, tailless rodent, were sure to peer timidly out of some dark opening, to be followed later by the animal's entire body as it moved out stealthily to nibble on the tender sprouts. Numbers of woolly, yellow rats (Melanomys) also appeared to stare with beady, black eyes, and to nervously twitch their noses; sometimes they came out boldly to chase one another over well-defined runways and through mossy tunnels; but more often, they were con- tent merely to gaze from the entrance of some safe retreat into which they vanished at the first suspicious move on our part. Deer, too, were seen occasionally, but they were not numerous; they grazed on the slopes in broad daylight, 128 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA and had snug lairs in dense clumps of bushes which always commanded a view of the surrounding country. We saw no cougars or bears although we found the remains of several deer which had apparently been killed by these animals. Birds were extremely scarce and, strange to relate, ex- ceedingly wary. Collecting them was heart-breaking work; the slopes are so steep, that it was impossible to walk many yards without becoming utterly exhausted, and tramping through the high, wet grass chilled the lower extremities to numbness. The slaty finch (Phrygilus) so common at Santa Isabel, and two species of honey-creepers (Diglossd) were by far the most common; followed by a queer, wren- like little bird (Scytalopus) called tapacola, which lives among the densest ferns and mosses; it was seldom seen, but a cheery whistle apprised us constantly of its presence. There was also a gorgeous humming-bird, the whole body being of the most resplendent, iridescent deep rose and green colors; we located a nest of this species, a tiny moss cup scarcely an inch across, suspended from a creeper dan- gling beneath a bower of protecting leaves; it held two minute eggs, so fragile that the mere touch of a finger would crush them. One day we ascended the highest peak in order to ob- tain a good view of the surrounding country. The Para- millo rises like a rocky island, out of an ocean of forest. Clouds fill the depressions between the neighboring peaks, and surging, tumbling banks of white roll up the slopes or ascend in columns to spread out in funnel-shaped masses in the higher altitudes and become dissipated by the sun. To the southward rises the lofty Paramo of Frontino, many miles distant, the flat top dimly outlined in a grayish haze. Toward the close of the tenth day, we heard loud calls and, soon after, our faithful porters dashed into camp. We were astonished at their number for, according to our agree- ment, only the original number was to return, there being no need for the trail-cutters; however, several additional men had arrived. Upon reaching the Paramillo, we had ASCENT OF THE PARAMILLO 129 jestingly remarked that we should ascend the highest peak because we could perhaps see New York from the top; the extra men heard of this, and seriously explained that they had come to make the ascent in order to get a view of "Rome where the Holy Father lives !" Early the next morning, we broke camp and started back. The homeward trip was much easier, for the packs were lighter, and the greater part of the distance was down- hill. After two days we emerged from the lower edge of the forest, and there was Don Julian and a delegation of natives waiting to convoy us back to Peque and welcome us home. Don Julian provided horses for our return to Buritica". They were unquestionably the poorest animals I had ever seen, and I disliked greatly to use them; but as no others were to be had it was a case of either taking the ones avail- able or remaining in Peque for an indefinite period. How- ever, they arrived safely in Buritica* after two days' time, and having secured a new pack-train we started northwest- ward toward Atrato drainage. Leaving the little town and the semiarid country sur- rounding it, we proceeded straight to the top of a ridge eight thousand feet high, where a narrow strip of forest grew; and then descended on the other side into the valley of the Rio Canasgordas. At this point the stream is a mere rivulet, but it widens rapidly and the fertile banks are planted in sugar-cane, maize, and bananas. Huts built of mud and grass, half concealed by orange-trees dot the narrow valley; near them half -naked, dark-skinned children, pigs, and chickens ran about in a care-free man- ner or stared at us as we passed. Lower down the river is flanked by wide belts of tall bamboo. Birds were not particularly abundant, but occa- sionally we caught sight of a yellow-rumped tanager as the bird darted through the foliage; or heard the familiar kis- ka-dee of a tyrant-bird perched on some high branch to sing, and to wait for insect victims to come within range of 130 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA its snapping, insatiable beak. We spent the first night in the town of Canasgordas, and the second in a dilapidated house known as Orobajo. The family living here was in great distress owing to an epidemic of some kind of virulent fever which had appeared in the district. There was no food in the house, with the exception of a few beans, but after scouring the neighborhood our cook succeeded in purchasing a hen and a dozen jarepas which we divided with the infirm family. While waiting for supper we went on a tour of inspection over the premises and located a house-wren's nest in the roof. It contained one young bird, and the people told us that the other had been killed by falling to the ground. Later we found several other nests of this species, but in no instance were there more than two eggs or birds in one nest. This fact is most interesting; in a temperate climate the house-wrens rear a large brood — eight being not an uncommon number of young; but near the equator two seemed to be the usual amount. Below Orobajo the river is known as the Heradura. It flows past the village of Uramita, which was all but de- serted. The fever that had invaded Orobajo had also visited this place anS more than half the inhabitants had died. A few men were engaged in pumping salt water from shallow wells which was led in bamboo pipes to a battery of low pans where boiling evaporated the water and left the salt. So far as we could see there was no other industry in the town. Dabeiba, our first objective, was reached the third day after leaving Buritica". As we gained the summit of the last ridge, a wonderful view lay before our eyes. The little town, composed of whitewashed houses with red-tile roofs, glistened in a flat valley carpeted with the softest green. On one side a river, called the Rio Sucio, raged and fumed over a rock-encumbered bed; fields of cotton dotted its banks, the snowy bolls and yellow blossoms almost obliter- ating the large green leaves. Forested hills enclosed the ASCENT OF THE PARAMILLO 131 peaceful view as with a protecting hand which would shield it from the terrors of the frigid Andes on one side, and the steaming Atrato lowlands on the other. In this garden spot we decided to remain, but our arrival was nearly marked by a tragedy. On account of the noonday heat I had tucked a towel under my hat which, hanging down in the back provided, in a measure, protection from the hot sun. One of our peons, in a spirit of fun, told several small boys we chanced to meet that I was the bishop come to pay the town a visit; the urchins rushed into the road and prostrated themselves at my horse's feet, imploring a bene- diction. Fortunately the animal took fright at this unusual occurrence and bolted to one side before it could be re- strained, narrowly avoiding trampling the kneeling forms in its path. At Dabeiba we made the acquaintance of a tribe of in- teresting Indians — the Cunas. They lived in banana-leaf huts, scattered over a wide area, but spent most of the time in town, looking into open doorways, begging for rum, or standing in silent groups on the street corners. They are a short, well-knit people of a dark-brown color. When in the forest they wear a breech-cloth only; but the priest has provided them with large muslin sheets that they promptly dyed a dirty-brown hue with achiote seeds, which they wear while in town. They also wore heavy necklaces of silver coins, and bunches of weeds tied about the neck for charms. At first sight it appeared as if they had no teeth, but further scrutiny revealed the fact that their dental equipment was perfect, though colored black from the juice of a fruit which they chew continuously. The body is liberally besmeared with grease — especially before they enter the river to bathe, so that the water rolls off as from a duck's back. One of the men was entirely covered with star-shaped marks of a deep-blue color which had been stamped on with a die made of wood. They spoke practically no Spanish, but were a friendly lot and enjoyed being photographed. In order to reach the best hunting-ground, it was neces- 132 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA sary to go to the other side of the river, but this was not difficult owing to the fact that a raft ferry was available. Birds were plentiful about the outskirts of the town, though of species common to open country and easy to observe in more accessible regions; we therefore spent the greater part of our time in the forest. One of our first and most interesting discoveries was a species of pigmy motmot (Hylomanes). It is no larger than a sparrow and has a very short tail in contrast to the long "pendulum" tails of the better-known varieties. This little blue-and-green bird lived in the dense vegetation on the steep slopes, and when several flocked together they joined in a loud, cackling chorus at frequent intervals. The cotton-fields sheltered a varied fauna. Humming- birds came to the blossoms, and numbers of fat, red insects resembling potato-bugs lived among the drooping white fibre of the opened pods. Doves ran over the ground, and small rodents had their burrows at the base of the thick stems. While at Dabeiba we met one of the most delightful Colombians — a type which I am afraid is vanishing, even as the forests and virgin wilds disappear before the on- slaughts of civilization. He had but recently penetrated farther into the wilderness, cleared a few acres of ground and erected a humble cabin of bamboo and wild banana leaves; to this he urged us to come for as long a time as we should care to remain; so one morning we gathered to- gether the most essential articles of our equipment and tramped through the intervening eight miles of jungle to his home. The beauty of the forest is indescribable; and wild life was so abundant that by the time our journey's end was reached we had attained such a stage of thrilling expectancy it was difficult to restrain our enthusiasm for the few hours needed to seek shelter indoors from an ap- proaching storm. The shrill cries of parrots cleft the air; trogons cooed plaintively; toucans yelped and rattled; and from all sides came the whush-whush-whush of giant ASCENT OF THE PARAMILLO 133 orioles' wings as the black-and-yellow forms hurried by to seek their pendent nests swaying dizzily from the branches of some giant ceiba towering regally above the unbroken forest. While we waited for the storm to subside, the cook shelled corn and then, placing it in a wooden mortar together with a handful of ashes, began to pound it to remove the skins. This operation required about half an hour, so frequently she paused to rest; but no sooner had she deserted her post than a swarm of cargador ants invaded the receptacle, and the first intimation we had of their presence was when a file of white kernels began to descend the side of the mor- tar and cross the floor at our feet. How the small insects are able to carry the large, heavy grains is a mystery. The burden weighs many times as much as the ant which bears it, and almost hides it from view. Later, we saw swarms of the same species at work in the clearing; they cut sec- tions from the edges of corn leaves by digging one mandible into the leaf for a secure hold, and then rip toward it with the other; the cut is always circular. Most of the insects worked from right to left, but one out of every five seemed to be "left-handed" and worked in the opposite direction. When the section of leaf is detached it is dexterously swung over the cutter's back, and away it marches with the green banner waving aloft. In addition to carrying this load, several small ants often mount on the leaf for a free ride to the nest. That night another denizen of the wilds invaded the house; as we sat quietly in front of the hut listening to a shrill, uncanny oh-ho-ho-ho-ho coming from the forest, and which the natives said was the mating call of the three-toed sloth, but which we recognized as the song of a giant frogmouth or goatsucker, a cat owned by the family began to cut queer capers about the fireplace. A light revealed a good-sized bushmaster making its way across the kitchen floor. Whether the reptile had been attracted by the warm glow of the embers — for the rain had been followed by a decided 134 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA drop in temperature— or had entered the structure to forage for mice, I do not know; but fortunately the cat had dis- covered its presence in time to prevent some one from step- ping on it, and was striking at it playfully with its paws. After that the cook slept on a bench instead of on the earth floor, as had been her custom. Our daily excursions took us far into the forest which in- vested the low, rounded hills in all directions. There were few trails, but a lack of undergrowth made walking easy. On one of our first hunting expeditions we found the rare ground-cuckoo (Neomorphus), a beautiful iridescent green- ish-black bird which, on account of its terrestrial habits, has nearly lost the power of flight. Once before, I had seen this bird, and that was on the upper Orinoco, near the foot of Mount Duida. There the single individual was engaged in a curious game of tag with a tinamou; the birds chased one another about on the leaf-strewn ground, over logs, and through the underbrush, and jumped over one another's back as if playing leap-frog. We also found the flat-billed motmot in considerable numbers. These birds usually clung to the lianas drooping in festoons and loops above the small mountain brooks, and were exceedingly stupid and unsuspicious. They uttered no note, and sat motion- less many minutes at a time, silhouetted like dark, ragged spectres on their perches. Among the moss or green leaves their color blended well with the surroundings, and we doubtless passed numbers without being aware of their presence. Not all the birds inhabiting the forests at Alto Bonito are inconspicuously colored, however. There are gorgeous little tanagers, humming-birds, toucans, and trogons. The latter, especially, are creatures of such exquisite beauty that they seem to belong to a world more ethereal than our own; their brilliant scarlet or yellow breasts resemble a flower of dazzling color, for which the shimmering, metallic wing-coverts and back provide a resplendent setting. The bird is as fragile as it is beautiful, and was evidently not ASCENT OF THE PARAMILLO 135 intended to be defiled by the touch of mortal hands. If a specimen is shot, many of the feathers are lost before the bird reaches the ground, and at the impact of the ground many more are shed. The skin is so delicate that it takes an expert to remove it, and even then the bird is the despair of field-naturalist and taxidermist alike. There was also a splendid representation of the parrot family, ranging from noisy little parrakeets to huge, green amazons. This reminded me of an interesting provision of nature whereby three families of birds frequently found in the same locality are able to obtain their sustenance. They are the parrots, trogons, and toucans, all of which feed upon fruit, each seeming to secure its food in a different manner. The zygodactyl feet of parrots enable them to climb out to the tip of fruit-laden branches and to cling to them in any position while feeding; toucans, endowed with an emormously elongated bill are able to reach a long dis- tance for a coveted morsel, which is grasped between the tip of the mandibles and tossed back with an upward jerk of the head, to be swallowed; a trogon has a very short beak and neck, and the delicate feet are not adapted to climbing, but the wings of the bird are so constructed as to enable it to hover, from which position the fruit it de- sires may be snapped off the stem, when the bird returns to its perch to devour it. One day our host's son, aged thirteen, undertook to guide me to a distant part of the forest, where he said a large herd of peccaries had their feeding-ground. At first we passed through a part of the country well known to me, as I had taken a number of hunting excursions over the same ground; then we ascended a steep slope and, reaching the top, began to explore a vast stretch of heavy woods but rarely visited by any one. Although we had come for the express purpose of hunting peccaries, there were so many rare prizes on all sides that it was impossible to adhere strictly to our first intention; the temptation to add new treasures to our collection proved too great. Dainty little 136 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA pigmy squirrels played in the top of the palms, or clung like lichens to the tree-trunks. Some of the trees bore ripe fruit, and to them many ani- mals came which are hard or even impossible to find under other conditions, thus making an ideal spot for the natural- ist. A few seeds of the alligator-pear cast away by a hunter years before had taken root and grown into good- sized trees; the fruit dropped to the ground as it matured, attracting agoutis, which collected, apparently from some distance, to feed on the rich morsels. Other trees were laden with small berries. Although there was no sound to indicate the presence of a living thing, we usually discov- ered that first impressions were deceptive. If we waited a short time, a gentle patter on the leaves at our feet re- warded our patience; and then a close scrutiny of the leafy vault revealed silent, dark forms carefully moving among the tops of the branches and reaching out to pick the fruit upon which they were feeding. Gradually the shadowy forms assumed the shape of toucans, parrots, or macaws; the latter two birds are very wasteful and drop far more food than they eat. The presence of an ant army is invariably advertised by the sharp chirp of the ant-wrens attending it. We encoun- tered one, and spent an exciting half-hour securing two species of ant-birds, one black with white shoulders (Myrme- lastes), and the other of a brown color with a white line run- ning through the centre of the underparts (Anoplops) ; they had been feeding on beetles and spiders, and examination of the stomach contents revealed also a few ants. After shooting a bird it was necessary to enter into the thick of the voracious insects to hunt for it; but before the trophy could be recovered swarms of ants had climbed up our legs and clung with a bulldog grip. Occasionally we saw a flock of manakins — brilliant little sprites of the forest, always found in the densest thickets. Some are black with golden heads; others, also black, have yellow breasts and long tufts of feathers on the throat, giv- ASCENT OF THE PARAMILLO 137 ing the bird a comical, bearded appearance; a third spe- cies had a vivid scarlet crest. The males only are brightly colored; the females are green. There were signs of peccaries in abundance, but the con- stant shooting had frightened them away; so after inspect- ing an ancient Indian tomb consisting of a pile of carefully placed stones, overgrown with creepers, we started for home. Instead of retracing our steps over the many miles we had come, we followed a narrow gorge which we knew must lead to the Rio Sucio. Progress was slow and diffi- cult, for the brook descended in a series of falls, and the rocks were covered with moss and were slippery; however, having started via this route, it was impossible to retrace our steps. There was little of interest along the course of the treach- erous little stream; but we discovered nests of a barred black-and-white wren (Thryophilus) swinging gayly above the water. The basket-shaped structures had been placed in the wildest, darkest spots, and each contained a single young bird, dozing peacefully in the entrance opening, lulled to sleep, no doubt, by the semigloom and the sound of rushing water. As we picked our way along slowly and painfully, fre- quently wading through water three feet deep, a dark, shadowy form lunged from the blackness of a cavern among the boulders and clung for an instant to the cuff of my hunting-coat; then it dropped to the ground, and slowly disappeared among the rocks. My companion, who was a few feet in advance, had just turned to make some comment, and it was not until his frantic shriek brought me back to earth that I fully realized what had occurred. A bush- master, apparently four or five feet long had become exas- perated at our close proximity, and aimed a deadly thrust at the disturber of its diurnal slumber. This habit of the snake is well known; by nature it is sluggish; one person may pass close by without arousing its anger, while to a second individual, immediately following, it will show re- 138 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA sentment, although it may not strike; but a third may con- sider himself fortunate, indeed, if he does not draw the full measure of the reptile's fury. The exploration at Alto Bonito yielded such rich returns that we regretted the necessity of leaving; but a field-nat- uralist's time is not unlimited, and presently we found our- selves riding across the parched Antioquian desert, en route to Medellin. The work at Alto Bonito provided the last link in the chain of facts regarding the forestation of northwestern Antioquia, and also throws some light on the extension of the mountain ranges. For information on the latter sub- ject we were compelled to rely largely on data furnished by Senor Cspinas, director of the School of Mines, Medellin; Senor Ernesto White, an engineer who has made surveys in the region, and the reports of Indians. The Western Cordillera terminates in the Cerro Aguila, just below 9°, near the Golfo de Uruba", and is less than one thousand feet high. The range breaks down, gradually, north of the Paramillo. In latitude 7J^° the highest peak is known as Alto Esmeralda, four thousand feet high; and the Abibi, a few miles farther north, reaches an altitude of only three thousand six hundred feet. A trail recently built (by Senor White) from Turbo on the Gulf of Urubd, to Montana on the Rio Sinu crosses the very country about which we knew least; the elevation of its highest point is eight hundred feet, and every mile of the way was cut through heavy virgin forest. PART II VENEZUELA CHAPTER X FIFTEEN HUNDRED MILES ON THE ORINOCO IT seemed as if the declining sun had set the quivering world aflame; all day long the Delta, well remembered but unbeloved by voyagers on the Master River, had struggled on against the yellow flood toward her goal two hundred and forty miles above the Parian Gulf. Not a ripple stirred the placid water which glided ever onward, and no breeze stirred the heavy, dark vegetation that lined the river's bank. It had been one of those days which only the traveller to tropical lands can adequately picture; when all the earth silently droops beneath the unrelenting glare of the lurid orb overhead, and eagerly awaits the coming of night which alone can bring relief. As the last vestige of the sullen disk dipped into the forest, and only a faint pink and violet glow lit up the banks of vapors hanging low in the west, the nightly gales from the ocean sprang up with unrestrained vigor; soon a choppy sea was raging, and as each white-capped wave struck her wooden sides with a muffled boom, the fragile, top-heavy steamer shuddered and threatened to capsize. Morning, however, found her still battling bravely with the some- what subsided elements, and, not long after, the Delta was slowly dragging herself alongside the high, sandy beach on which stands Ciudad Bolivar. The first white man to ascend the Orinoco was Ordaz, who in 1531-2 went as far as the mouth of the Meta; and after him came the usual bands of treasure-seekers in quest of El Dorado; but instead of wonderful golden cities they found yawning graves in a hostile wilderness. In the middle of the eighteenth century missions, founded by the Jesuit fathers, dotted the river-bank as far up as 141 142 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA Esmeraldas; these have long since vanished. Humboldt made his memorable voyage to the Cassiquiare in 1800, and a number of other scientific expeditions followed in his wake at irregular intervals; to enumerate them all would be a tedious and unwarranted use of time. However, one remarkable fact must not be overlooked, namely, that even to this day the actual sources of the Orinoco have not been discovered. To trace this huge artery to its very beginning, supposedly somewhere in the Serrania de Parima on the Brazilian fron- tier was not the object of our expedition; but rather to explore the regions north of the inaccurately mapped Rio Cunucunuma, more particularly Mount Duida, thought by many to be the locality described in a widely read book entitled "The Lost World." Of this country, and of the people and animal life inhabiting its virgin wilds/ very little was known. With the tying up of the Delta the first stage of our journey had been completed. Ciudad Bolivar, formerly called Angostura, meaning narrows, on account of the narrowing of the Orinoco at this point to the width of a mile, stands on an eminence on the left bank, and is the capital of the Department of Guiana; it is the largest and only city of importance on the river. The red-tiled roofs and whitewashed walls of the houses can be seen from afar. On landing, one is con- fronted by a strange medley of low, thick-walled edifices; narrow, crooked streets, and swarthy, unkempt people. Practically all of the windows' are heavily barred, a custom common in many parts of South America, and retained from the Moors. Whatever beauty attached to the place is indoors. There are no green lawns or flowering gardens to cheer the eye of the passer-by; but a glimpse behind the sombre walls will invariably reveal an open court or patio filled with flowers and tropical shrubbery, and occasionally a fountain; but this is not all. In the patio of the hotel, which served as FIFTEEN HUNDRED MILES ON THE ORINOCO 143 our headquarters, there lived in perfect harmony several large tortoises, a deer, two sheep, about a dozen tree-ducks, turkeys, chickens, guinea-fowl, and several pigs; fifteen species of birds, including parrots, orioles, and finches oc- cupied cages hanging on the walls. The desire to keep caged animals is an inherent trait of the South American. Back of the city lies an extensive swamp from which, at least during the month of December, came great numbers of mosquitoes. As may have been inferred, the heat was very great; but regularly at nightfall the strong wind came up the 'river, causing a drop of several degrees in the tempera- ture; then the town cast off its torpor, lights twinkled, the band played on the water-front, gayly dressed and painted women peered from behind the heavily barred windows, the streets were filled with a roving crowd of men and boys, and Ciudad Bolivar presented a wide-awake appearance. On the opposite side of the Orinoco is the small town of Soledad; this village supplies a large portion of the sailors who man the boats plying on the river. Our first care was to try to find a way of proceeding on our voyage. On account of the low stage of the water from the months of January to March, steamers do not ascend beyond Ciudad Bolivar regularly, and at best they go only as far as the Apure. It was, therefore, decided to charter a sailboat of shallow draft which would take us to the first great barrier to navigation, the cataracts of Atures. To secure such a craft was not an easy matter. We visited several of the large export houses, mostly German, but none of them had vessels at their disposal. Finally, we heard of a man named Guillermo Montez; he was a type frequently met with in South America; owning a small store which contained chiefly long ropes of garlic festooned on the walls, living in a mud hovel, and apparently poverty- stricken, he nevertheless possessed great wealth and knew how to handle his fellow countrymen. This "handling" consisted of keeping them constantly in debt to himself, so that he owned them virtually body and soul. Montez 144 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA immediately sent to Soledad for one of his debtors, and within a short time we had secured the contract for the transportation needed. v On December 16 word reached us that the boat was ready. We had spent the intervening days adding to the stock of provisions brought from New York, and it might be added that the shops of Ciudad Bolivar were well filled with a splendid assortment of foodstuffs at reasonable prices. The Hilo de Oro (Thread of Gold), for that was the name of the sloop impatiently bobbing near the bank, was a boat capable of carrying one hundred and fifty guintales, under the command of one Pedro Solano; her crew consisted of four men, and the captain's wife, whose position was that of cook. To properly load the equipment and provisions required half a day, and with the springing up of the eve- ning wind we hoisted sail and, skirting the towering rocks protruding from the centre of the river, glided easily to the other side. As all the men came from Soledad, there followed a night of the usual festivities of drinking and leave- taking; but with the rising sun, the wind still holding out, we started on the real voyage up the great river. Fortunately, the wind was favorable and continued to blow intermittently all day long; by ten o'clock at night we had covered about thirty miles and cast anchor at a point called Boca la Brea. The width of the river averaged .about one mile and a half, and the entire bed is strewn with huge boulders, rendering navigation at night impossible. Next day, a favorable wind did not reach us until late in the morning, and we had our first glimpse of wild life. The crew, a piratical-appearing band with unshaven faces, wearing short breeches only, and red and blue handker- chiefs around their heads, landed a number of large striped catfish; but their tackle was too light and others of greater weight broke the lines and escaped. Numbers of caimans, of crocodiles, floated lazily down-stream with only the eyes and saw-like tails showing above the water; and a school FIFTEEN HUNDRED MILES ON THE ORINOCO 145 of fresh- water porpoises jumped and raced around the boat. On the days that followed, the wind either died down entirely or blew with terrific violence, so that slow progress was made. The chubascoSj or squalls, not uncommon on tropical rivers, come up suddenly and without warning; a faint, funnel-shaped mass appears on the horizon, fol- lowed by a low bank of black clouds, and fitful little sand- spouts that spring into existence on the vast playas. There is never time to seek the leeward banks, and not a minute is lost in lowering sails and placing every available object below to prevent its being washed overboard. While Cap- tain Solano shouted hoarse orders and the crew worked like mad (the only time they really did work), we donned our oilskins and awaited the coming of the storm. To go down into the hatch was impossible, both on account of the lack of space and the stifling heat. The wait was never very long; with a roar the hurricane burst upon the quiet river, and in a few minutes everything was obliterated in the dense fog and wall of falling water. The wind tore through the rigging with agonized wails, and angry white- capped waves sprang suddenly into existence, sweeping over the boat and dashing it about like a cork in a mill- race. There was nothing to be done but wait until the storm subsided and hope that no obstructing boulder, or the bank, would put an end to the madly careening craft in the semi- darkness. This lasted from fifteen minutes to an houf; then the wind died down, the rain ceased, and the fog lifted. A changed river presented itself. Monstrous waves, capped with foam, dashed and tore at the high, crumbling banks, undermining them so that large sections tumbled into the water, carrying with them tall trees and massed vegetation. The agitated surface was littered with debris which bore good evidence of the violence of the storm. After this there followed several days of calm; there was not enough wind to fill the sails, and all the "whistling for a breeze" of the sailors did exactly as much good as one 146 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA would expect it to. Finally, in desperation, a long rope was tied to the mast, and two men going ahead in a canoe made the other end fast to a tree, a few hundred feet ahead. The remaining members of the crew then hauled on the rope, slowly drawing the boat forward. Progress was slow, of course, but on the 22d we reached the Puerto del Infierno, the best possible name for the narrow, rocky gorge through which the river rushes with uncontrolled fury. A large mass of granite covered with low vegetation divides the river into two narrow channels, one of them so protected by high, rocky banks that no wind ever reaches the water, consequently making it impossible for boats to sail up the passage. The other is a narrow, rock-strewn gorge, down which the water thunders in a series of cascades. On the right bank, perched high on the rocks, are a few mud huts called Pueblo de las Piedras. We spent the greater part of a day waiting for wind, and then made straight for the seething passage. Fortunately our pilot was a good one; his method was to steer directly for some great boulder, below which the water was quiet, and just as the ship seemed about to strike he swung the tiller, and the boat painfully nosed her way up the cataract that dashed down the sides of the rock. If the breeze slackened for a moment the ship drifted back with the strong current, which was extremely dangerous, as there was no way of regulating her course; but always, just in the nick of time, the sails filled and after an hour's struggle we left the rapids and sailed into the quiet water above. Not far above the Infierno is the village of Mapire, a neat collection of perhaps fifty huts on a high bluff overlooking the river. In back of the town are vast llanos, or grassy plains, which are capable of supporting numerous herds of cattle. On the opposite side of the river, and some little distance up, is the mouth of the Caura, at one time believed to be the home of a tribe of headless people; but the old superstition has been overthrown, and during the first month of each year many adventurous parties ascend the FIFTEEN HUNDRED MILES ON THE ORINOCO 147 river for a considerable distance in search of the serrapia or tonca-bean. The tree (Dipteryx odoratd) upon which the fruit grows resembles a mango, with spreading branches and deep-green, dense leaves. The fruit also is very similar to the mango, though green, with tough, fibrous flesh and a large seed. While the fruit is still green great quantities of it are destroyed by macaws and parrots, which take a bite or two, then drop the rest on the ground. Upon ripening, the fruit falls, when it is gathered into heaps and dried; the seeds are later cracked open and the strong-smelling kernel extracted to be carefully preserved and sent to Ciudad Bolivar, where it is treated in casks of rum and then exported. It is used in making perfumes and flavor- ing extracts. The water of the Caura is of a clear dark-red color, and for a great distance after entering the Orinoco the two waters flow side by side without mingling in the slightest degree. The Orinoco widens into a majestic stream above this point, and we estimated that the distance from bank to bank must in some places be from three to five miles; also, vast sand-banks stretch along both sides for a distance of many miles. Caicara, the only town of importance on the Orinoco besides Ciudad Bolivar, consisted at the time of our visit of about one hundred and fifty houses, but on account of a rubber and serrapia boom on the Cuchivero many of the inhabitants were leaving for the latter place. The next day we passed the mouth of the Apure, and just beyond the mouth of the Arichuma; a great low, sandy island rises out of the centre of the Orinoco at this point, on which thousands of terns, skimmers, gulls, and other water-fowl were apparently nesting. All day long and even at night the air was filled with darting, screaming birds that made such a terrific din that it was impossible to sleep. High waves prevented our landing on the island, but the natives visit it regularly, taking away canoe-loads of eggs; for this 148 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA reason the island has been named Playa de Manteca, mean- ing in this case land of plenty. The next settlement is called Urbana, and is on the south bank of the river, almost opposite the mouth of the Arauca. It consists of about a score of hovels. The Arauca is a river of considerable size, and is said to be bordered by vast marshes and swamps, the home of countless egrets and other water-birds. Hunting-parties ascend during the nesting-sea- son and kill great numbers of the birds; the plumes are taken to Ciudad Bolivar and disposed of to the export dealers. Leaving Urbana on the 29th, we entered one of the most difficult stretches of the river to navigate. The fish-hook bend of the Orinoco turns southward, and the eastern bank is dotted with a range of low granite hills which are, in fact, a chain of giant, blackened, dome-shaped boulders. The wind from the east, roaring through each cleft and opening, strikes the river from several directions and with cyclonic violence. One moment there is scarcely enough to make headway against the current; the next a gust strikes the sails and sends the ship wallowing on her beam until the boom drags in the water and it is an even bet if she will gradually right herself or go over. At such times of peril as well as on starting each morning it is the custom of the sailors to pray. Of course they were all Catholics. The captain or whoever steers said, "Vamos con Dios" (let us go with God), and the others answered in chorus: " Y con la Virgen" (and with the Virgin). Occasionally the person whose duty it was to lead was so occupied rolling a cigarette or slapping at flies that he neglected his duty; then some one was sure to remind him with a sarcastic "Aha! Hoy vamos como los Protestantes" (Aha! To-day we are start- ing like the Protestants). It often happened that the crew was remiss. The captain repeated his lead several times without being heard; finally, his patience exhausted, he shouted at the top 'of his voice, " Vamos con Dios, caramba," and the crew immediately yelled back at the top of their voices: "Y con la Virgen, caramba." FIFTEEN HUNDRED MILES ON THE ORINOCO 149 Added to the danger of the shifting gales is a rapids named San Jorge. There was just enough water to cover the rocks which dot the river-bed, causing a series of cross- currents and whirlpools which only a Venezuelan boat- man, trusting mainly to luck, can hope to pass through. The rigging of the Hilo de Oro was old and rotten, and ropes were constantly snapping and sails splitting. No matter how obvious a defect was, it was never remedied until an accident had occurred. The boom had been threatening to break as each sudden gust of wind struck the mainsail, but a few boards nailed across the weakened place it was hoped would give sufficient strength for any emergency. An hour after leaving San Jorge, however, the boom parted with a loud report and dropped into the water, nearly upsetting the boat. Then, while the craft wallowed on her side with the deck awash there ensued a good deal of mingled praying, swearing, and frantic work until the heavy boom was fished out of the water. We tied up at the bank, cut down a tree, and worked the greater part of the night replacing the broken member. One of the curious granite battlements rears its head out of the water to a height of several hundred feet, and is somewhat suggestive of a small edition of the famous Sugar- Loaf Rock at the entrance to the harbor of Rio de Janeiro. This is called Treasure Rock, and no Venezuelan ever passes the spot without casting envious glances to the top. In the days when the old Spaniards were still wandering over the newly discovered lands in search of El Dorado, so the story goes, they penetrated far into the Cerro Sipapo and found rich treasures in gold and precious stones. The Guajibo Indians, in whose domain they had penetrated and whom they had robbed, finally tired of their unwelcome guests and chased them down the river. In desperation the Spaniards formed a stronghold on this island rock, driv- ing iron spikes into its sides as a means of reaching the top; for many weeks they resisted a siege by the savage hordes, but with the coming of the rainy season the Indians with- 150 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA drew to their mountain fastness. Finally the Spaniards came down, cutting off the spikes as they descended; they feared pursuit, so left the treasure on the rock, hoping to come for it when reinforcements had been secured; they never returned, and to this day the fabulous wealth of the Guajibos lies entombed on the top of the impregnable boulder. The Meta is a mighty river coming from the immense prairie region of eastern Colombia. It is navigable for the greater part of its course, and should be the means of open- ing up illimitable grazing areas when the Orinoco is thrown open to free navigation. Where the Meta joins the Orinoco, the latter is fully two miles wide; near its mouth the coun- try is covered with a dense scrub growth. As we neared the mouth of the great river several large canoes filled with Indians, of the Guajibo tribe, shot from an invisible hiding- place near the bank and made for the centre of the stream. They have an unsavory reputation among the river-men, and Captain Solano added little gayety to the occasion when he prophesied an attack and armed his men. On they came, swiftly and silently, the dusky, naked bodies bending in perfect unison, and the great muscles of the arms and shoulders rippling in the sunlight as they drove the short, pointed paddles deep into the water with vigorous strokes; but our suspicions proved to be unfounded. They passed rapidly on some secret mission of their own with- out even condescending to glance in our direction. This utter indifference to strangers, I found later, is a charac- teristic common to all Indians of the Upper Orinoco. A man might be drowning or stranded on a rock, but they would pass him quietly in their canoes without apparently seeing him; they would pay not the slightest attention to his cries for help. Their ill treatment at the hands of strangers has been so great that they have lost all confidence in any one unknown to them, and so they retaliate by feign- ing indifference to him, even in his direst need. The nights were usually spent aboard ship. If there was FIFTEEN HUNDRED MILES ON THE ORINOCO 151 no wind it was safe to tie up to some tree; or if darkness overtook us near a playa the anchor was carried ashore and buried in the sand. While the cook prepared supper on the brazier or over a fire built on the bank, hammocks were strung in the rigging, and then we fished until time to retire. Fish were always abundant and of many varieties. One kind that was taken frequently and that was excellent eat- ing was a catfish, weighing up to twenty-eight pounds, of a deep brownish color with wavy bluish-gray lines running along its sides, called vagre tigre; another species of cat- fish, frequently of a weight of seventy-five pounds or more, and of a deep slate color, was not uncommon; there was also a third about eighteen inches long, with a large, narrow head and "feelers" as long as the body, that was always sure to be among the catch; but neither of the two last named was ever eaten, as the flesh was said to be poisonous. The crew was always careful to clean all fish immediately and place them under cover; if left exposed to the moonlight overnight they were unfit for food. The hoarse cough of jaguars was heard almost nightly; it was the season when great numbers of turtles left the river at nightfall to deposit their eggs in the sand-banks, and the jaguars left the forest at dark to dig up and feed on these eggs. One night, just as the boat had drawn up to the high sand-bank preparatory to tying up, one of the huge cats was discovered sitting ten feet above us quietly surveying the scene on deck; there was a rush for the guns, but when they were secured the jaguar had disappeared. A clear sweep of loose sand with a low bush here and there stretched back a mile from the river to the heavy forest, and in the brilliant moonlight it was easy to trace the animal's tracks as it started toward cover. Several times its shadowy form was visible, slinking from one bush to another a few rods away, but always out of range; after half an hour the tracks were lost in the edge of the forest. We returned to the ship. Before replacing the guns in the 152 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA hatch some one casually broke his, which action led to the discovery that it contained no shells; neither were the others loaded. One of the men while cleaning them that afternoon had removed the cartridges and failed to reload them. Fortunately, the jaguar is not quite as savage as he is usually pictured, or there might have been a lively scene on the playa. There is but one other rapid of importance in the Orinoco before reaching the cataracts of Atures, and that is San Borja, not far above the mouth of the Meta. Just above this narrow stretch of seething water we met another boat about the size of the Hilo de Oro, which was cruising back and forth near the bank, her crew directing loud shouts toward the forest at frequent intervals. Upon inquiry we found that one of the men had gone into the woods to cut a pole; the other members of the crew had heard him chopping, as he had not entered the matted vegetation more than fifty feet; suddenly the chopping ceased, but the man did not come out; although they had searched far and near, no trace of him had been found, and this was the fourth day after his disappearance. The supposition was that he had been killed and carried away by Indians. Perrico was formerly the port of call for sailing craft be- low Atures. At the time of our arrival there was nothing whatever there, not even a single hut. We continued up the river half a mile to a place called Vagre; here we found the remains of two palm-leaf huts, long since fallen down and overgrown with vegetation. In the small clearing a few cotton-stalks, beans, pawpaws, and castor-bean bushes still struggled for existence with the invading hosts of creepers and second-growth sprouts; the forest was rapidly reclaiming its own. On the sandy river-bank were the tracks of jaguars and caimans. At this point the river is divided into a number of branches by islands, and the one on which Vagre was situated is not over five hundred feet wide. Beyond this point a boat of any size cannot proceed; it is the foot of the series of cataracts, six miles FIFTEEN HUNDRED MILES ON THE ORINOCO 153 long, known as the rapids of Atures. We sent a man over- land to Zamuro for a falca, which is a canoe with the sides heightened with boards; and while our luggage was being rowed up the swift stream, we walked near the bank. The aneroid, read at water-level, gave an elevation of three hundred and fifty feet; perhaps this is somewhat too high. Between Vagre and Zamuro a row of rounded, black rocks rise to a height of two hundred and fifty feet above the river, on the eastern side. Many boulders of enormous proportions lie sprinkled about in the most irregular manner, as far as we could see, and in spots there are outcroppings of ledges of quartz. The tops of the rounded granite hills are hard and glazed, so that they glisten in the sunlight as if covered with a coating of ice. There are but a few stunted trees, and where any vegetation can get a foothold tough, wiry grass grows; this is the home of many rabbits and rattlesnakes. Zamuro we found to consist of three grass huts newly built and occupied by sick, miserable Venezuelan families. The heat is terrific, and mosquitoes and sand-flies first begin to make their presence known in considerable numbers. The river scenery is really magnificent; huge boulders of fantastic shape strew the river-bed, and rear their heads high above the seething torrent; against them the water dashes ceaselessly, surging and swirling in mad endeavors to destroy them, only to be baffled by the immovable sen- tinels and hurled back again to collide with their brethren equally unrelenting and equally impervious to the roaring onslaught. The scene is awe-inspiring. The next step was to secure ox-carts to carry the im- pedimenta to the Rio Catanapo, three miles away, and this we crossed in a canoe, landing practically at Atures. The governor of the Upper Orinoco, General Roberto Pulido, made Catanapo his home. He was ordinarily supposed to reside in San Fernando de Atabapo, but on account of his arbitrary methods of government he was so greatly disliked that he decided it was "healthier" to live elsewhere. 154 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA The Catanapo is a turbulent stream of clear, cold water that dashes down from the near-by Cerro Sipapo. Not far above its mouth is a good-sized village of Piaroas, who come down occasionally with plantains, pawpaws, and other fruits which they exchange for cloth and sugar at Atures. When the Indians come down they apparently bring with them numbers of freshly killed monkeys, the flesh of which is greatly esteemed as food. We saw several heaps of the charred bones near frequently used camping-sites, here as well as at Zamuro. The clear water of the Catanapo abounds in fish which may be seen twenty-five feet or more beneath the surface. Some were fully two feet long and resembled giant black bass; they refused to be tempted with meat bait, but rushed greedily for bright-colored objects such as fruit and flowers; they would take half an orange at a gulp. Atures, consisting of six or eight mud and grass huts, owes its existence to the fact that the governor lives on the Catanapo and all the residents are his employees. For- merly the town was larger and there were thirty ox-carts plying back and forth across the portage; but the governor promptly selected the few he wanted and then discouraged competition in such a manner that he was shortly left alone in the field. To us he was most cordial, and immediately placed his carts at our disposal; nor did he examine our luggage, which was his self-imposed duty, and extract any- thing that suited his fancy. The two miles from Atures to Salvajito, the port of em- barkation above Atures Rapids, were covered in ox-carts which lumbered slowly along over the uneven semiarid country. Salvajito was only a small cleared space in the forest fringing the river. The next step of the journey was to traverse the forty miles of river between Atures and the second great cataract at Maipures. Only a small canoe was available, so leav- ing my assistant and a number of the men to guard the left-over luggage, I started with three paddlers. The canoe FIFTEEN HUNDRED MILES ON THE ORINOCO 155 was only eighteen feet long, with about two inches of free- board, but fortune favored us and after two days we reached the mouth of the Tuparo. The first night out had been spent on a laja, or shelf of rock which extends over the water; the men set the dry vegetation in back of the camp afire in order to keep away jaguars, and built a fence of brands along the outer edge of the rock to frighten off the crocodiles. The second night was spent on a large sand- bank just below the rapid of Guajibo. In approaching this site the canoe had been caught in a sudden hurricane and swamped before land could be reached; but fortunately we had gained shallow water, so nothing was lost. On this sand-bar lived three species of terns, one of very small size that came in immense flocks after nightfall and, dropping on the sand, immediately disappeared from view; also num- bers of yellow-legs and a few gulls. The wind blew steadily all night, so that by morning everything and every one was half buried in the loose sand. The rapid of Guajibo is one of the most treacherous in the whole Orinoco. Each year the rubber-gatherers pay heavy toll in lives while traversing this notorious spot. A great horseshoe-shaped ledge of rock extends across practi- cally the entire river, and over this the water rushes at great speed; below is a series of scattered rocks extending for a quarter of a mile, and forming a raging, roaring gorge. We portaged around the spot, although the country is very difficult, owing to the many high rocks and the deep crev- ices between them. An acquaintance who had just passed attempted to have his men drag their boat through, with the result that they lost the canoe and three men. Shortly after a large piragua coming from up-river attempted to run the rapids to save time; seven of the crew, as well as the owner of the outfit, paid for their folly with their lives, and the entire cargo of rubber, together with the boat, was lost. A few days later another party wrecked their canoe and lost two men. These are all cases which came under our notice, and I was told of many others. 156 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA The port of Maipures is on the Rio Tuparo, about half a mile above its mouth. This river, some two hundred yards wide, comes rushing out of the interior of Colombia down a rocky river-bed. Where the landing was effected we found only the parched plain, a trail leading away from the river to the settlement of Maipures, a good three miles away. We pitched camp near the water, and the canoe and two men were immediately sent back for another load of the equipment. There was not much life along this part of the river. Numerous iguanas spent the hot hours burrowing in the sand, and if disturbed either ran away in the brush or plunged into the water. Both green and blue kingfishers clattered noisily on the opposite side, and a few large gray herons flapped up and down over the centre of the stream. We could constantly hear the loud roar of the Maipures Rapids, and the water rushing down the course of the main river was covered with foam. Five days after our arrival the second load, in charge of my assistant, arrived. They had met with a mishap in the rapid of Guajibo, and one man and the canoe were lost. For nearly two days they had been stranded on an island and besieged by a party of Indians from the Sipapo; the occupants of a passing canoe, seeing their plight, came to the rescue, and brought them on to the Tuparo. While the borrowed canoe returned for the remaining members of the party, we busied ourselves transferring camp to Maipures, above the head of the rapids. The intervening country is level and covered with a sparse growth of clumps of wiry grass and patches of low woods; near the watercourse the trees are taller and the vegetation more dense. The town, consisting of six adobe houses with thatched roofs, nestles in a little grove of mango and tonca-bean trees, and from a short distance away is very picturesque; but like all the rest of the plain it is insufferably hot and the myriads of sand-flies quivering like heat-waves in the air make life almost unbearable. While waiting for a boat of ample size to take us up the The village of Maipures. The Hilo de Oro at the end of the voyage. FIFTEEN HUNDRED MILES ON THE ORINOCO 157 river to San Fernando de Atabapo, we had time to explore the surrounding country and to visit the rapids, three in number, which obstruct the river. The woods are wonder- ful beyond description; most of the trees are gnarled and low, as if grown under the guiding hand of a skilful Japa- nese gardener, and have the appearance of being hundreds of years old. Stunted spiny palms rear their crowns here and there, and an occasional tangle of red-flowered creepers forms an umbrella-like mass on the tip of some slender, dead stub. The ground is sprinkled with rocks of fantastic shapes, and some are of enormous size, rising in needle-like, fluted columns, or as the crumbling tiers of massive walls amid the curiously distorted vegetation. Along the river are other masses of rock, but of an entirely different forma- tion; we saw caves and grottos, and ledges honeycombed with hundreds of pot-holes exposed by the low water. Beyond the woods are large areas of cacti, pineapples, and low, thorny bushes, springing from crevices in the granite ledges. Bird life is abundant and varied. Quail and red-breasted meadow-larks occupy the open country, as well as a species of the much-sought tinamou; but a bird that proved to be the most interesting was a small, obscure individual called nunlet or swallow-wing. All day long the little creature, about the size of a king-bird, black above and gray below, with a saffron band across the throat, sits on the top of some dead tree, seemingly asleep; but let a fly or an insect of almost any kind pass along and the bird immediately becomes charged with activity and darts into the air in hot pursuit, catches its victim, and returns to its perch with graceful flits of the wings. It remains on the same twigs for hours, and usually returns day after day. If a stick is thrown at it the little creature flies away and comes back again and again. But stupid as the bird ap- pears to be, it is nevertheless a skilful architect. I have seen them dig perfectly round holes deep into a bank of sand so loose that the whole mass would crumble at my touch; while one bird digs with much scratching and work- 158 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA ing of wings, the mate sits on a branch near by and gives a twitter of alarm upon the approach of danger. Some mem- bers of the family build a huge pile of twigs on the entrance to their burrow to hide it. At the end of the tunnel, a foot or two back, the snow-white eggs are laid upon a thin layer of straw and feathers. The highest falls in the river are known as Carretia, and are supposed to be about thirty feet high; they block the eastern channel of the river, here divided into two branches by the immense Isla de Raton. In the western arm the Raudal del Conejo and Raudal Saltinero effectively block this watercourse to navigation. It is said that the Span- iards built a road from Atures to the foot of the Cerro Si- papo above the falls of Carretia, and that the Indians still follow this route occasionally. If true, this was doubtless a great convenience, as it did away with the necessity of navigating some fifty-odd miles of the most difficult and dangerous waterway of the entire river. A large boat called piragua was obtained at Maipures, and in this the expedition travelled to San Fernando de Atabapo in six days' time. The river is dotted with a num- ber of islands, the largest being the great Isla de Raton, all heavily forested; the current is frequently so strong that no headway could be made either by rowing or poling the heavy boat. At such times a thick cable of the braided fibre of a palm called chiquechique had to be requisitioned, and everybody walked on the bank, dragging the boat slowly along. The very first day the man in the lead ran into a bushmaster fully eight feet long, and narrowly escaped the vicious thrust of the deadly reptile; a charge of shot soon put an end to the creature's menacing career, but the men jumped into the boat and did not want us to take along the dead snake, or they said its mate would be sure to follow and inflict a terrible revenge for the loss of its companion; this kind of superstition is very common among the natives on the Orinoco. Few of them would dare shoot a jaguar, as they firmly believe that for every FIFTEEN HUNDRED MILES ON THE ORINOCO 159 one slain a member of their own family would be carried away by one of the huge spotted cats. The country on the Colombian side, from below Atures onward, is level llano, covered with a good growth of grass, and with an abundance of water. Some day, no doubt, and in the near future, numerous herds of cattle will graze in the rich pasturage awaiting them, and another source will be added to the world's limited supply of meat. A fringe of trees grows along the river; among them are the valuable "cachicamo" and "cedro," the trunks of which are frequently fashioned into canoes by the natives. The Vichada, at this season, had dwindled down until at its mouth it was not more than a hundred yards wide. We could see a range of hills far to the west, dimly outlined against the sky and finally fading into obscurity in the haze; in this direction the river has its origin. Several Piaroa families had settled near the junction of the two rivers and built a large hut of palm-leaves and grass. The men lounged in their hammocks all day long, drinking rum and fighting the clouds of sand-flies which feasted on their half-naked bodies; at night they crossed to one of the nu- merous sand-banks and collected basketsful of turtle eggs and also as many turtles as their canoes would hold. Some of their canoes were mere shells, so small that we could never learn how to negotiate them; no matter how quietly we sat they upset as soon as pushed out into the current, but an Indian or even two would calmly squat down in the bottom, take up their paddles, and glide away without the least concern. The women were making cassava bread; after the tubers (Manihot utilissimd) are ground and the juice has been extracted a thin layer of the coarse meal is spread on the bottom of a shallow pan about three feet in diameter; the heat causes the particles to adhere, forming a tough, round wafer which can be turned without breaking; it is thoroughly baked on both sides. When cold it hardens, and the huge slabs are then done up in bundles of twenty to forty each, 160 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA tied up in plantain leaves, and in this way it can be kept indefinitely. This is the bread of the Orinoco, and is al- ways carried as the main article of provision by Indians and travellers alike; when needed pieces are broken off, dipped in the river to soak a few minutes and then eaten. While not particularly appetizing, the slightly acid flavor is not unpleasant, and if there is time to freshly toast it just before using it is really quite palatable. Another arti- cle commonly prepared by the Piaroas is the bark of a cer- tain tree, called "tabari." Long, narrow strips are cut from the trees and alternately soaked in water and beaten between rocks until the thin layers separate into tissue-like sheets; these are used in rolling cigarettes. One of the granite ledges flanking the river just above the Piaroa dwelling bears on its surface a number of curious figures, carved in the face of the rock; unfortunately the water was so low that we passed far beneath them, and I was unable to make out just what they were; but the canoe- men who had seen them a number of times said they were figures of men and date back to prehistoric times. The country now rapidly grows wilder; tall forest re- places llanos or scattered growth, and the camps of rubber- collectors dot the river-banks. One afternoon, as we poled quietly along, we came upon a huge anaconda coiled up on a sand-bank; all about were iguanas three or four feet long, digging nesting burrows in the loose sand. The snake had just caught one of the big lizards and was crushing it into a limp mass, but the others paid not the slightest attention to the tragedy which was being enacted in their midst, and ran about or worked but a few feet away. When we ap- proached to within twenty feet the anaconda dropped its victim and flung itself into the water; some of the iguanas followed it, and others scampered away over the sand. That night we reached the low, sandy island of Tanaja and, ascending one of the branches of the river, made camp on the rocky mainland. The water was sluggish and shal- low, so that we could easily see the muddy bottom six or FIFTEEN HUNDRED MILES ON THE ORINOCO 161 eight feet below. As the boat moved slowly along we be- came aware of masses of black; flitting shadows under- neath, and soon made out vast shoals of fish of various sizes that literally covered the bottom. There were rays, elec- tric eels, catfish, and piranhas by the thousands, besides many others which we could not identify; the reason for their congregating in this shallow place is hard to guess. The boulders on the bank were dotted with what we at first took to be lichens; but examination showed them to be night-hawks (Chordeiles rupestris) of a light gray color, which clung to the rounded tops silent and immovable, as if carved out of stone. When we paddled across to the island a short while after, we found scores of others, but these were the females squatting on one or two fragile speckled eggs which had been laid in shallow hollows scooped out of the warm sand. They were very tame and permit- ted me to walk up to within a few feet of them; then they took wing and with noiseless, graceful flaps flew a short distance away and dropped back on the sand. Flocks of red-and-blue macaws flew screaming across the river in quest of some favorite tree in which to spend the night, far in the depths of the forest; after them trailed parrots of various sizes and colors, always flying two by two. Herons flapped lazily up-stream, and snake-birds perched on snags looked down at the masses of fish below, apparently regretting their limited capacity for eating. Exciting as this naturally must be to a field-naturalist, it was but a fore- taste of what we were to find each day farther up the river. As the morning of January 24 sped by, the water of the Orinoco began to assume a dark color, and by four o'clock that afternoon we had reached the mouth of the Atabapo; an hour and a half later we had ascended the clear red water of that river for a distance of three miles, and tied the piragua to the ledge below San Fernando. San Fernando de Atabapo is the last settlement on the Orinoco and was the base from which we hoped to make our dash to the unexplored regions about Mount Duida. CHAPTER XI THE MAQUIRITARES' LAND AND THE UPPER ORINOCO SAN FERNANDO, on the Atabapo, consists of about fifty adobe huts of the usual type, and at the time of our arrival was all but deserted. Almost the entire population had gone up-river to the scattered rubber-camps, as this was the season for collecting the valuable latex. The town is situated on the Atabapo, where this river and the Guaviare unite, and its elevation above sea-level is three hundred and seventy feet. The mean temperature is about 80° F., although in the sun the mercury ascends to 112° F. or more, but the place is not particularly unhealthful. The water of the Guaviare is muddy, while that of the Atabapo is of a clear red color and unfit for drinking. There are few fish, no crocodiles or sand-flies, and practi- cally no mosquitoes, all of which is attributed to the dis- colored water. Two small springs near the town furnish an abundant supply of potable water, and when during the rainy season these are covered with the overflow from the river it is necessary to paddle across and fill the water-jars from the Guaviare. To secure a crew of men for our trip up the river was a difficult undertaking and required a great deal of time. This gave us an opportunity of exploring the surrounding country. In the immediate vicinity of San Fernando the forest has been cut down and tall second-growth sprouts form dense thickets; this is a favorite resort of many small birds, and several species of night-hawks make it a daytime rendez- vous. The basic granite crops out in many places, the strata occasionally standing on end, and it is often streaked with narrow seams of quartz. There is no cultivation of 162 THE MAQUIRITARES' LAND 163 any kind; the inhabitants lack all initiative for work and eat tinned foods and mandioc received in exchange for trinkets from the Indians. When we returned a few months later a changed town confronted us. The rubber-collectors had returned from their several months isolation in the interior, and were spending the fruits of their labor as rapidly as possible. Dance-halls, gaming-dens, and almost every conceivable device for relieving men of their money had sprung up like mushrooms, and there was drinking and merrymaking day and night. Then suddenly, and without presage, a tragedy occurred; it will never be forgotten by the few who survived. Governor Pulido, so it was rumored, had imposed a new tax on all rubber collected in the district, and had come to San Fernando to personally collect the extortion. Natu- rally, there was a good deal of dissatisfaction, and one night, just after we had been provided with a canoe and secretly advised to leave as soon as possible, the storm broke. A band of men, said to be under the leadership of one Colonel Funes, an Indian and the most notorious man in the dis- trict, attacked the town, killed the governor, and practi- cally the entire male population, and rifled the shops and dwellings. If one may believe the tales of the few who escaped the brutalities committed that night, the deeds rival those of the most barbaric ages. Perhaps some of those who perished deserved their fate, others assuredly did not; but it is a fact that government offices had been conducted abominably. In the post-office, for example, stamps were sold for twice their face value, and if one did not purchase them there and place them on the letters in full view of the postmaster, the mail was de- stroyed. A physician who chanced to be there, named La Page, and who apparently belonged to the military or- ganization as he wore the regulation uniform, tried to collect over four hundred dollars gold for a few injections of quinine; and so the robbery went on until the whole band was ex- terminated. 164 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA Having engaged a captain with some experience on the Upper Orinoco, and a crew, we on February 3 loaded the low batelao and started on our mission, reaching a point called Puerto Ti Ti that night; from this spot a wide trail leads through the magnificent forest to the clearing wherein stands San Fernando. For six days we made slow but steady progress up the river, and then entered the formidable Randal de Santa Barbara, which extends across the entire delta of the Ven- tuari. The Orinoco is wide but with few exceptions so shallow that we pushed along with long poles. Where the water was deep and the current swift, long-handled hooks were used to catch the overhanging vegetation and pull the boat along. This latter mode of travel was always slow and dangerous and the swarms of wasps and other insects living among the leaves, and shaken down, were far from being agreeable travelling companions. The banks were covered with dense, virgin forest; but there were extensive sand- banks and flat ledges of rock at convenient intervals, and one of these was always chosen for a night's camping-site. If we chanced to be on a playa, the early hours of the eve- ning were spent in fishing. Armed with machetes, a bag, and acetylene-lamps, we waded out in the shallow water and "shined" the shoals of fish much in the manner that frogs are caught in parts of this country. At night the fish swam near the surface, and by directing the rays of the strong white light upon them one could approach to with- in a short distance and then strike with the knife: in this manner large numbers were taken. Occasionally a sting- ray, electric eel, or crocodile was suddenly encountered and then there ensued a hurried scramble in the other direc- tion; this gave the pastime a decided element of sport. We also became more familiar with the dreaded caribe or cannibal fish, known as the piranha in Brazil, with which the water teemed. In the Orinoco they attain a weight ex- ceeding three pounds and are formidable indeed. The na- THE MAQUIRITARES' LAND 165 lives wiD not go in bathing except in very shallow watfer, and I know of two instances where men were attacked and se- verely bitten before they could escape. The fish somewhat resembles a bass in shape, although the mouth is smaller; the jaws are armed with triangular, razor-edged teeth; and as they travel in immense shoals they are capable of easily devouring a man or large animal if caught in deep water. Floundering or splashing in the water attracts them, but they seldom attack unless their appetite has been whetted by a taste of blood; and then woe to the unfortunate crea- ture which falls into their power. To catch them, we used a large hook secured to a long wire leader and baited with any kind of raw meat, and they always put up a good fight. Without a wire, a line would be bitten in two every time a fish struck. When taken from the water they are first killed by a blow on the head with the machete, and then removed from the hook. At night there was always a heavy dew, and it rained intermittently each day. On dark nights, and often after a shower, the banks of the river where there was forest glowed with twinkling phosphorescence. Examination showed that the decaying vegetation was filled with myriads of small, wriggling insects, greatly resembling our well- known cellar-bug (Isopod), and one day we paddled for many hours through a mass of flying ants which had come to grief in the river. The water was covered with them and the waves had tossed them up on the banks to a depth of several inches. Another thing that attracted our at- tention was the large number of bats. On one occasion we heard a dull rumbling among the granite ledges near camp, and not long after a stream of bats began to emerge from the cracks; from a distance they resembled a cloud of smoke. There must have been many thousands, for the black masses continued to rise until darkness obscured them from our view. Spruce records that on one occasion he saw not less than a million under similar circumstances. This brings up an interesting problem. The individual range of these 166 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA bats is probably not very great, the result of which is that immense numbers of them are distributed over a compara- tively small area. Now, if the struggle for existence is as keen as is often supposed, how can the female, encumbered with her offspring fully three-fourths as large as herself, compete successfully with the unhampered males, and secure enough food not only for herself but also for her young? The fruit-eating varieties might not suffer seriously from this handicap, but it does seem as if the agility of the in- sectivorous kinds catching their food on the wing would be greatly affected. There are numbers of curious formations along the river which cannot fail to attract the interest of the traveller, no matter what his particular mission might be. One of these is the Cerro Yapacana, a square block of granite not over one thousand five hundred feet high; it is a very conspicuous landmark as it towers above the forest like a giant monument, and can be seen many miles away. We did not come abreast of it until eight days after first sight- ing it. There are few rubber-camps along this part of the river, but several Indian families had come to spend some weeks collecting turtles and eggs on the sand-banks. At night absolute quiet reigned on the play as so long as the moon shone; but no sooner had the brilliant orb disappeared below the horizon than the water was broken with ripples as numbers of turtles emerged to deposit their eggs in the loose, warm sand, and jaguars came from the dark forest to feast on the defenseless creatures and rend the still night air with ugly coughs and grunts. In returning from fishing excursions we usually cut across the several miles of sandy waste toward camp, guided by the bright fire which the cook was required to keep burn- ing, and in this way learned a good deal about the turtle's habits. After leaving the water the creature wends its way toward the highest point on the island or playa, and with a few powerful strokes of the flippers excavates a deep THE MAQUIRITARES' LAND 167 hole; the eggs, twenty to a hundred in number, are then deposited, after which the sand is scooped back into place and patted down so carefully that it takes a very experi- enced eye to locate the spot. The turtle then hurries back to the water, where it apparently remains until the following year. When the eggs, warmed by the sun's rays, finally hatch, the playas swarm with small turtles which are eagerly collected by the natives, boiled entire and eaten. The egg contains a great deal of oil, and although cooked a long time always remains soft. Iguana eggs are taken, also, and boiled and eaten, even when about to hatch. Besides the turtles there were many other signs of life on the sand-banks. Water-birds, squatting low in some cup-shaped hollow, looked stupidly at the dazzling light of the gas-lamps, and could be approached to within a few feet; downy young birds waited quietly until nearly touched with the hand and then ran away into the darkness, like puffballs rolling before a breeze. The Randal de Santa Barbara is a wicked stretch of water. The Ventuari, coming from the neighborhood of the Brazilian border, forms an extensive delta near its mouth. There are many islands, some of great size, and all heavily forested. The Orinoco is very wide, and hun- dreds of sharp, tall rocks protrude above the water, causing a series of rapids which are hard to ascend. It took us three days of the most trying kind of work to traverse this stretch of agitated water, and finally to haul the boat up the falls, which come as a sort of climax at the end. A strong wind blows from the north almost constantly, whip- ping the water into a choppy sea. On the bank stands a good-sized rubber-camp, and extra hands can usually be secured to help pull the boat through the rapids. The men from this place had just returned from a hunt in the forest, bringing two jaguars and an armadillo weighing sixty-five pounds. One of the jaguars was black. All of these ani- mals were eaten, and of the two species the flesh of the 168 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA jaguars was the better. One night, not long after, one of these animals invaded our camp. As the sand-bank we had selected was a narrow one, the crew chose to sleep on the forest side; they greatly feared the crocodiles in the river. Early in the morning I was awakened by a jaguar's roaring mingled with frightened wails, and upon investiga- tion discovered that the men had come to our part of the camp near the water, leaving the captain's wife in their former location. They had reasoned that she was the least useful member of the party and had compelled her to re- main as "bait." Maria was sent back to San Fernando in the next canoe we met bound down the river. The abundance of the big, spotted cats and their harm- lessness under ordinary circumstances is astonishing, al- though at times they will attack human beings. At one of the rubber-camps we were shown the skin of a recently killed animal which had stalked a two-year-old child at play not far from the hut; the mother, a negress, seeing the animal in time, attacked it with a machete and killed it. The next river of any importance to be encountered was the Rio Lao, reached February 17. Up to this time the strong north wind had continued to blow without interrup- tion, and the course of the river was dotted with islands. Rubber-camps were situated on the river-bank, and we had our first glimpses of the Maquiritare Indians. Owing to the frequent rains, the year had been a bad one for the pa- troneSj or managers of the camps; also, a kind of malady had broken out among the peons and Indians which killed many and frightened others away. Nevertheless, those who remained seemed quite contented, and if we chanced to spend the night at a camp or barraca, our men always joined them in their pastime of drinking, playing the guitar, and singing songs about one another, far into the night. Some of the men were clever at improvising songs apropos of the occasion. At one place, for instance, they heard of the jaguar's visit to the sand-bank, and that the captain's THE MAQUIRITARES' LAND 169 wife had been sent back to San Fernando. Without hesi- tation one of the peons sang: Que tristeza en nuestro campamento, Pobrecito lldefonso estd llorando, A caramba, nadie estd alegre, Sera porque Maria fue a San Fernando. The largest barraca by far which we saw was owned by an old Turk named Parraquete. He received us cordially, shook our hands, and embraced us, apologetically explain- ing that a slight fever prevented his rising from the ham- mock; later we found out that he was a leper in the last stages of the disease. He had fifteen Maquiritares in his employ, each of whom collected the latex from several hundred rubber-trees every morning; in the afternoon the milk was smoked, one hundred pounds of the liquid yield- ing about forty or fifty pounds of crude rubber. A species of heavy, deep-red wood called mazarandul was used to pro- duce the dense smoke necessary to coagulate the latex. Hevea only was gathered here, although balata was also collected farther down the river and on the Guaviare. The governor of the district told me that about fifteen mil- lion trees of the balata had been cut down along the latter river during the last ten years, as the method used to secure this class of rubber necessitates felling the trees. The proprietors of rubber-camps use the same system of keeping their employees that the commission merchants in Ciudad Bolivar, who are the purchasers of the crude prod- uct, employ in dealing with themselves; namely, they keep them constantly in debt by advancing quantities of mer- chandise at exorbitant prices. It is not unusual for one patron to sell some of his men to another for the amount of their indebtedness, or more, if he can get it, and sometimes an unsatisfactory peon is turned loose in the wilderness to shift for himself; we picked up one who had been abandoned on a sand-bank, in a .half-starved condition. The Cerro Carriche is another granite mass similar to 170 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA Yapacana, but not quite so high. It stands on the south bank of the river, between the mouths of two small rivers called Carriche and Trocoapure. Early on February 21 we had the first distinct view of the Cerro Duida, looming, faintly outlined, in the distance. From afar it resembled a high, level plain, but as the vapor clinging to the huge, dark mass slowly dissolved itself, a well-defined short range appeared with twin peaks showing high above the rest of the mountains. The Orinoco steadily decreases in width until the distance across is not more than half a mile; in many places the banks are high and composed of pink and white clay streaked with layers of dark-blue clay. On both sides the jungle presents an unbroken wall of tangled verdure; occa- sionally a slender palm rears its delicate head high above the riotous mass, as if gasping for one more breath of air before being strangled by the figs and creepers slowly en- twining its stem with their death-dealing tentacles. Among the lower growth are vast areas of palms, known as coco del mono, with long fronds resembling those of the Seaforthia, and bearing small, hard nuts; the leaves are used in thatch- ing huts and the carroza or covering of the boats. Another palm, tall and thorny, resembles the well-known chonta of Colombia; it bears large clusters of red nuts, which are very palatable when thoroughly boiled. The heat was always intense and most oppressive; even the cool nights brought no respite, and in the early morning a thick vapor slowly rose from the water, to be later wafted above the tree-tops and disappear. Flocks of hoatzins, or lizard-birds (Opisthocomus cristatus), were seen almost daily. They fussed and fluttered among the dense vegetation, but could not be induced to leave then- dark retreat. There were also nesting-trees of the black and yellow orioles, better known as caciques, which are about the size of a blue jay; sometimes a single tree contained thirty or more nests placed close together, and also invariably a number of large wasp-nests were placed THE MAQUIRITARES' LAND 171 in the same tree. The nests of these birds differed from those of the giant orioles (Ostinops) in being smaller and having the opening at the top instead of at the side of the swinging bag. At the end of the twentieth day we reached the mouth of the Cunucunuma, and camped upon its sandy banks for the night. This river is approximately five hundred feet wide at its mouth, shallow, with dark, clear water, and flows southward, joining the Orinoco at right angles, as the course of the latter river at this point is eastward; a low, forested hill called Ventana rises to the north. One may cover the distance from the mouth of the Cunucunuma to the Cassiquiare in a day, and reach the plains on which was located Esmeraldas by continuing his journey an addi- tional day. Not far above the mouth of the river is the dry bed of a stream, said to have been the former course of the Cunu- cunuma; short, soft grass now covers the ancient, sandy route and the lines of trees on each side present such clean- cut edges as to suggest well-kept hedgerows. Tapirs and capybaras have worn many paths through the luxuriant sward; apparently these animals come out into the open at night to feed. The current of the river is so strong that we could not average more than four or five miles a day. Through the clear water we could see shoals of fish and numbers of large sting-rays darting about over the bottom. One fish, resembling a beautifully spotted trout, rose eagerly to a trailing hook baited with a strip of white cloth; it weighed about a pound, and was called pabdn by the natives; on two occasions members of this species leaped clear of the water and into the boat as we poled along after nightfall. Another kind greatly resembled a flying-fish, and leaving the water singly or in pairs, skimmed over the surface for a distance of twenty yards or more, and then dropped with a splash; when "flying" it left a train of ripples in its wake, as if long appendages were trailing after it. 172 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA There now followed a series of low, disconnected moun- tains which might be called the foot-hills of Duida. The first of these is the Cerro Piapoco, one thousand three hundred feet high; parts of it are covered with low scrub growth, and the river winds around three sides of it. Next comes the Cerro Tapicure, a rounded granite mass approxi- mately one thousand four hundred feet high. At the base of the latter is a Maquiritare plantation of yucas (Manihot), pineapples, and plantains, on the edge of which stood the communal house, conical in shape and one hundred feet in diameter. The place was temporarily deserted, as the In- dians were down-river gathering the rubber harvest. Near by also grew a palm new to us, the Tamiche; it is thirty feet high, with erect, undivided leaves, and the crown re- sembles a huge, green, opening tulip. While tramping in the forest across the river from the Indian plantation we came suddenly upon a Maquiritare woman and her four small children, squatting around a small fire built under a rough lean-to. She was roasting a curassow and tearing off pieces for her young brood, which was devouring them with the voracity of wolves. The frightened glances of these wild people and their gnawing at the half-cooked flesh was quite in keeping with their surroundings, and stamped them immediately as a perfect part of the virgin wilderness. Rapids are not wanting in the Cunucunuma. The first is the Randal del Muerto, formed by a wide ledge of rock which extends across the river, and over which the water rushes with a deafening roar. Next comes the Randal del Sina, which is longer but not so difficult to navigate. Just above this we entered the Sina, a small stream which comes from the direction of Duida, and ascended to its highest navigable point; this, however, was only a few miles above its mouth. The Cunucunuma, it may be stated, rises in the vicinity of the little-known Cerro Cuachamacari, and may be ascended to the foot of the Cerro Maravaca, On most Unloading for the portage, Raudal del Muerto. The Cerro Duida. THE MAQUIRITARES' LAND 173 maps its course has been marked east of Duida, while in reality it is on the western side. Its tributaries from the east are the Tabari, Sina, Cua; and Rio Negro; and from the west the Yacare" and Cumichi. There are numerous rapids. Besides the two mentioned, the Indians named the San Ramon, Rayao, Chacherito, Vaquiro, Mapaco, Chipirima, Picure, and Culebra, all of which must be passed before reaching Maravaca. When rocks and low water barred a farther ascent we made camp on the high bank and began the arduous work of cutting a trail to Duida, about six miles distant. We had secured the services of a number of Maquiritares; two men, two women, and a boy, and these, together with the members of our crew, were immediately put to work on the trail. While this was in progress we devoted ourselves to the exploration of the forest and its inhabitants. Apparently the Indians, who in common with many South American tribes seek the smaller streams for their habitations, and who live in small groups all along the Cunucunuma, rarely visited this locality. Game was so abundant and so tame that it was impossible that the ani- mals had been persecuted to any considerable extent. We also visited the house of the chief of the tribe, named An- tonio Yaracuma, whose cunuco (clearing) was on the Cunu- cunuma, a few miles above the mouth of the Sina (Sina is a Maquiritare word meaning wolf). This place he chose to call Yacare. Surrounding the great, conical house was a small patch of yucas and pineapple-plants, walled in on all sides by the interminable forest. The edge of the roof came down to within five feet of the ground, and there were eight fireplaces, equal distances apart, showing that eight families occupied the dwelling. A perfect network of poles and beams supported the ragged grass and palm-leaf canopy, and from these various articles were suspended: Drums, made of sections of hollow tree-trunks and covered with the skin of a red howling monkey on one side and of a peccary on the other; long tubular baskets of wickerwork 174 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA used to express the poisonous juice of the yuca root in making mandioca; blow-guns ten feet long, hammocks, and fishing-tackle. Everything was immaculately clean and well arranged. On one side two small rooms had been built of adobe, one for the chief, and the other for storing baskets of mandioca, each of which held about a hundred pounds. A walk around the edge of the clearing disclosed an ob- scure trail which zigzagged and wound through the forest about a mile and then opened into an immense plantation, which we estimated contained not less than a hundred acres. The trees had been cut down and burned, and yucas neatly planted in hills stretched to the very edge of the clearing. Through the centre ran lanes of plantain and banana plants, bordered by rows of pineapples, sugar- cane, and cashews. The ground was carefully cultivated, and there were no weeds; the stalks of uprooted plants had been piled around the edge of the field forming a thick fence. The reason for maintaining such large plantations is that the women make a good deal of mandioca to sell to the traders for cloth, matches, perfume, and trinkets. The men clear the ground; the women plant and care for the crops. From the juice of the yuca a very intoxicating drink called casire is made, and of this great quantities are consumed during the wild orgies which take place at frequent intervals. Boiling and fermentation destroy the poisonous effect of the fresh juice. We found the forest around camp to be all but impene- trable on account of the underbrush and creepers. Also, there were a number of windfalls where cyclones had cut wide, clean swaths through the forest, leaving an upheaved barrier that could not be crossed without the liberal use of axe and machete. Small birds were abundant and travelled in mixed flocks. Of the larger birds there was an unfail- ing supply; guans and curassows strutted unconcernedly about, or flew into the lower branches of the trees to look at us with surprise or resentment; large tinamou ran about THE MAQUIRITARES' LAND 175 in pairs like chickens and were slow to take wing. Occa- sionally we ran into a flock of trumpeters (PsopMa), which stared at us in curiosity for a few moments and then flew into a tree, and raised an unearthly din, cackling and screaming until dispersed by a few shots. The Indians told a curious story about a trumpeter and a curassow. In the very beginning of things two of these birds decided upon a matrimonial alliance, but domestic troubles soon broke out and there was no possibility of a reconciliation; it was thereupon decided to lay the case before the gods who live on the summit of Mount Duida. The wise gods ordered them to fight it out; in the course of the combat that followed, the curassow pushed the trum- peter into the fire, burning off the feathers of the latter's tail; the trumpeter promptly retaliated by pushing her mate into the fire, singeing his crest. Thereupon the gods decreed that they should remain in this humiliating plight for the rest of their days, and so even to this day the curas- sow wears a curled crest and the trumpeter has a very short tail. No matter how far we chanced to go during the morn- ing's hunt it was always easy to determine the exact loca- tion of our camp. A colony of caciques had built their nests in the top of a tree near the tent, and quarrelled and chirped so noisily all day long that we could not get out of hearing of them. After the trail had been completed for a distance of several miles, hunting was rendered much easier. It was a delight to wander noiselessly along the clean path and watch the wild things pursuing their daily activities. Ta- pirs moved quietly across the narrow lane, like shadows; but if disturbed crashed through the brush and thundered away like frightened horses. Large red squirrels frisked in the trees or fed in the nut-bearing palms. Monkeys were always about; there were red howlers, cebus, and small black woolly monkeys with gold-colored hands; the latter travelled in small troops and raced through the tree-tops 176 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA at great speed, making long jumps from branch to branch; at frequent intervals during the morning and evening they raised their voices in shrill little cries of distress, resembling a series of quickly repeated ohs. The river was teeming with fish. At night, after their work had been completed, the Indians, who camped on the water's edge, threw in their lines and never failed to catch a goodly supply. While in our presence the men always wore blue cotton trousers and the women loose dresses of the same color, but when alone they threw aside all clothing. Occasionally a light canoe containing women and chil- dren passed our camping-site, but they always remained as near as possible to the opposite bank and paid no attention to us whatever if we chanced to call to them; in fact, they could not even be induced to look in our direction. The nights were always sultry and it rained frequently. If the weather permitted, a huge fire was built; into this a steady stream of fireflies or click-beetles winged their way to destruction. Late one night we heard a queer pattering on the top of the tent-fly; back and forth scurried the little feet, and up and down the sloping roof. Our acetylene- lamps revealed a family of opossums which had discovered an ideal playground. Often, too, we heard cautious foot- steps near by, and the suddenly flashed light disclosed the glowing eyes of a deer, tapir, or jaguar, which gazed stupidly a moment into the dazzling brilliance and then darted away. On account of the dampness mould formed so rapidly that cameras and all leather goods had to be cleaned daily, and there was great difficulty in drying specimens. We had frequent views of Duida. Each morning at about ten the mist drifted from the summit and revealed the jagged, rocky peaks; our calculations placed the alti- tude of the mountain at approximately five thousand five hundred feet. Toward the Orinoco the mass presents a bold front, the sheer walls of granite rising to a height of several thousand feet. The western slope is gradual and THE MAQUIRITARES' LAND 177 any attempt to ascend the mountain should be made from that side. Cutting the trail required more time than we had antici- pated. It was our intention to remove the equipment to the very base of Duida, and this was impossible until a suitable way had been prepared. The intervening country is rolling and the hollows are filled with a network of deep, water-filled canyons; across these trees had to be felled to provide a means of crossing. Also, neither the Maquiri- tares or the Venezuelans proved to be very industrious, and were about as poor a class of assistants as can be found. However, work progressed steadily, and there came the day when the last bridge had been placed across the wind- ing river, and we were able to proceed to the foot of Duida. Near the mountain the forest assumes a different aspect. Instead of the tall trees there are vast groves of palms which form such a dense canopy that the sunlight never penetrates to the ground; for this reason there is no under- growth, but the earth is covered with a soft carpet of dry leaves. Some of the plants attain such giant proportions, with fronds thirty or forty feet long and fifteen feet wide, they form great tent-like shelters. .As we neared the mountain the Indians became restive and finally refused to go any farther. They firmly believe that it is the abode of spirits who will be quick to resent any intrusion into their sacred precincts. Besides, the rainy season was fast approaching, and at night blinding flashes of lightning played among the crags, and the dull boom of distant thunder pierced the sultry blackness. Wind swept through the forest in fitful blasts, and it rained fre- quently. Sometimes the blasts attained the velocity of a cyclone and sent tall trees crashing down on all sides. The Indians could endure the strain no longer, so one night they quietly disappeared, taking the boat with them. At first this loss seemed anything but pleasant, but a raft was soon constructed, and two of the men were sent down to the nearest rubber-camp on the Orinoco for another craft. We 178 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA never saw our Indians again, but one afternoon two men of the tribe visited our camp. They emerged silently from the forest, having concealed their canoe somewhere above or below, laden with baskets of plantains, sweet potatoes, and bananas, and several cakes of cassava bread, also a large, freshly killed curassow — enough provisions to keep two men a week. I thought they wanted to stop with us for the night, and showed them the fireplace. They paid no heed to my implied invitation, but dropped their bur- dens at our feet, reluctantly accepted a few fish-hooks which were offered to them, and then departed as mys- teriously as they had come. Perhaps they had been sent by our erstwhile companions, who may have been con- scientious enough to make some reparation for the theft of the canoe. The rainy season advanced with such rapid strides that further work was impossible. Vapor hung over the forest like a pall for days at a time, and the river, rising with each passing hour, was quickly inundating the lowlands. The sight of the new canoe coming up the river was therefore a welcome one, and it did not require many days to pack our collections and outfit, stow them aboard, and steer a course downward with the rapid current. It required only nine days to reach San Fernando de Atabapo. The results of the expedition are surprising and interest- ing. Duida is not the isolated "mountain island" it was commonly supposed to be, but is connected with the moun- tains of the Ventuari and Parima by a series of hills, some of which reach a height of over a thousand feet. Its ele- vation is comparatively low, being less than that of the Maravaca. To attempt its ascent from the Orinoco side seems hopeless on account of the frowning precipices facing the plains near Esmeraldas. The proper placing of the Cunucunuma and an elaboration of the map of the region are other results. It should be remembered that the dry season is much shorter on the Upper Orinoco than on the lower river, and THE MAQUIRITARES' LAND 179 work must be pushed with the utmost speed. The tribu- taries of the Orinoco, as well as the main river, leave their banks soon after the beginning of the steady downpours, and the whole country is flooded many miles inland; in places the river is then one hundred and twenty miles wide; all the rubber-camps we had seen on the upward trip were totally deserted when we passed them going down, and of some of the huts the roofs only showed above the water; others had vanished with the yellow flood. The collections of birds and mammals were large and in- teresting; they yielded a number of species and one genus new to science. And finally, a word about assistants; under no circum- stances should Venezuelans or Indians be depended upon. It is possible to secure experienced river-men in Trinidad, and with proper treatment they make faithful and efficient companions. CHAPTER XII LIFE IN THE GUIANA WILDS A NATURALIST might spend many years in Venezuela and still exhaust but a very small fraction of the possibilities offered to the field-observer — so vast are the resources of that zoological wonderland. Exigencies beyond our con- trol, however, recalled us to Trinidad, and after a brief rest we turned our eyes toward British Guiana. The distance between the island and the low Guiana mainland is not great; it required just two days of unevent- ful sailing for the Sarstoon of the Quebec Line to plough through the deep water and schools of flying-fish, and finally nose her way carefully through the mud to Georgetown. The city is built on the low coastal land, and a great stone wall prevents the sea from reclaiming its own at high tide. The streets are wide and bordered with trees. No more suitable style of architecture could be desired for a tropical country than that employed in constructing the houses of the better class of inhabitants; they are practi- cally all doors and windows, giving admittance to every passing breeze. The wide verandas are carefully screened. Numerous canals, spanned by picturesque little wooden bridges, divide the city into sections. At low tide the locks in the sea-wall are opened to permit the excess of water to escape; at high tide the locks are closed to keep the low- lands from being flooded. Growing in the water are masses of Victoria regia lilies with white or pink flowers; the giant leaves, with upturned edges, and often several feet across, resemble huge pies; but the plant is lovely from a distance only, as the veins and midribs are covered with long, sharp spines that effectively prevent any intimate advances on the part of an overenthusiastic admirer. 180 LIFE IN THE GUIANA WILDS 181 Mosquitoes are not lacking, but they appear at night only, when one can easily evade them by remaining indoors; and through the hours of darkness the twanging and peep- ing of myriads of frogs fill the air with a not unmusical din. The population is the most cosmopolitan imaginable. It ranges from dignified, helmeted British officers down to the meanest Chinese or Hindu coolie living in a dilapidated shamble on the border of a marshy rice-field. Our first care was to secure the admission of our equip- ment by the customs officials. This was accomplished with- out an undue amount of difficulty; and within a short time we had also obtained a permit to pursue our scientific work, for in British Guiana birds are wisely protected. We also opened negotiations with Sproston's, Ltd., who operate many large lumber, rubber, and mining enterprises in the interior of the country. This step is a most essential one, as the concern, through its agents, can be of the greatest assistance to the traveller. On July 7, we boarded a comfortable little steamer and started up the Demerara. Rain fell in torrents throughout the day so that it was impossible to see anything but the fleeting, yellow water against which the straining craft battled vigorously, and the long rows of trees faintly out- lined in a world of blue-gray mist. Wismar was reached that night and passengers and luggage were hurried aboard the waiting train, which soon covered the eighteen miles of intervening country to Rockstone, on the Essiquibo River. A delightful bungalow hotel is maintained by Sproston's at the latter place, and every need of the visitor is superabun- dantly supplied. A launch of considerable size, towing a house-boat pro- vided for first-class passengers, left Rockstone early the following morning. The Essiquibo is truly a very great river, and the height and magnificence of the forest cover- ing its banks is not exceeded in any part of South America. In some instances, the trees are one hundred and seventy- five feet high; cottonwood, greenheart, and wallaba mingled 182 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA their leafy crowns far above the mere rabble of palms and lower growth, shutting out the light and effectively killing their competitors until — after hundreds of years of suc- cessful fighting — the strain begins to tell and the monarchs are compelled to bow before the inevitable onslaught of old age. At the first signs of weakness enemies spring up on every side. The struggle for life is constant and in deadly earnest. Of the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of saplings which appear as the light and air gradually penetrate through the opening made by the dying giant, only one can even- tually survive. Naturally, the strongest and fittest pos- sesses every advantage in the mad fight for existence, and as it quickly outstrips its weaker rivals they wither and die. The launch called at a number of rubber-plantations and lumber-camps. Great quantities of greenheart (Nec- tandra rodicei) are cut and exported; the wood is very hard and durable, and resists decay when under water, for which reason it is used largely for submerged work such as wharfs and piles. Next in importance is crab-wood (Carapa guia- nensis) employed in building houses; third in value are several varieties of wallaba (Eperud) ; this wood has a coarse but even grain and is very resinous, being suitable for the manufacture of shingles and vat-staves. The rubber industry ranks third in importance in British Guiana. By far the greater part of this product is balata, collected from indigenous trees that are tapped under care- ful government supervision. Sapium yields the better qual- ity of rubber, but exists in limited quantities only, and the majority of the trees on plantations have not yet reached the productive age. Our first headquarters were made at Tumatumari, a short distance above the mouth of the Potaro River. The river is at this point encumbered with a series of rapids ending in a fall of twenty or thirty feet. Tumatumari is a small negro settlement, and owes its existence to the gold-mines scattered throughout the sur- Wismar on the Demerara River. Tumatumari on the Potaro River. LIFE IN THE GUIANA WILDS 183 rounding country. We made headquarters in a comfortable bungalow provided by Sproston's. A good trail leads through the tall forest, a distance of many miles, with numerous side trails branching off in various directions. Along the latter we immediately began to prosecute our work. On our very first excursions we heard the enchanting song of the Guiana solitaire, or quadrille-bird as it is locally known. From the depths of the dark forest there arose a low, mourn- ful note, so liquid and melancholy that the music of no in- strument made by the hand of man could equal it in ethereal beauty; gradually it swelled louder and louder, but always preserving the same exquisite quality until the eight notes had been uttered and the song died with a wistful sob. To hear this song is to experience one of the most enchanting of earthly delights, the memory of which will remain as long as life itself and gild the other reminiscences of sweltering days spent in tropical lowlands, of plagues of insects, of fever, and even the hard-fought battles against odds that seemed overwhelming. The bird is a shy little creature, and is obscurely colored; among the deep shadows where it spends its lonely existence the brown and gray of its modest attire blend so well with its surroundings that it is rare in- deed to have even a fleeting glimpse of the captivating songster. Perched in the dead tops of some of the tallest trees, we found a bird which, seen from below, resembled a giant long- tailed hummer; but a short time spent in observation soon disclosed the fact that it belonged to another family, so different were its habits. It sat motionless many minutes at a time, and darted off a short distance, presumably in pursuit of an insect, at infrequent intervals, only to quickly return to its perch. This was the paradise jacamar, a re- splendent bird with a metallic green back and black under- parts. The jacamars form a peculiar family, and have been frequently called "forest-kingfishers" because of their super- ficial resemblance to the Alcyones. The greater number of species are gorgeously colored and inhabit the lower branches 184 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA of forest-trees, feeding on insects. The nest is placed in a hole in the bank of some wild ravine or river. The abundance of bird-life, and also the variety, found in the lowland forest of British Guiana is bewildering, even to the seasoned field-observer; and nowhere in all South America are the feathered folk clothed in more brilliant and gorgeous colors. Evolution, it seems, has run riot in al- most every conceivable direction in an effort to provide each species with some special color or characteristic that might enhance its beauty or better suit it to compete suc- cessfully with its hosts of neighbors. Thus we find the king-tody, a species of small flycatcher that preys upon insects. The body of the bird is inconspicuously colored, but the head is adorned with a crest of the most vivid scar- let feathers. As the bird sits quietly upon some low perch, the crest is depressed and invisible; then suddenly the flaming crown is erected and spread in fan-shaped forma- tion, when it resembles a brilliant flower newly burst into bloom. Is it not possible that this flashing bit of color may attract some passing insect, which instead of finding nec- tar meets destruction? However, I do not believe that the survival of every species is dependent upon some one particular patch of color or exotic appendage which it may possess. It does not seem to me possible, for instance, that one species of humming-bird owes its existence to a green throat-patch, or another of similar size and habits to a red or blue one; nor that one bird of paradise persists because it has curious, long appendages on its head or shoulders while a second one may have similar ones in its tail; but rather does it show that evolution tries many experiments. Each ani- mate thing is full of latent buds, it would seem, any one of which might break out at any time, prompted by an im- pulse or conditions of which we know nothing. If the result of such newly acquired variation, is beneficial, the species would naturally persist; if injurious, it would re- sult in extermination; if indifferent (neither harmful nor LIFE IN THE GUIANA WILDS 185 of value) it would have no effect one way or the other, and might still be retained. This latter, I believe, has occurred in a number of instances. Our visit to Tumatumari was supposedly at the end of the wet season; notwithstanding this, it rained copiously nearly every day, and invariably each night. We spent the evenings on the wide veranda of our habitation, pre- paring specimens or writing notes. Myriads of insects, attracted by our bright lamps, fluttered in and out of the darkness and settled on the white walls. Our two colored assistants, whom we had brought from Georgetown, were trained and enthusiastic entomologists, having been em- ployed by Doctor Rodway of the Georgetown Museum, and spent several hours each night with net and cyanide bottle. Frequently they caught several hundred speci- mens in a short time. They also prepared cages of fine wire netting in which caterpillars were imprisoned and carefully fed, and glass boxes, or "incubators" for cocoons; in this work they were most successful, and a number of moths of rare and desirable species were reared to a state of perfection. Sometimes the downpour was so heavy that it disturbed small birds in their sleep in the bushes; on several occasions finches (Sicalis) fluttered up to the lamp in a dazed or bewildered manner, when we caught them easily and placed them in a cage, liberating them the next morning. Numbers of Indians of the Patamona tribe live in the surrounding forest. They are a friendly though primitive people, and some of them speak or understand a few words of English. We accompanied the Protector of Indians, a British official living at Tumatumari, to one of the Indian dwellings one day. It seems that a negro had promised to marry a Patamona woman, then ran away, when she promptly married a man of her own tribe. Learning of this, the former suitor had written a letter to the officer de- manding either his bride or damages. The official spent a very bad hour trying to explain the situation to the woman 186 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA in the limited Patamona vocabulary at his command, while she sat stolidly in a hammock. When he had finished, she calmly remarked, "Well, you tell him I think he is a damn fool," in perfect English ! This tribe of Indians has a curious custom of torturing themselves in various ways, which performance is called "beena." It is supposed to insure success in any under- taking. A favorite method is to insert tough, pliable creep- ers into the nostrils and draw them out through the mouth. Another consists of slashing the breast, arms, and legs, and rubbing into the wounds the acrid juice of a plant. The official to whom I have previously referred had an Indian in his employ whose duty it was to supply the table with fresh meat. He hunted daily in the forest, bringing in deer, peccaries, agoutis, and other game in abundance; but on one occasion fortune conspired against him. There- upon he tried his favorite beena, but it failed to bring him luck; every other means of mutilation known to the man was then resorted to in rapid succession, but still his long tramp and careful stalking yielded no meat. He be- came greatly discouraged and told his employer that he would make one more attempt at hunting, and should he fail in this would use his weapon upon himself. The officer thought it unwise to permit the discouraged man to return to the forest on the day following this declaration, so ordered him to cut weeds in his back yard. This the In- dian reluctantly consented to do, but scarcely had he begun when he cut down a bush containing a wasps7 nest and was severely stung. He immediately took his gun and hurried away, saying that a new "beena" had been sent to him, and that at last the evil spell was broken. Strange to relate, that night he returned laden with game. A daily launch service is maintained from above the falls at Tumatumari to Potaro Landing, a day's journey up-stream. The boat's crew are all negroes, and are ordi- narily a careless, slovenly lot. A short time before, they had failed to make proper allowance for the strength of the LIFE IN THE GUIANA WILDS 187 current when approaching the landing, and the launch, together with its thirty or more occupants, was swept over the falls and lost. Accidents such as this have caused the government to make wise and stringent rules regulating navigation on all streams, and applying to all craft, even canoes, containing passengers other than the owner; as a result accidents are now of rare occurrence. One day's time is required to reach Potaro Landing, the end of launch navigation, from Tumatumari. Tourists who visit the justly famous Kaieteur Falls proceed overland from this point, a distance of seven miles, and then embark in canoes manned by full-blooded Patamona Indians. There are other but shorter portages farther up the river, though as a whole the journey is not difficult and well worth making. The appeal of Potaro Landing was irresistible to us, so we decided to remain a week or two. Unfortunately, Sproston's maintains no rest-house here, as touring-parties continue to Kangaruma, at the other end of the portage, to spend the night. However, we found a good-natured Chinaman, who operates a store in the one lonely building at the landing, and he permitted us to use half of his barn; he had to remove his horses in order to supply even these limited quarters. A good cart-road leads through the forest a distance of eighteen miles to the mining country on Minnehaha Creek, and many negro miners passed along this way each day; the greater part of them are what is locally known as "pork- knockers," because they live largely on salt pork and knock about from one place to another. They secure a small stake from the government with which to buy a pick and shovel, and then go into the interior to prospect. If, as frequently occurs, they strike a rich pocket, or find a nugget of considerable size, they immediately drop their imple- ments and rush back to Georgetown to spend their newly acquired wealth. Carriages are engaged by the day, ser- vants employed, and clothes of a bright and flashy nature 188 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA are purchased in quantities. For a short time they revel in luxury and live in contempt of their erstwhile compan- ions. Quite naturally their wealth soon disappears, and the tawdry finery is pawned to provide money for more necessary things; but there is an end even to this resource. Soon they again seek the stake of a few dollars and hie themselves back to the wilderness to once more try their luck as ordinary pork-knockers. To strangers the negroes are courteous and obedient, but among themselves they are quarrelsome, unfeeling, and even cruel. I heard of an instance where a number of them had been commanded to take a very sick companion down the river in search of medical treatment. As they paddled along the pilot frequently called to the man nearest the sufferer: "Ain't dead yet?" The person addressed roughly turned the sick man over with his paddle to inspect him, and then answered with a curt "No." "My! dat man dead hard," replied the pilot. They were most eagerly awaiting his death be- cause it would save them a long trip, and they had planned to divide among themselves his possessions the moment life departed. We met an American at the landing, who had experi- enced several unpleasant encounters with the negroes. He was engaged in searching for diamonds and had many of the colored folk in his employ. So far all the stones discovered had been of small size, but one day two of his men found a gem of good proportions. They immediately entered into an argument as to whether or not it was a real diamond, and to settle the dispute placed it on an anvil and hit it repeatedly with a sledge-hammer. "If it a diamond, it can't broke," was the gist of their theory. However, it was a real diamond, and it also broke; their outraged boss found the worthless particles a short