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RAMPHASTOS CITREOL^MUS, fotiW..
Citr-orL-breasted Toiacan.
A FLYING TRIP TO THE
TROPICS
A RECORD OF AN ORNITHOLOGICAL VISIT
UNITED STATES OF COLOMBIA, SOUTH AMERICA
AND TO THE ISLAND OF CURASAO
WEST INDIES
IN THE YEAR i8g2
BY
WIRT ROBINSON^ \?>4 +'^'^'2.^
SECOND LIEUTENANT, FOURTH U. S. ARTILLERY
CAMBRIDGE
PrintrD at tijc HitjfrsiOf |jDrcs(s!
1895
Copyright, 1895,
By WIRT ROBINSON.
All rights reserved.
The Riverside Pre.i.i, Cambridge, ^fiiss., U. S. A.
Electrotyped ami Printed by H. O. Hongliton & Co.
Bancroft Llbnry
Unrversrty of CalifornU
WITHDItAWN
PREFACE.
Prefaces are written for various purposes. Sometimes tliey are
introductory, — they explain the raison d'etre of the book, they
define its scope, and perhaps outhne the treatment of the subject ;
at other times they are self-laudatory, and impress upon the reader
that the work fills a long-felt want, and that its statements are
much more accurate than those of any other writer ; again, in an
humble tone they are apologetic, beseeching that the work be not
harshly criticised. Should I make the last request in regard to the
following work, I am afraid that I Avould be but calling attention
to its failings. I am reminded of the story of the little boy who,
visiting an art gallery where there was a statue bearing the placard,
" Do not touch with canes or umbrellas," took out his pencil and
added the words, " take a axe."
In a Preface it is proper and usual to return thanks to the vari-
ous persons who have assisted the writer in the preparation of his
work, and I should feel that I had been negligent in this respect
did I fail to acknowledge the help that the officials of our National
Museum have with great kindness extended to me.
It would be manifestly absurd should I attempt to criticise the
countries that I visited, seeing what a short time I spent in them.
My remarks must therefore be taken simply as observations of
individual occurrences, not necessarily universal. I will say that
IV PREFACE.
tlirougliout Colombia I met with a courteous treatment that we
might sometimes look for in vain in many portions of our own
country.
If I have dwelt too much on birds, remember that the study of
birds is my hobby, that I went to the tropics for the purpose of
observing them, and I am therefore inclined to give more promi-
nence to them than to other objects. In my descriptions of them
I have endeavored to give an idea of their approximate size by
comparing them to some of our well-known birds. I have done
this because I have often found that, from never having seen a
specimen, I have had erroneous ideas of the size of some birds.
Thus, I had thought from the figures that the larger hornbills
were about the size of our crow, and, making an error in the oppo-
site direction, I supposed that a stormy petrel was the size of a gull.
The illustrations, with a few exceptions which are noticed in the
text, have been drawn expressly for this work or reproduced from
my photographs.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER PAGE
I. The Voyage 1
II. The Island of Curacao 12
III. Barranquilla 30
IV. The Magdalena River 49
V. The Mule Road and Guaduas 80
VI. Back to Barranquilla 115
VII. Curacao again 136
VIII. Results of the Trip 150
IX. A Few Suggestions 168
Appendix.
List of Works on Colombia .......... 177
Maps 190
Colombian Zoology . ........... 191
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
Citron-Breasted Toucan (Colored Plate) Frontispiece
Portrait 1
Portrait 2
Portrait . 3
" Our Baggage " 4
Map showing Routes to Colombia 5
The Venezuela 6
" Our Pilot was taken off by his Boat " 8
Portuguese Man-o'-War 9
Yellow-Billed Tropic Bird 11
Map of Island of Curasao 12
Vessel passing between Forts at Narrow Entrance of Harbor of Curacao 13
Santa Ana Harbor (Map) 14
Dutch Soldier at Curacao 15
Drawbridge across the Harbor at Curacao 17
Dwellings at Curacao 18
Narrow Street in Curacao 19
Curacao Land Shell 22
Chlorostilbon splendidus 23
" Cactus . . . Ten, Fifteen, and even Twenty Feet in Height " . . 24
Main Street, Curacao 25
From Curacao to Puerto Colombia (Map) 26, 27
The Southern Cross of the Geographies and the Tri'e Southern Cross . 27
Map of the Republic of Colombia 28
Puerto Colombia 31
Hotel Victoria and American Consulate, Barranquilla .... 33
Barranquilla from the Marsh 35
viii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Market Court, Barranquilla 37
DuG-OuTS ALONG THE MARKET FrONT 38
The Savalo or Tarpon 39
Coffee Sellers, Barranquilla .......... 40
Grooved-Bill Ani 42
Basilicus americanus 4g
Turkey-Buzzard 47
The Steamer Enrique 5]^
Laundry at Barranquilla 52
The Magdalena Valley to Honda (Map) 53
Cocoa Palms along the Magdalena 54
Stop at Banco 55
Capybara 57
Magangue from the River 59
Amazilia fuscicaudata (30
Cyanophaia goudoti go
Cathedral at Banco 62
Colombian Screamer 53
Glaucis hirsuta (35
" Oro Pendola " 6(5
Blue-Rumped Parrakeet (Colored Plate) 66
Looking down the Magdalena from Banco 71
polyerata amabilis . 72
Iguana tuberculata .73
A Bongo or Champan on the Magdalena . 75
Citron-Breasted Toucan 76
Collared Aracari 78
Land Shell from near Yeguas 80
The Diamond Rattler 81
From Honda to Yeguas (Map) 8l'
Ruins of Bridge over the GuALf destroyed by P^arthquake ... 84
Swing Ferry at Arranca Plumas . .85
Pack-Mule with Trunks and Sleeping-Mats . . . . . . 87
Adjusting Load on Pack-Mule 88
Portion of Paved Road to Bogota 90
Road to Bogota 91
On the Road to Guaduas 93
" A Deep and Crooked Gorge " 94
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. ix
Roadside Inn near Guaduas 95
Plaza and Cathedral at Guaduas 96
Our Hotel at Guaduas, from the Plaza 97
Goitre 98
Lampornis violicauda 100
White-Eared Partridge (Colored Plate) 100
Market in Plaza at Guaduas 103
A Pack-Ox at Guaduas 104
Hypuroptila buffoni 105
DaMOPHILA JULIA 106
Tired out 107
Ph.ethornis superciliosus 108
Chrysolampis moschitus 109
Acestrura mulsanti 109
SiJABA OR Leaf-Carrying Ant 110
Jaguar Skull Ill
Jaguar 112
Religious Procession at Guaduas 113
"Alice . . . dismounted only for the Bad Portion above Consuelo " . 115
Fork-Tailed Flycatcher 119
Grand Pootoo 123
King Vulture 125
Cathedral at Barranquilla 127
Nine-Banded Armadillo 128
Black Jacana 131
Murine Opossum 132
The Manati I34
Wattle Hut, Curacao 138
Mountain at Curacao 140
Curacao Oriole (Colored Plate) 142
Aborigines of Curacao 143
Donkey Team, Curacao I44
Breakwater and Harbor of La Guayra 146
Red Snapper 148
Section of Cup 170
Red-Tailed Hawk (Living Bird) 172
Green Heron (Mouuted Skin) 173
White Perch I74
X LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Sea Bass ^„,
SCULPIN ... -.r-r-
175
SCULPIN .... ^-^-
175
Lobster . . ^^„
l/b
Tailpiece .... i^„
• . I/O
A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
CHAPTER I.
THE VOYAGE.
I HAVE always
been fond of Nat-
ural History in gen-
eral, but especially
of the study of
birds, and at every
new place that I
have visited I have
made it a point to
look up the birds of
the neighborhood
on every opportu-
nity, to study their
habits and to ac-
quaint myself with
them as thoroughly
as possible. As a
result of this, it hap-
pens that I have
seen a large per-
centage of our com-
moner birds of the
Atlantic seaboard, and that, from familiarity with plates, drawings,
and descriptions, I can recognize at once nearly every new one that
I meet.
2
A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
In the fall of 1891 I was stationed at the U. S. Military Academy,
West Point, New York. My duties as instructor kept me occupied
throughout the greater part of the week, but on Saturday after-
noons I had a few hours which I usually devoted to rambling through
the forests in the rear
of the government
reservation, on the
lookout for whatever
birds I miofht meet.
One such afternoon
in November, I had
returned from a lons"
tramp over very rug-
ged ground with a
total of three species
of birds observed :
a pair of crows, a
downy Avoodpecker,
and a little band of
six tomtits, — very
meagre results for the
seven or eight miles
that I had gone over ;
and I was complaining
about it to my wife.
In the course of our
conversation, I Avas
led on to remark upon Avhat I considered must be the enjoyment of
a naturalist who finds himself for the first time in the tropics,
surrounded by the most luxuriant vegetation ; where every object
would be of the deepest interest to him ; Avhere every bird, animal,
and insect that he should see would be new to him, and conse-
quently afford him the same pleasure as if he had discovered it
himself. Imagine his delight when, after having fired at some bird
THE VOYAGE.
moving among the thick branches of a pahii, he should pick up a
trogon or humming-bird, brilliant with the colors of the most beau-
tiful gems. At this point my wife said, " Well, why don't we go to
the tropics some time ? " and when we came to talk the matter over,
there Avas really no unanswerable objection against our going ; and
so from that time we began to make plans for our trip.
My first act was to Avrite to my brother Cabell, tell him of our
project, and ask him to join us, to which he immediately replied
that he would.
In selecting the point to be visited, there were a number of con-
siderations that came
up. First, our time
would be limited ;
for which reason we
should strike for the
nearest point, so as
to spend as little time
as possible in going
and coming. This
indicated the West
Indies or Central
America ; but our
vacation would occur
in June, July, and
August, and these
are rainy months in
those regions. We
could reach Vene-
zuela in a little over
six days from New
York, but at that
time that country was upset by civil war, and unsafe for travelers.
To Panama the same objection applied as to Central America, and,
in addition, there were vague rumors of yellow fever.
A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
The interior of Colombia was found to answer our requirements,
and was therefore selected as our destination.
During the winter we perfected our plans, got together our bag-
gage, and tried to find out something about the country. This last
proved to be a difficult task. I ransacked the various bookstores in
New York, but nearly every book on Colombia that I found had
been written during the twenties, and was
therefore of but little assistance to us. I
however found one that contained fairly good
maps, and gave considerable information
about roads, distances, etc. I refer to Hel-
ton's " New Granada."
In regard to our baggage : in the interior
of the country it would have to be transported
on the backs of mules, for which reason our
trunks could not be larger than the ordinary
steamer trunk, nor could they weigh over 125
pounds apiece, so that when they were slung,
one on either side of the mule, the total load
should not exceed 250 pounds. We were to
carry two 12-gauge Parker's, one a very light
smooth-bore, the other a heavy choke. My
brother wrote that he would brino" also his
o
32-calibre Winchester. I wished to carry
paper shells, but economy of space made me
decide upon brass ones, which could be re-
loaded an indefinite number of times. Our
wads were taken from their boxes and put into shot-bags, as they
could thus be packed more compactly. The powder we got in one-
pound cans, and all of the above went into the trunks among our
clothes. For shot, we took a good supply of dust, 8's, 3's, and a
few buck, all done up in a stout bag that could be easily packed.
For stuffing birds I carried a supply of arsenic, corn-meal, cotton,
and scissors.
BERm-JDAS.
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6
A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
Upon looking- into the matter, we found that there were three
practical routes from New York to Sa vanilla (now Puerto Colombia),
the seaport town for the interior of Colombia. First, there was the
Atlas Line, running to Savanilla, but touching at various ports in
San Domingo, and thus stringing out the voyage to fourteen days ;
secondly, the Pacific Mail Steamship Company's Line to Colon, on
THE VENEZUELA.
the Isthmus of Panama, in eight days, and from there three or four
steamers per month to Savanilla ; and, thirdly, the Red " D " Line
to Venezuelan ports, touching at the island of Curagao on the sixth
day out, and from this island various steamers of the English and
German lines touching at Savanilla. The greatest delay that we
might have at Curagao would be a week, Avhilst, on the other hand,
we might make close connection, and for this reason we selected the
last route. We finally engaged our staterooms on the S. S. Vene-
zuela, sailing Saturday, June 11.
I remember now with what feelings of delight I opened the letter
from the steamship company, drew out the tags marked "passen-
p-er's bao-oap-e, S. S. Venezuela, Curacao," and fastened them to
THE VOYAGE. 7
our trunks. Our longed-for trip was finally assuming a tangible
form.
It must not be supposed that our preparations progressed without
opposition ; our friends all protested when they learned that Ave
were going to South America in the summer. It was in vain that
we represented to them that being so near the equator there would
be but little difference in the temperature from one year's end to
another. Our respective families and relations were disgusted.
Their letters to us were filled with our obituaries, with stories of
poisonous serpents, of all sorts of malignant and deadly fevers, of
assassinations, and of lesser evils without end. I was reminded
of the " Jumblies" in the nonsense book, who,
" 111 spite of all their friends could say,
In a sieve they went to sea."
Well, the winter and spring went by ; June 11 came at last, and
found us together in New York. We left our hotel about eleven,
drove down to Pier 36, East River, and went aboard the Venezuela
about noon. We spent the time remaining before the sailing of our
vSteamer in getting our luggage arranged in our very large and com-
fortable staterooms, and in examining the ship. The Venezuela was
practically new, the staterooms very clean and well ventilated, the
saloon and dining-room handsomely finished in quartered oak. She
was of 2,300 tons, the largest vessel of the line.
The pilot came aboard a few minutes before one, and at one sharp
we pulled out from the pier, headed down the bay, and started off.
I had my " Hawk-eye " in readiness, and took parting shots at the
Brooklyn Bridge and the Liberty Statue as we steamed by. The
day was very pleasant and the sea smooth. When off Sandy Hook
we slowed up, our pilot was taken off by his boat, and we started
ahead again.
Shortly after this I saw my first stormy petrels. Quite a flock of
them followed the steamer until it grew too dark to see. They
were smaller than I expected to find them, — little gull-like birds
with white rumps.
8
A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
There are some peoj^le who laugh at seasickness, but I am unfor-
tunately not among that number. In about an hour I began to
feel wretched, and 1 grew steadily worse. Cabell also looked green.
Alice held out better. When night came I would have been glad
to die, and fell into my berth in a sort of stupor.
Let us not dwell
upon a painful re-
membrance.
The following
day, Sunday, June
12, when I crawled
out on deck we Avere
dashing through
the Gulf Stream.
I was at once struck
by the change in
the color of the
water; it had now
become of a most
brilliant and beau-
tiful dark blue, en-
tirely different from
the greenish blue
of the water nearer
the coast. Lookin
towards the
of the vessel, I saw
stern
■ OUR PILOT WAS TAKEN OFF BY HIS BOAT.
that we were still
followed by a flock of the small petrels that I had seen the day
before. They circled around the stern, every now and then drop-
ping down to the foam in our wake to pick up some particle of
food, and then hastening on to rejoin the retreating ship. They
came within a few feet of the rail, and I, encouraged by a tempo-
rary lull in my symptoms, took my camera and went back to take a
THE VOYAGE.
snap shot at some of them, but the
motion over the screw was so much
greater than that amidships that I
gave in before I succeeded, and re- =^
treated to my stateroom more wretch-
ed than ever. In the afternoon I
saw a few flying-fish and some " Por-
tuguese men-o'-war," the latter offer-
ing a beautiful sight as they sailed lightly
over the waves, resplendent with various
shades of violet, purple, and pink.
Sunday night the mnd freshened, and
all day Monday we pitched through a head
sea, the wind being from the southeast.
We all felt worse than ever. I thought
the sea very rough, as the waves repeat-
edly washed over the decks. A flying-fish
came on board and was caught. I exam-
ined it as closely as I could. It was a
small one, about six inches long, a deep
blue color above and silvery white below,
a splendid example of protective colora-
tion, as its colors harmonized with the
deep blue of the water and snowy white
of the foam. Later in the day I saw a
bird about the size of a pigeon, black
above and white below, and more stocky
than a tern. It flew close to the surface
of the waves. It was not a tern, but flew
much like a gull, not with the rapid wing-
beats of a murre, and was j^robably a
shearwater.
The wind continued on Tuesday, but
not so fresh as on the day before, and, to
PORTUGUESE
(By permission of
MAN-O
American
-WAR.
Book Co.)
10 A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
my great relief, our symptoms began to moderate, and we once
more took an interest in life. We began to make the acquaintance
of the passengers, among whom we found especially agreeable Mr.
Birtner, the German consul to Maracaibo, who was accompanied by
his family. We also began to develop ravenous appetites and to
look forward impatiently to meal-time, when we did full justice
to the good dishes of the Venezuela's cook. Captain Hopkins was
kind enough to place us at his table, and did a great deal to make
our trij) a pleasant one.
This day we saw hundreds of flying-fish, and watched a great
many of them throughout their flight. They cannot be properly
said to fly, yet they do more than simply sail through the air with
the momentum acquired by their start from the water. As soon as
they clear the water, they spread their wide pectoral and anal fins
and hold them horizontal and motionless during the remainder of
their flight. They can steer themselves up or down, as I saw hun-
dreds of them keep at a distance of a few inches above the surface,
going down into the troughs between the waves, but rising to clear
the crests. I also saw some, when they had lost most of their
velocity and were apparently just about to return to the water, droop
the hinder part of their bodies until their tails touched the water,
when they would wriggle them rapidly and violently and thus get a
new impetus without actually entering the water.
Wednesday was like Tuesday ; the wind was still against us, so
we did not go along as rapidly as we otherwise would ; still we aver-
aged about three hundred miles per day.
On Thursday morning, as we made the Mona passage, we saw
our first land since leaving New York : Mona rock, a sharp and
rugged peak rising from the water on our left ; Mona Island, a
large, barren-looking table-land, with precipitous and, in some places,
overhanging shores on our right. To the extreme right was a little
flat sand-bar of an island. Little Mona, or Monita, and in the far
distance to the left rose the blue mountains of Puerto Rico.
As we drew near the passage, many birds came around the ship ;
THE VOYAGE.
11
among tliem a beautiful tropic bird with a yellow beak, white plu-
mage with black wing patches, and long white plumes in its tail,
sooty and noddy terns, flocks of boobies, the adults brown above and
white below, the young uniform plain brown with bluish green faces
and beaks. These attempted several times to settle on the rigging
YELLOW-BILLED TROPIC BIKD (PHAETHON FLAVIROSTRIs).
of the vessel. Late in the afternoon we saw a tremendous school of
porpoises — all small ones not over four feet long, but there were
at least three hundred of them.
The weather was pleasant ; there were a few showers, but the
trade wind was constant, and we did not feel the heat.
CHAPTER II.
THE ISLAND OF CURACAO.
Friday, June 17, 1892. We were all up bright and early, keep-
ing a sharp lookout for the first sight of land, and about eleven
o'clock we saw away off on the horizon a faint blue peak which rose
from the sea, as we drew nearer, and finally spread out into the
Island of Curagao. This island, which now belongs to the Dutch,
is long and narrow, and lies Avith its longer axis N. W. and S. E.
It is forty miles long and about ten miles wide, and contains an area
of two hundred and twelve square miles. It is about fifty miles from
the mainland of South America, and as we rounded its northwest
end, and ran down its southwest coast, we saw to our right a faint
blue line of mountains, the peninsula of Coro. We steamed along
at a distance of from two to three miles from the coast for about
twenty-five miles, and had a good opportunity to examine the island.
It consists of a succession of peaks, some with a gradual slope on
one side and abrupt cliff on the other, others with a flat top and
abrupt fall on all sides. It is of coral formation, and all along the
coast of the northern part there are miniature cliffs of from ten to
twenty feet high, and at their feet long stretches of most dazzlingly
clean-looking sand. The waves have undermined these cliffs in a
number of places, making small caves along the water's edge. I
have never seen a more beautiful sight than the deep blue waters
of the Caribbean Sea breaking in waves on the smooth beaches of
Curagao. As the water grew shallower, the blue changed in shade
to the color called peacock-blue, and this closer in became a light
green.
Bwjcroft LilSn.
-^
=^°=^ e)
ly tern WIST iNDiti
FROM OFF/C/AL SURVEYS or
-'^Vj--
GREENWICH.
THE ISLAND OF CURACAO.
13
From a distance the island looked green ; but as we drew nearer,
it was seen that the greater part was practically barren. The coral
rock showed everywhere, and Avas covered with a small scrubby
growth hardly waist high. In the valleys between the peaks were
a few trees. Farther south the shore grew more level, the beaches
wider, and at one place there was a large mangrove swamp.
Shortly after one o'clock we knew that we had been sighted, for
we saw the signal flying from a staff on one of the peaks to the
northwest of the harbor of Santa Ana, and later the little town of
^»
/#
J^
»»»*■-
VKSSEL PASSING BETWEEN FORTS AT NARROW ENTRANCE OF HARBOR OF CURA(^AO.
(l-'ioin Photosrapli by I'gueto.)
Willemstad came into view, the houses looking so charmingly neat
and fresh colored that they seemed to be china toys.
About half past two we were outside of the town ; we drew nearer
the shore, steamed slowly along past the entrance to the harbor,
picked up the venerable-looking white-haired pilot who came out to
14
A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
r
ISLAND OF CI B»C VI)
SANTA ANA HARBl.iR
i3nnsK \n\\
5&--— • ^ !f'' ;*
- "^^W^^
"^*'-Hw. »»<^
us in a whale-boat pulled by four very black negroes, then Avheelecl
sharply around to our right, and continued on the circle until it
broua;ht us in between the two forts ouardino^ the entrance.
This is a very strange harbor ; its entrance nearly perpendicular
to the coast-line, hardly one hundred yards wide, and continuing
inland, more like a canal than anything else, for nearly a mile, when
it opens out into a large and very irregular bay called the Schotte-
gat, or more generally the Lagoon. This canal is about one hun-
dred and seventy-five yards wide at its widest part, yet runs from
forty-five to ninety feet in depth, with its shores so steep that the
largest steamers can safely make fast within a few feet of the pave-
ments, and at some points actually tie up alongside. There are no
streams on the island, no running water, and no current or tide
THE ISLAND OF CUBACJAO. 15
in this harbor. Its formation is due to the coral structure of the
island.
The town lies on both sides of tlie harbor mouth, but does not
extend back to the Lagoon. The portion to the right is called
Willemstad, whilst that to the left is called Overzijde or Otrabanda,
wliicli are Dutch and Spanish respectively, and mean about the same
as the English "other shore." Just l)efore the channel debouches
into the Lagoon, the land on either side rises into rugged hills, the
one to the right being the higher and being surmounted by a small
fortification. Fort Nassau. Owing to the elevation of this fort, it
commands a view of the sea for a
long distance around, and from it
are displayed signals announcing
the approach of vessels. From it,
also, a time-gun is fired daily.
After passing- the forts with
groups of Dutch soldiers in curious
ill-fitting uniforms, ridiculously tall
forage caps, and short heavy swords
at their sides, we went through a
drawbridge of rather novel con-
struction, proceeded a quarter of
a mile inland, and finally our vessel
turned around (though there hard-
ly seemed room for it to do so),
and we tied up along the western
shore, sparred off to a distance of
fifteen feet. The water is wonder-
fully clear, and we saw numbers of
fish of different kinds and sizes swimming about. There were sev-
eral other steamers in the harbor, the Caracas of the Red " D " Line
bound north, the branch steamer Maracaibo, a German steamer,
and beyond, in the Lagoon, a couple of small men-of-war, Sj^anish
and Dutch.
DUTCH SOLDIER AT CURACAO.
16 A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
Our vessel was soon surrounded by small boats, flat-bottomed,
square at each end, sculled by very large and very black negroes
who stood on the back seat. (See illustration on page 13.) They
brought out the port officer and runners from the hotels across
the harbor from us.
Tired of being cooped up on shipboard, we thought of going
over to spend the night at one of the hotels, although Captain Hop-
kins was kind enough to ask us to remain on the Venezuela. How-
ever, as I had some misgivings, I concluded to leave our baggage
on board until we had made an inspection, so we took one of the
small boats and went across, first to the Hotel Commercio, where
we were shown up a flight of steep and rickety stairs to some white-
washed, bare, and unattractive rooms over a store ; then we went to
the Hotel Sasso, which we found worse, and finally, discouraged by
the outlook, we concluded to accept the captain's invitation. Every-
thing is comparative in this world. In less than two months we
were delighted to get rooms at the Commercio, and found them
extremely comfortable.
After this we took a short walk through the streets. We saw
SAvarms of negroes in every direction, men and women, both remark-
able for their fine size. The men wore straw hats, a light shirt, a
pair of trousers, and were barefooted. The women wore turbans,
one dress, and were barefooted, or at best wore slipshod slippers or
alpargatas. Some of them wore dresses but little below the knee,
others had long stiff-starched trains scraping and rattling over the
pavement behind them, Avhilst the front of the dress cleared the
ground by a foot. Children Avent naked, or wore but one ragged
garment. We saw one boy of eight or nine with nothing but an
old ])uttonless waistcoat which had belonged to a stout man, and
which flapped around his knees.
The women carried their children astride of one hip ; everything
else they carried balanced on the head. We soon found it so hot
that we returned to the steamer, and later Cabell and myself went
out for a walk, leaving Alice on board. We strolled around the
THE ISLAND OF CURACAO.
17
streets for about an hour, and then came back. We crossed the
drawbridge through which we lad passed earher in the day. It is
a pontoon bridge, a number of whose centre spans are fastened
rigidly together by the road-bed, so that the whole swings open like
a gate. On the pontoon farthest from the pivot is a donkey-engine
such as is used on shipboard. To open the bridge, this engine takes
in a rope fastened to an anchor up-stream ; to close it, it hauls in
on a rope in the opposite direction. It is a toll-bridge, the toll
DEAWBRIDGE ACROSS THE HARBOR AT CURASAO.
(From I'lioto^raph by Soublctte.)
being two coppers of Dutch money, about equivalent to one cent
in our currency.
The town is very picturesque ; the houses and streets are remark-
ably neat looking. Though the island is so near the mainland, where
it rains frequently, here it rains but seldom ; sometimes two years
go by without rain. There are no springs or good wells, and for
drinking water cisterns are depended upon. There is, strange to
18
A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
say, little or no dust. The houses are of stone covered with stucco
or plastered, and are painted or washed in different colors. Yellow
is the prevailing color, but a number are blue, green, white, and
pink. The roofs are covered with red tiles. Few of the windows
DWFXLINGS AT CURASAO.
are glazed, although all have heavy blinds, usually green and
white, and the lower windows have large iron or wooden bars built
in. The trimmings, door-frames, house corners, and ridges of the
roofs are painted white. A great many of the houses have their
gable ends facing the street, but the slope of the end Avails is
prettily broken into curves and angles, with appropriate moulding
all along. There are no chimneys to the houses. Cooking is done
over a handful of twigs or charcoal in a little iron or earthenware
vase like a fruit-dish. They are much like a plumber's stove, or
THE ISLAND OF CURACAO. 19
like the stoves that our laundresses use to heat their irons. Of
course one is required for each dish, as only one article at the time
can be cooked on them. The stores are well supplied, and as this
is a free port everything- is extremely cheap, — many things being-
much cheaper than they are in the United States.
The streets, some of which are too narrow for any vehicle, have
no sidewalks, but are all neatly paved with water-worn coral blocks
set in mortar. The pavements are put down in regular pattern,
square sections Avith diagonal lines, like the letter X. We saw a
NARROW STREET IN CURASAO.
funny little street car drawn by a donkey. There were seats for
only six passengers, and the car carried a driver and a conductor.
In the shade in front of houses, and in a great many doorways,
squatted old negresses with fruits, peanuts, candies, dried fish, and
20 A FLYING TBIP TO THE TROPICS.
charcoal for sale. Among the tropical fruits which I tasted for the
first time were some " mamones," a fruit which grows in bunches and
looks like a large green grape. The skin was rougher and tliicker,
and when bitten split open, showing a sweetish, yellowish pulp
around a large stone. I also tasted some mangoes, a large pear-
shaped fruit with a smooth yellowish green skin. This, when peeled
oil, showed a soft yellow pulp, something like our pawpaw but more
fibrous. It had a sicky sweet taste, with a flavor of turpentine
that made it very disagreeable to me. I also saw a fruit called
" cachii," pear-sha^ied, pink and yellow, with a lead-colored bean-
shaped excrescence at the larger end. The fruit which they speak
of highly here, the " nispero," w^e did not get.
The different kinds of money in circulation here is remarkable :
old Spanish, Portuguese, Venezuelan, English, Dutch, French, —
in fact, all kinds of coin. It is rather confusing to attempt to pay
an account made out in guilders and florins from change consist-
ing of francs, shillings, and reals. American gold, silver, and paper
passes freely, but not the five-cent nickel. Speaking of money
reminds me that an American contemplating a visit to South Amer-
ica need never trouble to get English gold. American gold is
taken, and passes freely everywhere.
The natives speak a mongrel dialect called " Papamiento," and
even have several papers printed in it. It resembles Spanish some-
what, but includes a number of words of Dutch derivation. I
found it almost unintelligible. I succeeded, after a fashion, in
making myself understood in Spanish, as nearly all of the natives
speak a little of that language.
Of domestic animals we saw a few small horses, donkeys about
waist high, curs, goats, sheep, chickens, turkeys, pigeons, and mus-
covy ducks. We saw for sale at different places a number of
young parrakeets, green, with dirty yellow or buff-colored heads
(Comtrus pertinax). They were not fully feathered, and we were
told that they had been taken towards the northwestern end of the
island.
THE ISLAND OF CURACAO. 21
In a negro's house, near the steamer, we saw in a cage a number
of young birds, none o£ them fully fledged. There were some
doves, which were the same as the little ground dove of our South-
ern States {Colunibigallina jmsserina). There was also a pigeon,
considerably larger, of a wine-colored gray, with white feathers in
its wings {Columha gymnoptJialDia), This was an undeveloped
squab. The man called it " paloma con alas blancas," white- winged
dove. There were also three partridges, which, at first sight, I
thought were the same as our Virginia bob-white ; but I soon saw
that they were different. They were about half grown, and had a
marked resemblance to the bob-white in shape and in coloration
of their backs and tails. Their throats were white, with some
reddish brown feathers among them ; but the distinguishing feature
was a long recurved crest of whitish feathers, which they carried
continually erect [Eu2)siichortyx cristatus). All of these had been
caught within a short distance of the town. We also saw flying
about, and heard it singing, a bird very much like our mocking-bird
(Mimus gilmcs rosti^atus). I saw hovering over some flowers on
the parapet of one of the forts a small brilliantly green humming-
bird [Chloi'ostllhon atala).
On the stones in the water's edge along the harbor we saw quan-
tities of sea-urchins, with spines eight inches long, barred with
black and white (Diadema setosum). Before turning in for the
night, we decided to go out with a gun early the next morning,
and I arranged for the negro who had the caged birds to go along
with us as a guide.
Saturday, June 18, 1892. I was awake by five o'clock ; woke
Cabell, and we dressed hurriedly, and left the ship, taking our
smaller gun and only fifteen squibs of dust-shot and a few heavy
cartridges. We found our guide waiting patiently for us, and
struck off up the hill to the northwest. It is forbidden for any one
to go through the streets with a gun here ; but I had on a hunting
coat, with voluminous game pockets, in which I put the stock and
barrels, and did not put my gun together until we were beyond the
22
A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
limits of the town. We had hardly gone two hundred yards when
we began to see numbers of the small ground doves ; and I shot
two, one a male in fine plumage. They were, as I had thought,
the same as those found in our Southern States.
We first followed out a ridge running west for about a mile
:ind a half. The country was very rough and hilly, the rock out-
crojiping in every direction. In places, the ground was covered
with fragments of the fossil coral, looking like pieces of bones ; in
others, the outcropping rock was as rugged and sharp as slag from
a blast furnace. The surface was covered with a dry, thorny scrub,
about three feet high, and the stems of this scrub were loaded with
small, oblong, oval snails, about the size and shape of a 32-calibre
rifle-ball. In walkino- alongf we
crushed so many under foot that
our shoes were made quite sticky.
In this scrub I saw and heard sev-
eral little yellow birds, and shot
one, which, on picking up, I found
to be a warbler, — a male. It
was much like our yellow w^arbler,
except that its forehead and
crown were chestnut [Dendroica
rufo^nleata). Along here we also
saw a number of small finch-like
birds, and Cabell shot a pair (Euethela hlcolor). The male Avas
dark slate about the head and breast, the rest of its plumage
greenish gray. The female was plain greenish gray. They have
very high culmens, and look like little grosbeaks. We heard them
sina-injr in all directions. Farther on we turned to our right, and
went down into a little valley, where there was a small pool of
brackish water, and here were some few trees, a couple of tama-
rinds, some date palms, and a number of calabash-trees. The cala-
bashes are spherical or oval, smooth, and green Hke small water-
melons, and grow from the trunk of the tree or side of the large
CUKAgAO LAND SHELL (pUPA UVA, LINN.).
THE ISLAND OF CUKACAO.
23
limbs, and not at the end of a twig. We ate some of the tama-
rinds, and fonnd them quite refreshing-. There was also another
scrubby tree, hardly fit to be called a tree, with straggling- thorny
limbs and small leaves, like our honey locust. This tree was scat-
tered pretty generally over the hills, and we noticed a peculiarity
about it, that is, that the majority of its branches pointed towards
the west. This is a result of the trade wind blowing constantly
from the east. This tree bore a few tiny yellow blossoms, and
around these we found some humming-birds. I missed the first
one that I shot at ; but later Cabell killed a pair. They w^ere
smaller than our ruby-throat, the male a
most beautiful glittering green, its tail
steely blue, almost black, its wings dark
purplish brown. The second was either a
female, or young, and Avas similar to the
first, except that its colors were less bril-
liant. It had some dark grayish feathers
below and a white streak on each side of its
head. Both had little downy white puffs
around their vents [Cldorostilhon ataJa).
A little later I shot a large sparrow, quite like our white-crowned
sparrow. Its head w\as handsomely marked witli black and gray,
and it had a chestnut collar at the back of its neck {Zonotrichla
2^'ileata). In a calabash-tree near here I shot a species of honey-
creeper {Coereha uropygicdls). It was slate-brown above, its breast
and rump yellow, its head and throat slate-black, with a white
stripe above each eye. There was a fleshy excrescence at its gape,
which was pinkish red when the bird was fresh, but which faded
rapidly. Its tongue had a peculiar brushy tip.
We went on as far as a convent and an orphan asylum, where one
of the nuns, a negress, gave us a drink of water. We then turned
back, and reached the ship about nine. The roads near the convent
were excellent, and had on either side a hedge of a species of cactus
which grew up like tall posts to ten, fifteen, and even twenty feet in
CHLOROSTILBON SPLENDIDUS.
(After Elliot.)
24 A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
height. We found other kinds gi-owing about ; one esj^ecially trou-
blesome resembled our prickly pear, but had very long thorns.
These appeared to have barbs on them, for when they entered the
flesh they had to be picked to pieces before they could be extracted.
"cactus . . . TEN, FIFTEEN, AND EVEN TWENTY FEET IN HEIGHT."
When we brushed against one of these plants, a whole segment
would break off and hang dangling from our clothes. On our way
back we saw a pair of small hawks {Thimmcnhis sj^orverms brevi-
2')enms), and got a couple of good shots at them, but the cartridges
that I happened to have with me had been loaded for several years
and were worthless, so we failed to get one. They seemed to be
much the same as our sparrow-hawk. Our guide said that they
were called " cliiki cliiki," from their cry, which much resembled
this word, and that they fed on the lizards, " larguitos," which liter-
THE ISLAND OF CURACAO.
25
ally swarmed through the scrub, — repulsive-lookiug creatures, some
green, some brown, and all sjDotted and blotched with lighter color.
I was told that the green ones were males. They lived in burrows.
We also saw at a distance some yellow and black orioles [Icterus
xantliornus curasoensis). Our guide called them " tropiales," but
they were not the common troupial. We saw numbers of the mock-
ing-birds, but I had no more cartridges, so could not get any. The
guide called them " ruiseiior," which is Spanish for nightingale. I
saw a small red butterfly, and some very small grayish blue ones.
When we returned, we found that in our absence an English
MAIN STREET, CURAgAO.
(From Pliotograjih by Soublette.)
tramp steamer, the Navigator, of the Harrison Line, had come in
and would sail for Savanilla the same afternoon, so I hastened over
to see her commander. Captain Owen, and secure our staterooms.
I found the Navigator to be a large freight steamer with only six
staterooms, the accommodations being naturally far inferior in
26
A FLYING TRIP TO THE TBOPICS.
every respect to those of the Venezuela. However, we were anxious
to hurry on, so I took passage for us, for which I had to pay twenty
dollars apiece in gold. We took lunch on the Venezuela, and after-
wards I skinned the birds that
we had shot in the morning. I
had never skinned a humming-
bird before, and the first one that
I tried was such a sorry-looking
object when I had fin-
ished, that I simply
opened the second, took
out the intestines, and filled it with dry arsenic. This is the way
that I preserved nearly all of the humming-birds that I secured on
this trip, and I afterwards had cause to regret it. Though they
look well enough at first, and though the flesh is preserved, it
shrivels until the skin is distorted ; and, again, if the birds are
packed away in a trunk for a week or ten days without being-
aired, they are apt to be mouldy and mildewed when taken out. I
should advise all collectors to skin their humming-birds as they do
larger birds.
Later in the afternoon we took a short walk through the streets,
went into the old Dutch fort to the post-office, mailed some letters,
came back to say good-by to our friends on the Venezuela, then
had our baggage taken over to the Navigator, and settled ourselves
in our staterooms. As we crossed the harbor, I saw flying over,
high in the air, a frigate pelican [Frefjata aquila). It sailed along
gracefully, opening and closing its scissor-like tail.
We cast loose our lines about half past four, soon passed out of
THE ISLAND OF CUBACAO.
27
the harbor, headed slightly to the
north of west, and before night-
fall Curagao had sunk out of our
sight. We ran along with a
strong current and wind in our favor, and the ship rolled consider-
ably, but fortunately I had no recurrence of my unpleasant expe-
rience on the Venezuela.
The second night before reaching Curagao, I saw for the first
time that constellation of which we have all so often heard, the
Southern Cross, and this
night we had a much better
view of it. I must confess
to being greatly disappoint-
ed. The stars are not so
brigfht as I had been tauaht
to expect, nor is the cross a
symmetrical one in any way.
The arms are not perpen-
dicular to the vertical part,
nor are they of equal length.
The accompanying figure
gives the Southern Cross as represented in the geography that I
studied when a schoolboy, and a second figure of the cross in more
nearly its true proportions.
THE SOUTHERN CROSS OF THE GEOGRAPHIES AND
THE TRUE SOUTHERN CROSS.
28 A FLYING TBIP TO THE TROPICS.
We were on board all the clay o£ Sunday, June 19, and went
along" nicely with wind and current in our favor. I saw durino-
the day a few petrels, and some large gannets, white, with black
wing-tips, like the common one of our north Atlantic coast. We
expected to reach Savanilla on the following morning. It Avas cloudy
and hot during the day, and there were several small showers.
This would seem to be an appropriate jjlace to make a few
remarks about Colombia. I will not attemjit to give a lengthy
account of the country ; for this I would refer to the Encyclopedia,
to Bulletin No. 33 of the Bureau of American Republics, or to
some of the works mentioned in the appendix ; but I will simply
refer to some of the leadino- features.
The Republic of Colombia consists of nine divisions or depart-
ments, each having a capital of its own, and is situated in the north-
west corner of South America. Its northwestern extremity, the
department of Panama, joins Central America ; on the southern
boundary is the Republic of Ecuador, and to the east lies Venezuela
and Brazil. Our ideas of the relative size of the South American
republics are apt to be vague. For instance, the area of Colombia is
over 500,000 square miles, or equal to the combined area of the
New England States, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Dela-
ware, Ohio, Indiana, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee,
North Carolina, and Georgia. It is of irregular shape ; its greatest
length is about 1,250 miles, its breadth 1,100 miles, that is, each
dimension is, roughly, a third greater than the distance from New
York to Chicago. It is one of the most mountainous countries in
the world. The great Andes of Ecuador, crossing its southern
boundary, split into three nearly parallel ranges. The western
range follows the Pacific coast, decreasing in altitude as it enters the
Isthmus of Panama. The central range runs directly north until it
terminates about one hundred miles from the Caribbean Sea. On
its western side flows the Cauca, on its eastern the Magdalena,
which unite at its termination and continue northward to the sea.
The eastern range is more irregular and bears oif to the northeast.
[d] 11 [Qi]b] LuiH ii sa L^a ij aiisiiia [i:^ sia^^
L.'f.yrtgkt tHq.i, by Hm -M. BradUy.
THE ISLAND OF CURACAO. 21)
A portion extends through Venezuela, whilst another portion con-
tinues as far as the Caribbean, Avliere, near Santa Marta, it rises in
snowy peaks 16,500 feet above the sea. From the eastern slope of
this range countless rivers flow into the Amazon, the Negro, and the
Orinoco. The Magdalena, which is practically the only highway in
Colombia, has a dangerous bar at its mouth, but above this is navi-
gable by steamers of light draught to Yeguas, a distance of some
630 miles. Here there is an interruption due to rapids, but above
Honda small steamers continue the navigation to Neiva, and canoes
are used even farther, making the total navigable length nearly
1,000 miles. From Honda to the sea the river falls between 800
and 1,000 feet, so is very swift, and were it not for its crookedness,
the current would prevent navigation. Climates of all tempera-
tures, from torrid heat to perpetual snow, are found in Colombia,
and due to its broken surface it has two rainy and two dry seasons.
For the Magdalena Valley, March, April, May, and September,
October, and November are the rainy months, but the line between
the seasons is not suddenly or sharply drawn.
Though there are a number of little fragments of railroads
throughout Colombia, there is no railroad system proper, and where
transportation cannot be had by water, dependence mast be placed
upon mules. Thus the capital of the Republic, a city of over
100,000 inhabitants is inaccessible by wheeled conveyance. There
is said to be a poor wagon road from the rivei- to the south of
Honda, but it is seldom used.
THE ISLAND OF CURACAO. 21)
A portion extends tliiougli Venezuela, whilst another portion con-
tinues as far as the Caribbean, Avliere, near Santa Marta, it rises in
snowy peaks 16,500 feet above the sea. From the eastern slope of
this range countless rivers flow into the Amazon, the Negro, and the
Orinoco. The Magdalena, which is practically the onl}^ highway in
Colombia, luis a dangerous bar at its mouth, but above this is navi-
gable by steamers of light draught to Yeguas, a distance of some
630 miles. Here there is an interruption due to rapids, but above
Honda small steamers continue the navigation to Neiva, and canoes
are used even farther, making the total navigable length nearly
1,000 miles. From Honda to the sea the river falls between 800
and 1,000 feet, so is very swift, and Avere it not for its crookedness,
the current would prevent navigation. Climates of all tempera-
tures, from torrid heat to perpetual snow, are found in Colombia,
and due to its broken surface it has two rainy and two dry seasons.
For the Magdalena Valley, March, April, May, and September,
October, and November are the rainy months, but the line between
the seasons is not suddenly or sharply drawn.
Though there are a number of little fragments of railroads
throughout Colombia, there is no railroad system proper, and where
transportation cannot be had by water, dependence must be placed
upon mules. Thus the capital of the Republic, a city of over
100,000 inhabitants is inaccessible by wheeled conveyance. There
is said to be a poor wagon road from the rivei- to the south of
Honda, but it is seldom used.
CHAPTER III.
BARRANQUILLA.
Monday, June 20, 1892. I looked out of the porthole of our
little stateroom by daybreak this morning, and althoug-h I could
see no land on account of a heavy mist, I knew that we were near
the delta of the Magdalena. The sea was very muddy for many
miles and covered with floating water plants and driftwood. In a
short time the mist lifted and Ave began to catch little glimpses of
the Colombian coast. We soon got our things together and came
on deck, all excitement at the prospect of landing in a few hours.
We finally came to anchor at half past eight about a mile from the
land at Puerto Colombia. Savanilla was formerly the port, but
the shifting sands have filled in the deep water there, so now the
landing is several miles farther to the west. The harbor is a very
exposed one, and I should think dangerous. There were several
German and English steamers lying at anchor. We were shortly
visited by the inspector of the port in a little cockle-shell of a tug
with an excruciatingly shrill whistle, and about nine o'clock we got
aboard of her and were taken ashore. On the tug were several
passengers who had come from one of the other steamers, and on
our way to the shore I made the accpiaintance of one of them, a Mr.
Lindauer of New York, engaged in business in Bogota. Afterwards
we saw a good deal of each other, and as he Avas familiar with the
country, he Avas of great assistance to us on a number of occasions,
and Avent to a great deal of trouble to help us.
We finally reached the landing, Avhich was nothing but a fcAv
♦extremely slippery boards nailed to some Avorm-eaten piles in the
BARRANQUILLA.
31
rUERTO COLOMBIA.
(After Millican.)
water's edge. Our satchels were tossed upon the hinding, and we
scrambled up as best we could, almost on our hands and knees.
Once on top, we were surrounded by a perfect swarm of half-clad
Indians and half-breeds of all sizes, who insisted upon carrying- our
things for us, whether we wished them to do so or not. Our trunks
we could not take with us ; we would have to get them at the
custom-house in Barranquilla. The satchels of our fellow-travelers
were inspected by the customs officers at the landing, whilst the
rabble crowded around and examined everything critically. Upon
showing my special passport, we were allowed to carry off our
things without their being inspected.
Puerto Colombia is nothino- but a collection of a half dozen
wretched bamboo huts plastered with mud and thatched with reeds.
The huts have no floors ; there are stagnant pools of slimy water'
32 A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
ill every direction, some even encroaching on the houses ; a few
pigs wander hstlessly about, and everything looks indescribably
filthy. There is an iron screw-pile pier in process of construction,
alongside of which, when completed, it is intended for steamers to
lie, but it looked very weak to me.
We went ahead about one hundred yards to the railroad station,
where I got our tickets, and we boarded the train which was wait-
ing. The road is a* narrow gauge ; the cars of two classes and some-
what of the appearance of our street cars. The freight cars are like
the little closed trucks used in transferrino^ bag-o^asfe across the New
York ferries. Our train left for Barranquilla at half past nine, and
arrived there shortly after eleven. The distance is 18,5 miles. We
first followed the seashore for several miles, then turned to the rioht
and struck across country. The country that we passed through
was covered with a jungle of scrubby, thorny trees ; no very large
ones, with now and then a small grove of cocoanut palms. In a
number of places rose large post-like cacti. The soil was sandy,
with a limestone outcropping at a few places. The Magdalena was
at its highest at this time ; consequently the whole country was
flooded, and lakes and lagoons extended on both sides of the track.
As soon as the train moved off, I began to keep a sharp lookout
of the windows for birds. We saw large flocks of brown pelicans
{Pelecanus fHscus), numbers of white egrets (Ardea efjretta), and
snowy herons [A. candidisslma), small grayish herons similar to our
green heron but smaller [Butoi'ldes cf/amirus), black vultures (Ca-
fharista atrata), flocks of large black ducks with a white spot in
each wing (Cairlna moschcda), pairs of large black and white stilts
with red legs {IliTnantojJUS mexiecmus), great numbers of a species
of jagana, dark, with a bright red frontal crest, and apparently all
the feathers in the last joint of their wings whitish {Ja<;ana nigra),
large crow-blackbirds, the females chocolate-colored [Quiscalus as-
siniilis), long-tailed anis [Crotophaga sidcirosfris), kingfishers,
larger than ours but with the same discordant rattle {Ceryle tor-
quata), pigeons, ground doves, and quantities of flycatchers of dif-
BARBANQUILLA.
33
fereiit kinds. As we drew nearer Barranquilla I saw a flock of
birds flying- with rapid wing-beats, looking- just like a flock of our
doves ; but as they veered oft', the sunlight struck them and I saw
that they were light green in color. They were parrakeets, the
flrst birds that I had seen on the mainland answering- my expecta-
tions as regards tropical birds. Later on, several flocks flew by the
train near enough for me to hear their harsh, screeching notes.
Just after leaving the seashore, I noticed on both sides of the
HOTEL VICTORIA AND AMERICAN CONSILATE, BARRANQUILLA.
track among the trees a great many burrows with a little mound of
earth thrown up around the entrance, and in each of these I could
see a large blue crab ( Cardlosoma gufuihuml).
Our three guns, which were in their canvas covers and strapped
in one bundle, had been passed by the inspector at Puerto Colom-
bia, and we anticipated no more trouble about them ; but, to our
34 A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
disgust, when we were leaving the station at Barranquilla, an old
mulatto insisted on takino- them to the custom-house. Arafuments
were of no avail ; we had to give them up.
At the depot we took a carriage, a little open concern drawn by
diminutive mules, and drove first to the Pension Ingles, a hotel kept
by a young Englishwoman, a Miss Hoare. Unfortunately for us,
she had no vacant rooms, though she promised to let us have some
on the following day. From here we drove to the Hotel Colombia,
with no better success. Finally, at the Hotel Victoria we secured
a couple of rooms. The hotel was a single-story building, one room
deep, facing the street. Back of this was a large courtyard filled
with beautiful flowers and fruit trees. This would have been a
delightful place, had it not been for the fact that all the slops from
the bedrooms were regularly thrown under the shrubbery. Back
of this court and facing it was a row of bedrooms, and we were
given two of these. The rooms were dirty, with cement floors, plas-
tered walls, the under side of the roof for the ceiling. There Avas a
heavy door in front, and one window in rear protected by wooden
bars. It had blinds, but no glass. From its name we expected to
find this an English hotel, but it was kept by a native woman, and
practically managed by the negro waiter, Sam.
In our hurry in the morning we had left the ship without break-
fasting, and here, according to the custom of the country, we did
not get our breakfast until after twelve o'clock, so we were very
hungry. Breakfast was served in the piazza facing the court. We
had some strange dishes, none of them very good to my taste, but
the coffee Avas excellent. The fresh meat is stringy and tough.
Rice is well cooked, but is dark colored.
After breakfast I went out alone to attend to a few matters. I
first called at the American consul's, but found him out. A few
hours later I was told that there was a man in the house at the
time suffering from yellow fever, which he had contracted at some
mines up the river. This was rather pleasant for me, especially as
I had entered the house. From here I went to the custom-house
36 A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
and after a great deal of wrangling succeeded in getting our guns.
The officials made but little objection to my taking the shot guns,
but haggled a great deal over the rifle. After my repeated assur-
ances that I had no warlike intentions, they finally gave it up to me.
I then went to the Banco Nacional and cashed a bill of exchanofe
for $500 in American gold, getting for it $1,000 in Colombian
paper currency. As a great part of this was given to me in small
notes, I had nearly a satchel full of money and felt very opulent.
The paper notes in circulation are the hundred, fifty, twenty, ten,
five, and one dollar or peso, and the fifty, twenty, and ten cents, or
centavos. The peso is regarded as divided into one hundred cen-
tavos, corresponding to our cent, and into ten reales, corresponding
to our dime. There are also three nickel coins, media, cuartilla,
etc., corresponding to 5, 2j, and 1| centavos. Silver coins are very
scarce. Besides a few cuartillas I saw only two others, both fifty-cent
pieces, which I bought and kept as curiosities. Gold I did not see.
There are certain designations of currency wdiich are apt to confuse
a stranger ; for instance, there are terms which would nearly corre-
spond, if translated, to " hard " and " soft " dollars. A " jjeso
fuerte," or, as it is often called, a " fuerte," means a dollar of ten
reales, whilst a peso is generally taken to mean a soft dollar of eight
reales.
Later in the afternoon we drove around to the market and bought
some sleeping-mats, or " esteras." We had supper about six, and,
being tired out, went to bed early.
Barranquilla, although it covers a considerable area and contains
a population of over 20,000 inhabitants, does not amount to much
as a city except in a commercial sense. There are very few two-
story houses; nearly all are of one story, the majority built of bam-
boo and mud, plastered and whitewashed and thatched with rushes.
The floors are of mud or brick. All of the windows on the street
are protected by a framework of iron or wooden bars which \)\o-
jects about a foot from the wall. The houses are unprepossess-
ing from the outside, but as Ave passed along the streets we caught
BA RRANQ UILLA . 37
glimpses through open doors of channing- inner courts filled with
beautiful Howers and plants. We noticed a peculiarity in the way
that the furniture was arranged in the parlors. There were usually
about six black rocking-chairs of bent wood in the room, and they
were in the centre and facing each other in a double row, so close
that they nearly touched.
The furniture of our bedrooms was meagre in the extreme ; an
enameled tin wash-basin and pitcher, a chair, an arrangement called
a cot, but in reality a canvas stretcher fastened to a saw-horse. We
MARKET COURT, BARRANQUILLA.
spread our matting over this canvas, then a sheet over the matting,
and the bed was made. Each cot had a good mosquito net sus-
pended above it.
In the market we saw a number of curious thino-s. The market
building is a large one-story structure with an arcade on three sides
38
A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
and a court in the centre. The side without the arcade is on
the water's edge, a side channel of the Magdalena. This front
was crowded with canoes, all dug out of single logs, and some of
surprising size.
We saw a great variety of fruits. The sellers were mainly women,
DUG-OUTS ALONG THE MARKET FRONT.
who squatted with their wares exposed in front of them. The lower
classes here seem to be clean and good-looking ; some of the w^omen
are quite pretty. They wear dresses low necked and short sleeved
with very short waists, a la Madame Recamier ; no head covering
beyond a shawl ; their hair neatly arranged ; a great many with
bright flowers in it. Children up to eight or nine go naked, or
nearly so. We saw several little babies, barely a month old, lying
on the sidewalk sleeping, naked and alone, Avith nothing under
BARRANQUILLA.
39
them except perhaps an okl piece of bagging or a few plantain
leaves.
The water front of the market seemed to be the place of sale for
fish. Although we saw no fresh fish, there were immense heaps of
dried fish, split in the same way that our fishermen prepare mack-
erel. The greater part were small, but there were some large ones
with immense scales. One that I examined closely looked to me
exactly like the figures of the tarpon. It had the same general
shape, the same thin, projecting under jaw, the large eye and scales,
and the pointed projection from the dorsal fin. The Indian name
Avas " savalo," and they said that it came from higher up the river.
THE SAVALO OR TARPON.
(From Goodc's " American Fishes.")
Those that I saw were about two and a half feet long. Mr. Milli-
can, in his " Adventures of an Orchid Hunter," p. 103, speaks of
this fish, and says that he has seen specimens " seven feet long and
two feet six inches in girth " ! We also saw great piles of dried
shrimps, which were sold by measure. They are eaten boiled with
rice, but in my estimation the rice is sadly damaged by the
addition.
There is in the town a street-car line, where little cars are drawn
by sorry-looking mules, but it does not seem to be patronized. The
streets are paved in but a few places ; the rest is soft white sand,
trying to the eyes when the sun is shining, and making all driving
very heavy.
40
A FLYING TEIP TO THE TROPICS.
COFFEE SELLERS, BAKRANQUILLA.
A great many small donkeys are used, and although they are not
much larger than mastiffs, men ride them, sitting cross-legged like
tailors, to prevent their feet from dragging. One man passed us
perched on top of a little donkey, and with a live pig hanging on
either side, squealing at every step.
There are harracks in the town, with a lot of dirty, unkempt sol-
diers who are continually tooting away on their bugles. Their call
for taps is almost identical with ours.
There is in the town an electric light plant and also an artificial
ice factory.
In the Hotel Colombia I saw a large scarlet, blue, and green
macaw and a toucan with a serrate beak {Pterorjlossiis sp.). This
bird assumed a most curious position when asleep, turning its tail
up over its back and head instead of allowing it to hang as other
BABBANQUILLA. 41
birds do. In many of the houses along* the streets we saw parrots,
parrakeets, and troupials. Black vultures are abundant. They sit
in groups in the cocoa palms, on the roofs and fences, and are con-
tinually flying" down into the yards and streets to pick up refuse.
It was cloudy all day, and there were several showers. It was
also hot, especially in the early part of the night.
Tuesday, June 21, 1892. We were awakened before daylight
by the sound of music. It was the military band practicing, and
although they selected such an unusual hour for their practice, I
must admit that the music was excellent. Just about daybreak
flocks of parrakeets began to fly over the town in a steady stream,
and their incessant screeching put sleep out of the question.
We were up early, and after taking some coffee and bread, Cabell
and I Avent down to the custom-house to o^et our trunks. Travelers'
baggage up to two hundred pounds (as well as I remember) is
admitted free of duty ; anything beyond this must be paid for at an
exorbitant rate. After waiting around for two hours, we got our
trunks, and had them sent up to the Pension Ingles, then went back
to the Victoria, got together our things, and moved over. We had
a good breakfast about half i3ast eleven, and a little after two
o'clock we took a carriage, and, Alice taking a book, and Cabell
and myself our guns, we drove out a couple of miles into the coun-
try to have our first experience with South American birds.
We drove along a heavy, sandy road, with tracts of scrubby
growth on either side, and here and there fields of a tall, thick, reedy
grass. We saw no evidences of any crops. When we had gone
out far enough, we turned out of the road, and left the carriage
near an abandoned hut in an open field. We hunted around within
a few hundred yards for about two hours, and saw great quantities
of birds. I shot first, and killed a hawk that was perched in the
top of a thick tree near the roadside. It saw me approaching, but
was not shy, so I had no difficulty in getting within range. Before
I shot at it, it uttered several times a shrill cry, and whilst doing so
held back its head until its beak pointed vertically. It was about
42
A FLYING TRIP TO THE TBOFICS.
the size of our Cooper's liawk, its beak longer and not so hooked,
its feet and claws weaker. Its beak was light bluish, cere yellow,
head and neck dirty Avhite, a dark brown streak behind the eye, tail
dusky with numerous narrow white bars, these bars becoming con-
fluent at the rump, body and wings brown, below white with a buft'y
wash (Milvago ckimachima).
Cabell then shot a curious kingfisher-like bird about the size of
our catbird, but with a large head and heavy beak, which Avas
slightly hooked at the tip, the hook being forked. Around the
base of its beak were stiff bristles pointing forwards. Its toes were
OJKOOVED-BILL ANI (OROTOPHAGA SULOIROSTRI'-).
BARRANQUILLA. 43
two in front, two behind ; its tail-feathers narrow and weak. Its
head and npper parts were dusky, with buff edgings to the feathers ;
there was a dark brown ring across the breast, with a whitish band
below ; the throat was buff, with a rusty blotch in the centre. Be-
neath it was bufpy, the flanks spotted with brown. There was a
white streak below the eye, and a white band at the back of the
neck. This was a rufous-throated puff-bird {Bucco riijicollis).
I then shot a crotophaga, probably smaller than our crow-black-
bird, but with a much longer tail, a curious high-arched bill ; toes,
two in front and two behind ; hackle-like feathers on its neck, and
of a uniform glossy blue-black [Crotophfuja sidcirostrls ?). A lit-
tle farther on Cabell shot a handsome flycatcher, much like our
great-crested, but larger, with a broad and large beak. Below it
was sulphur-yellow ; above, rufous ; its crown blackish, with a con-
cealed light yellow patch, a white streak from its nostrils back
over the eye and entirely around the head. This was probably the
pitangua flycatcher {^lerjarJu/ucJms ^ntangua). I saw several flocks
of parrakeets, — one of which lit near us, — and I started to creep
up on them ; but they took alarm, and flew before I was within
range. They circled, and came back near Cabell ; and he managed
to get one. It was about the size of a robin, but with a long,
pointed tail. Its beak and feet were light brown ; its eyes, brownish
yellow. Its general coloration above was grass-green, with a trace
of blue in the primaries and secondaries ; below, it was greenish
yelloAV ; its upper breast, throat, and face were light greenish brown ;
its forehead of a bluish gray {Conurus ceritginosus).
I killed an oriole about the size of our Baltimore oriole ; its beak,
wings, tail, and spot at the base of beak and under chin black ; the
rest of its plumage a clear yellow [Icteyms xantJiornus) ; a small,
thick-beaked finch of a uniform glistening blue-black ( Volatmia
splendens) ; a ground dove like those that we killed in Curagao
{Colimihigallina p)(is^€rina)', and a second one, somewhat larger,
and of a rufous color (C. riijipennis). Around a calabash-tree we
saw a couple of humming-birds, and Cabell managed to shoot one.
44 A FLYING TBIP TO THE TROPICS.
It was glittering green, almost exactly like those that we got in
Curagao, but its tail was forked [Cldorostilhon angust'qjennls).
We saw a number of partridges, and tried to get some, but
failed. They were just about the size of our Virginia partridge ;
and, to my surprise, I several times heard them call " bob-white."
All of the birds that we killed were in poor plumage ; they were
evidently just beginning to moult.
We saw some brilliantly colored butterflies of various species.
I was surprised at the number of trees and bushes bearing thorns,
— nearly all having thorns of different sizes. One tree, of large
size and smooth, light green bark, had scattered over the trunk
teat-like excrescences an inch or more in height and sharp-pointed,
which would entirely prevent any one from climbing the tree.
Some of the palms had very hard needle-like thorns, which would
pierce the sole of a shoe ; others had rows of short hooks arranged
like the teeth of a saw.
As it was getting towards sundown, we turned back, and reached
the hotel in time for supper.
In the evening the American consul, Mr. Neckius, and his assist-
ant, Mr. Candor, called upon us. It was hot, and there were one
or two light showers.
Wednesday, June 22, 1892. Cabell and I went out early to see
about engaging passage and staterooms on the steamer Enrique,
which was to start up the Magdalena on the following day for the
head of navigation, Yeguas. After attending to this, we tried to
get a trunk, so as to relieve the crowded condition of ours ; but we
could not find a suitable one, so finally bought a " pataca," a sort
of bale covering, made of raw hide, the hair side out, which is used
throughout the country as a case for transporting tobacco on mule-
back. It is closed by being laced up with a raw-hide thong.
When we returned to the hotel, we repacked our things, leaving
one trunk clear for skins.
After breakfast, Ave took our guns and started off on foot. We
walked down the railroad several miles, and, takinj]^ it easy, came
BA ERANQ UILLA . 45
back at live o'clock. While walking along the track about a mile
north of the town, we saw an alligator some four feet in length,
which had been run over and killed by the train. About two miles
down, we left the track, and turned into some scrubby, thorny
woods to our left. Here Cabell shot a parrakeet of the same kind
as the one that he had killed the day before, and a large pigeon,
larger than our dove, but of the same uniform color throughout.
The tips of its tail-feathers were whitish ; but beyond this it had
no distinctive markings. I did not skin this bird, as it was in poor
plumage ; and I did not get another specimen, so cannot identify it.
From here, we turned back to the right, recrossed the track, and
went over to the river, Avliere we found a great abundance of water-
birds, the white- winged jaganas, purple gallinules {lonornls mar-
thilca), herons, ducks, etc. There was a skirt of small trees along
the river, with here and there clumj^s of mangroves. Beyond the
trees were reedy marshes extending out for perhaps half a mile. I
had just reached the bank, and was walking along slowly, when a
horrible-looking creature sprang up from under my feet and rushed
off at a tremendous rate, stopping to look back at me when it had
gone about thirty yards. I fired, and killed it. It was a lizard,
over two feet in length, with very long and wide-spreading toes.
It was brown, with darker markings on its sides, a conspicuous fin-
like crest along its back and tail, and a light gray liberty-cap-look-
ing growth at the back of its head. This was the basilisk {BasUls-
cus cmierlcanns). Later we saw quantities of them. They run
with extraordinary rapidity, and stand higher from the ground
when running than any lizard that I have seen. So rapid is the
motion of their feet that they can actually run over the surface of
water. This I saw repeatedly. I know of no other animal that
can do this, except that I have seen frogs keep on the surface for a
succession of rapid jumps ; but frogs are web-footed, and these
lizards are not. I saw several cross pools ten feet in width and
keep on the surface for the whole distance. They also climb well.
We saw them in the mano^roves on branches overhanoino- the water.
46
A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
As we passed under a low tree, one, frightened by us, sprang out
on Cabell's back, and thence to the ground, giving him quite a
start. We also saw numbers of other lizards, some striped green,
blue, and yellow ; other small ones, gray, with dark red heads.
Wading along the water's edge, we shot a pair of ibises, larger
than our white ibis, but of the same general shape. They were of
BASILISCUS AMERICANUS.
a dark glossy green, their legs, beaks, eyes, bare skin of face and
gular space red (Phimoses infiiscatus). We got several shots at
flocks of parrakeets, and killed five or six, all of the same kind.
They had been feeding on mangoes, and it was a difficult matter
to prevent the soft yellow pulp that oozed from their beaks from
soding their feathers. We also shot some blackbirds of the same
general shape as our red-winged ones, but smaller and with yellow
BAREANQUJLLA.
47
TTJRKEY-BUZZAKU (CATHARTES AURA).
(From "Riverside Natural History," by permission of Houghton, Mifflin & Co.)
heads {Xanthosomus icterocephahi.^). I shot a small finch with a
chestnut breast and a light gray back, but its plumage was in such
a soiled condition that I did not preserve it {Sporophila sjh?).
Flying about over the marsh we saw numbers of hawks, but we did
not shoot any, as they would all have fallen into the water beyond
our reach. They were large, dark brown with a conspicuous white
rump, forked tail, and beak with a long hook {Rosthrcmms socia-
h'dis). They quartered about like our marsh-hawk, close to the
surface of the reeds. Amono- the rushes I saw some little birds
48 A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
conspicuously marked with black and white [Fluvlcola jyicxi). Their
motions seemed to be just like those of our hooded flycatcher.
They, too, kept out over the water, where Ave could not go, so we
got no specimens. Cabell shot a hawk like the one that I had killed
the day before, and I shot a second one very similar to the first,
but with a brown head. It w^as probably a young one. " As wild
as a hawk " is an expression of no meaning in Colombia ; they are
not at all shy, and it is an easy matter to approach wdthin range.
We saw a few hunnning-birds, but got no shots at them. I also
saw some turkey-buzzards ( Cathartes aura), but they were scarce in
comparison with the black vultures.
Birds were building at this season, and all were in bad plumage,
so they were probably preparing for second broods. We saw ibises
carrying sticks for their nests. On our way back we stopped at a
little hut in a grove of cocoa palms, and I induced a small boy to
climb one of the trees and get us some of the green nuts to quench
our thirst with their milk. After throwing down some of them,
he pulled out a nest from among the thick leaf-stems and threw it
down to us. It contained two small spotted eggs nearly hatched,
wdiich were broken by the fall. The birds flew around uttering
jjlaintive cries. They w^ere the size of our scarlet tanager, and of
a light bluish gray, darker on the wings and tail (Tanagra cana).
The Indians called them " azulejo," which translates " bluebird "
pretty closely.
After supper we skinned some of our birds, having a good deal
of trouble with the parrakeets. It is difficult to get the skin of the
neck to pass the head. It was hot all day, with a heavy rainstorm
in the mornino*.
In the courtyard of our hotel there were several cages of parra-
keets and troupials. One of the latter Avas a splendid songster, and
imitated to perfection some of the bugle-calls. Whenever any one
irritated it, it puffed out its throat until the hackle-like feathers
stood out almost on end, and at the same time the pupils of its eyes
contracted until they w^ere mere points.
CHAPTER IV.
THE MAGDALENA RIVER.
Thursday, June 23, 1892. We were busy packing- in the early
morning, as our boat was to leave at eleven, and at the last moment
we were so hurried that we did not have time for breakfast, but
snatched a few hasty mouthfuls and left. When we reached the
Enrique, we regretted not having taken more time for our break-
fast, for it was three o'clock when we finally moved off. Tt was
very provoking- to have to sit around and wait, but we could not
help it, nor did any one seem to know for what we were waiting.
Just as we were moving- off we heard a great outcry, and, looking
back, saw a passenger calling for us to come back for him ; so we
ran in to the shore, and he came aboard. Just imagine, in the
United States, any one going at three o'clock to catch a steamer
advertised to sail at eleven !
Whilst waiting at the wharf I noticed on shore great piles of
what I thought were potatoes, but upon examination I found them
to be vegetable-ivory nuts.
A great many kites, like those that we had seen the day before,
flcAV about the steamer, and I saw them from time to time dip down
gracefully and pick up some floating object from the water.
Tlie Enrique, of which we give an illustration, w\as built by a
Pittsburgh firm, and, like the Ohio River steamers, is a stern-
wheeler, burning wood, of two to three feet draught, but high above
water. On the lower deck forward are the boilers with wood stacked
on either side ; then comes the space for crew, freight, and live cattle
for beef on the trip ; then the engines. Forward, on the deck above,
50 A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
is piled the passengers' baggage, and this is where we spent the
greater portion of our time when not driven in by the heat. Next
come the staterooms, eight in number ; then an open space, where
we dined ; and in rear the pantry and bathroom. Still higher is
the pilot-house. The staterooms are small, perfectly plain, with a
single canvas cot in each. No bedding is supplied by the boat, so
a part of every passenger's baggage is a roll of matting, a pillow,
and a mosquito net. The fare is sixty dollars in paper to Yeguas,
staterooms ten dollars extra. The river steamers are compelled by
law to carry a doctor. Ours was a native, and the captain was from
Curagao.
Our boat was in a side channel of the Magdalena, and had to go
down about a mile before entering the main stream. This side
channel was evidently the laundry for the town. The washerwomen
waded out from its shores up to their waists, and pounded their
soiled clothes on half-submerged drift logs which were scattered
along. When we entered the main stream, we turned short about
and headed due south. We went along slowly ; the river was very
high, muddy, and swift ; and, besides, we had lashed to our side
a large lighter, or " bongo," filled with extra freight that we had
to take up the river with us. The country was inundated in all
directions, and no high land was in sight. We saw thousands of
water-birds of many kinds : white herons and egrets ; large gray and
black herons {Ardea cocoi), somewhat like our blue heron ; a species
of large tern, its body and tail appearing whitish, and its primaries,
in strong contrast, black [Phaethusa magnirostris). This tern we
found abundant for four hundred miles up the river. The river
was so high that no sand-bars were exposed, else we would have
seen numbers of alligators ; however, before dark we saw a few large
ones on some logs. The native name is '' cayman." I was told
that there were several species. Shooting at them from the steamers
was prohibited by law some years ago, owing to careless shooting
by which a native woman on shore was killed ; but our captain
gave us permission to shoot when we got farther up the river.
i^9
A FLYING TRIP TO THE TEOFICS.
There is a good deal of ceremony at meal-times ; no one takes
a seat before the captain, and no one rises until he gives the signal.
Should any one wish to rise before, he says, speaking to those
present, " con su permiso," by your leave. The meals are served
hurriedly by barefooted Indian boys, and were not so bad as we
had been led to expect. There are but two meals a day, though
LAUNDRY AT BARRANQUILLA.
coffee is served soon after daybreak. The bill of fare is about
the same for every meal, soup, beef and vegetables, " dulce " or
sweets, which usually consists of some fruit such as green figs
or " guayaba " skins, etc., boiled in syrup and served with coffee or
chocolate and cheese. There was neither fresh butter nor milk.
In every possible dish garlic is used and the majority of the dishes
are colored yellow with arnatto. The vegetables are rice, potatoes.
THE MAGDALENA RIVER
T
yucca, plantains (boiled and
fried), and " names," or yams
as we would call them, though
they are entirely different from
the sweet potato to which we give
that name. The meat is always
in slices and is fried or stewed.
Roasts, joints, etc., are unknown.
The climate would not allow a
roast to be kept for even a few
hours. I witnessed one morning
the preparation of the meat for
the day. The cow was quickly
killed and skinned, then the flesh
was literally taken off in ribbons
until nothinof but the bones were
left. These ribbons were wound
around slender rods, taken to the
upper deck, and exposed in the
sun. In a few hours they became
like pieces of sole leather. This
is called " tasajo " or jerked beef.
Before being cooked it is soaked
and beaten to soften it. The in-
testines, head, and bones of the
cow were turned over to the crew
of the bongo, who ate all with
relish, including the poor animal's
unborn calf.
Artificial ice is carried on the
up trip, but gives out about the
fourth day. Filtered river water
is used for drinking, and is fairly
good. The pilots are Indians,
usually old men, and are treated
BOGOTA
THE MAODALENA VALLEY TO HONOA.
54
A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
with great respect by the rest of the crew. There are no charts,
Hghthouses, or buoys, and the water to the inexperienced eye looks
the same in all parts of the river, yet the channel is continually
changing and the pilots can tell at a glance when to cross from one
side to the other,
and when to keep
in the centre. The
boat stops three or
four times a day to
take on wood, which
is piled up along
the shore at conven-
ient places and sold
to the steamers by
the owners. There
are no wharves at
any place along the
river. The boat
simply runs up to
the shore, makes
fast to a convenient
tree, and puts out a
gang-plank. The
wood used for fuel
must be dry. It is
cut into leno'ths of
two feet, stacked in
regular piles divided by upright stakes into small units called
" burros," which I suppose means a donkey-load. The price paid
is about fifty cents paper per burro. The wood is loaded by the
crew, Avho bring it on board on their shoulders, using a rope fas-
tened around one wrist and held in the other hand to increase the
amount that they can embrace. They also usually wear a piece of
bagging over their head and shoulder as a protection against scor-
CnCOA PALMS ALONG THE MAGDALENA.
THE MAGDALENA EIVEIi.
55
pious and insects tliat might be in the wood. This loading was a
tedious process.
We also stopped a few times each day at little mnd and thatch
villages to take on or put off freight. The stops are of intermin-
able length ; no one seems in any hurry ; after the freight is off
or on they must have an hour's chat before starting, and when the
signal sounds to start, the crew and passengers have gone off to
%J .^
STOP AT BANCO.
make purchases or to trade, and must be waited for, so we really
spend as much time in waiting as in traveling. We ran all night;
but higher np the river, on account of snags and sand-bars, we had
to tie up at night. It was fearfully hot, especially in the early part
of the night, when it was almost unbearable in the little staterooms.
56 A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
The majority of the passengers moved their cots out and slept on
deck under heavy mosquito nets. Among the passengers we Avere
pleased to find Mr. Lindauer and his cousin, on their way to Bogota.
Friday, June 24, 1892. We were up by daybreak, and after
having a cup of coffee went out on deck. At this hour the air felt
cool and fresh, and it Avas by far the pleasantest portion of the
day. The country through Avhich we Avere passing Avas much the
same as that of the preceding day ; there Avere fewer cocoa palms
and more mangoes and plantains along the shores. Magnificent
unbroken forests stretched in all directions as far as the eye could
reach. From time to time Ave passed little mud huts, thatched here
Avith palms instead of rushes.
The quantities of herons and other AvaterfoAvl that Ave saAv Avere
incredible, the most abundant being the little snowy heron, Avhich
fairly swarms along certain portions of the river. Whilst in Bar-
ranquilla, I saw in one of the papers an advertisement of a New
York dealer avIio offered to buy for cash the plumes of the snowy
heron and of the white egret. It was accompanied by tAvo wretched
cuts of the birds with description of the manner of plucking and
shipping the plumes. For those of the snowy heron he offered from
$425 to $525 paper per pound, for those of the egret from $75 to
$110 paper per pound. I Avas told that he had obtained somewhere
near $10,000 Avortli of these plumes. As the snoAvy heron hardly
ever has a dozen good plumes, and often only five or six, and as
they have hardly any Aveight at all, one can easily imagine the num-
bers of birds that must have been sacrificed to the Avhim of fashion.
As Ave passed a marshy spot, we saw near the water's edge a herd
of about a dozen reddish broAvn animals about the size of an aver-
age pig. They Avere capybaras {ffi/drochoerus ccqjyhara), the lar-
gest of the rodent family. They paid no attention to our boat.
A little farther on, Ave saAv Avalking about on a grassy spot a
couple of large birds, looking much like our turkey, but having
their heads covered Avith Avhite feathers [Chmma derhicma).
Later in the day we saw a good many macaws, some green, blue.
THE MAGDALEN A RIVER.
57
and scarlet {Ava aracrauja), others blue above and yellow beneath
[A. ararauua). This latter kind was the more abundant. They
fly heavily, like our crows, and usually by twos. Their long- tails are
very conspicuous. Their harsh, discordant cries can be heard as far
as they can be seen, and were usually the first noises that we heard
in the early mornings. We saw quantities of wild ducks of several
kinds. Very often, when the flocks were near the forest, they flew
up into the trees when first alarmed. The largest kind, black with
white wing-spots, is called by the natives " pato real," royal duck.
CAPYBAKA (hYDKOCHU':RUS CAPYBAKA).
(From "Kivcrside Natural History," by permission of Iloughton, Mifflin & Co.)
and is our muscovy (Cairina moschata). Another species, with
brown bodies and red beaks, stood in rows like soldiers along the
sand-bars {Beudrocj/fjna sjj.). I saAv three kinds of kingfishers, all
in general appearance similar to our belted kingfisher. The largest,
which was larger than ours, was chestnut-red on the entire under
58 A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
surface, iiicliuling that of the wmgs {Ceryle torqiiata); the next in
size was marked like ours, but was glossy green instead of blue
(C. amazona) ; the third was a miniature of the second, about the
size of a large sparrow (C. mnerlcana). We saw all three kinds
enter and come out from holes in the river-banks. The first two
were very abundant, the third scarcer. We saAv quantities of hawks
and large flocks of parrakeets, and I saw a single water-turkey or
snake-bird {Anhhuja anlihuja) flying high in the air. When the
crew were taking on wood at one place, they killed a couple of
slender snakes which were among the lower courses, but they were
thrown into the w^ater before I could examine them.
In the afternoon, whilst we were stopping at a small village, a
native came up with a lot of fish in a dug-out canoe. They were
of two kinds : the first, a scale fish somewhat like a perch and of
about one pound in weight, he called " boca chica," little mouth ;
the other, a slender catfish, a " bagre," had the same smooth skin,
fleshy dorsal fin and beards that ours has, but its head Avas pro-
longed into a shovel shape almost like a duck's bill {Platy-
stoma s/;.).
It was cloudy at times and hot, with a heavy storm at night.
Saturday, June 25, 1892. When I went out on deck this morn-
ing, I found that we were unloading freight at the town of Ma-
gangue. This is quite a busy little place, known for its annual
fairs. It lies in a strip along the river-bank with no high land
near. At this time many of the cross streets were flooded for a
portion of their length, and our boat lay alongside the sidewalk.
In a native canoe here I saw a skin very much like that of our otter.
The owner called it a " niitria," which is the Spanish for otter.
A short distance below Magangue the Magdalena separates into
two portions, inclosing a long island. Magangue is on the western
channel some leagues below the mouth of the Cauca. On the east-
ern channel is the town of Mompos, which was formerly of more
importance, but now, being inaccessible by steamers during the sea-
son of low water, it has lost a good deal. Upon leaving Magangue,
THE MAGDALENA RIVER.
59
MAGANGCE FROM THE BIVER.
we returned to the forks of the river, where we picked up our bongo,
which had been left there during the night, and then headed for
Mompos.
About ten o'clock we stopped for an hour for wood, and Cabell
and I took advantage of this to go ashore with a gun. Within fifty
yards of the boat we found a small tree covered with fringy-looking
flowers, and around these some humming-birds were feeding. In a
few minutes we killed six, two of one kind and four of another.
The first were of moderate size, bills broad at the base, reddish with
dark tips. They were green above, throats metallic green, under
parts ashy, tail, including the upper and under coverts, rufous, the
retrices with narrow bronze edgings {Amazllla fusiccmdata). The
second kind were green above, throats glittering green, lower part
of breast grayish, a white patch on the belly, under tail coverts
60
A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
AMAZILIA FUSCICAUDATA.
(From Elliot.)
oreen with gray edges, tail forked and blue-black, the two cen-
tral feathers greenish {Cyanophala goudoti).
Near here, Cabell shot
into a flock of parrakeets
in a mango-tree, and killed
three. They were different
from the others that we had
gotten, being smaller and
of a brighter green, the
alula principally blue, un-
der wing-coverts light yel-
low, upper coverts brown-
ish green, an orange chin-spot, bill and feet flesh-color [Broto-
gerys jugularis). There was a peculiar point on the inner web of
the third primary. These little birds hang head downwards on the
mangoes, and tear at the soft yellow pulp until nothing but the
seed is left. When a flock is in a thick foliaged tree, although
they may be very noisy, they are sometimes difficult to see, as their
colors harmonize closely with those of the leaves. Cabell also shot
an "azulejo" (Tanagra cana), a male in fair plumage. We
caught here some beautiful butterflies,
some morphos especially, large ones,
brown beneath with round eye-like
spots, and above rich azure. Others
with swallow-tails were striped metallic
ofreen and black, and others scarlet
and black.
Throughout my stay m Colombia I
had untold trouble in keeping butter-
flies. There was a minute red ant on
the boat which soon found anything to
eat, and destroyed it in a few minutes. Some butterflies that I had
put in a tin box the day before were nothing but fragments when
I examined them. The only sure way is to put the box on a little
CYANOPHAIA GOUDOTI.
(From Elliot.)
THE MAGDALEXA RIVER. 61
pedestal in a basin of water, and to examine it every few lionrs to
see that the water has not evaporated. After breakfast, we pre-
pared onr birds as the boat went along, shot at alligators from time
to time, and tried fishing when the boat stopped, bnt got no bites.
We saw birds in great abnndance, and, among new ones, some large
green parrots. They, like macaws, fly in pairs ; but their manner
of flight is as different as possible. Tliey have a rapid, tremulous
wing-beat, exactly like that of our leather-wing bat. Speaking of
bats, there are a great many along the river, and at nightfall we
saw them flying about close to the surface of the water. Some are
much larger than ours, Avitli longer and more pointed wings.
Late in the afternoon we reached Mompos, and shortly after had
the chagrin of seeing the mail-steamer, which left Barranquilla the
day after we left, pass us on her way up. Mompos is an old town,
with some ruins of an ancient cathedral. We bought here from
Indian women who came on board some dulces, guava jelly, limes
preserved in syrup, etc. An Indian offered to sell me for fifty
cents a half-fledged blue and yellow macaw ; but whilst I was think-
ing it over the bird uttered one of its horrible squawks, wliicli
decided me to do without it. It was apparently full-sized, and had
a few blue feathers above, but below was naked. I saw in Mompos
a leper, the first I had seen, although I had heard that there were
many in the country. At a number of places along the river we
saw a form of skin disease which was called " carate." In some
cases the dark skins of the Indians were covered with light spots
and blotches ; in others the spots were bluish black. The hands
were more affected than other portions of the body. There was
nothing malignant about this, simply a discoloration of the skin
similar to scars left by scalding, without any contraction.
We ran all night. It was hot during the day, and hotter at
night.
Sunday, June 2G, 18f)2. We woke this morning early, at a
place called Banco. It is a small village, with the usual cathedral,
situated on a hill or bluff of red clay. There was a crowd of
62
A FLYING TBIP TO THE TROPICS.
natives at the landing, with sleeping-mats and other articles for
sale. Here I purchased for forty cents a large and prettily marked
tiger-cat's skin. Later in the day we stopped several times for
wood, and at one place we went ashore. We saw many wren-
like birds, some resembHng our Carolina wren, but as large as a cat-
bird. Cabell shot a second " azulejo." During the day we had a
CATHKDRAL AT BANCO.
great many shots at alligators, but struck only a few. Among new
birds I saw several small flocks of roseate spoonbills {Ajaja ajaja),
and some immense flocks of wood ibises {Tantrilus loc^dator). It
was clear and hot during the day, but cooled off a little at night, so
that we could go to sleep without the jireliminary Turkish bath.
Cabell saw to-day. floating in the river, a dead snake about ten feet
in length.
THE MAGDALEN A RIVER.
63
COLOMBIAN SCREAMER (CHAHNA DERBIANA).
Monday, June 27, 1892. Upon waking- early I found that we
were unloading at a little group of huts, and as I heard a great
many birds, I hastily dressed and hurried ashore with my gun.
Within a few yards of the boat I shot one of the medium-sized
kingfishers, a male, marked like ours with a chestnut belt, but
glossy green above [Ceryle cmiazona). 1 saw here a flock of little
64 A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
short-tailed parrakeets, as small as sparrows {P slttacida conspicil-
k(ta), and some little swallows about the size of our bank-swallow,
with white bodies and dark wings {Tachi/cineta cdhlventrls ?). I
had to hurry back to the boat before I could shoot any more, and
on our w^ay up the river I skinned the kingfisher. Later in the
day we stopped again, and I w^ent ashore, but found it so intensely
hot that I soon came back. I saw here, with some chickens, a pair
of the turkey-like birds that I had seen on the 24th. They had
red legs, with long straight toes and claws, and spurs on the last
joint of their wings. Their general plumage was black ; their
faces wdiite, Avith a red ring around the eyes, and a feathery horn
on each side of the head [Clumna derhlana). In the afternoon
the boat stopped for wood, and we Avent ashore again. This time I
got a fine pigeon ; a male, as large as our domestic pigeon. It had
a bluish rump, forehead, and throat, purjjlish back and wings, a
metallic green nape, red feet, eyes, and lids (Columha rufina). I
saw during the day several caracara eagles {Polyhorus cherhDay),
and with my glass I could plainly see the brilliantly colored skin of
their faces. All day long we saw enormous flocks of ducks, wood
ibises, and parrakeets, and quantities of white herons, white egrets,
cocoi herons, blue and yellow macaw^s, jiarrots, haw^ks, kingfishers,
and a few fish-hawks (Pandion halicetus carolhiensis). We fired
many times at alligators, and saw some very large ones. We tied
up to the shore at night, as the river had become too full of snags
and bars to navigate except by daylight. We struck sand-bars
twice in the afternoon, but fortunately got off easily. For the last
two days Ave have had lovely vicAvs of blue mountains. To-day
they Avere to the west of us. It AA^as clear and very hot during the
day ; but we had a shower at bedtime.
Tuesday, June 28, 1892. We Avere up early, and at the first
stop for Avood Avent ashore Avitli our guns. We found the land to
be only a few inches above the level of the river, of a soft black
mud, and near the Avater covered with a heavy groAvth of large
canna-like plants, Avith red and yelloAV floAvers. Around these were
THE MAGDALENA RIVER,
65
<o^;\
feeding some humming-birds, and Cabell shot a pair. They were
larger than any that we had met before, and had long carved bills,
the lower mandible yellow, the upper dark with a yellow streak on
each side. Above they were metallic green, the upper tail-coverts
with lioht buff edoinos, the throat
rufous, under parts buffy, central
tail - feathers green with whitish
tips, the others rufous with whit-
ish tips and a blackish subtermi-
nal bar. There was a lioht buff
streak from the gape and another
from behind the ej&{Glaucis hir-
sifta). One of these, a female,
had a number of Avhite feathers
scattered among the green ones
GLAUCIS HIRSUTA.
(Fiom Elliot.)
of the back. I shot here one of
the rufous-tailed humming-birds {Ama'dJla fnscicmidatri). From
this place we pushed on about fifty yards, until we reached the
edge of the forest, and here we found birds in abundance. Cabell
shot first and killed a large bird nearly the size of our crow. This
was a male. It had an oriole bill, black with a coral red tip, a
light blue excrescence on each side at the base of the lower man-
dible, a flesh-colored excrescence on its forehead, and light blue
skin around and back of its eye. Its feet were crow-like and black.
Its under parts, head, neck, and wings were black, the feathers of
the neck with white bases. From its forehead sprung tliree long
filamentous feathers. Its upper wing-coverts, scapulars, centre of
its rump, and under tail-coverts Avere rich chocolate. Its tail was
clear yellow with the exception of the two central feathers, which
were black, and which in this specimen extended only halfway down
to the tip of the tail (Gi/Jimostinojjs fjuathnozinus). The natives
called it an " oro pendola," gold hang-nest ; but they apply this
name indiscriminately to all the oriole family that build pendent
nests. About the same time I sliot another, very similar in style
66
A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
and pattern of coloration, but of about half the size. This was a
female, its bill plain ivory without excrescences, and the feathers on
its crown only slightly prolonged, otherwise its coloration was the
same {Ostinoj^s decumanii^). The two kinds were together in a
laro-e straggling flock. Still later I shot a third, smaller yet, black
with a black tail, a clear yellow rump, under tail-coverts, and wing-
spot. Its bill, which was slightly curved, was a pinkish ivory, and
the feathers of the crown were slightly prolonged {Cassicus Jiavl-
crissiis). This also, like the first two, had white bases to the
feathers of the nape. These birds build together in communities.
A number of times, along the river, we saw in large detached trees
a dozen or more of their nests hanging like stockings from the
extremities of the branches. As I shot the second, I heard the
^i' ifi
w
W'
1/?;
/>..v^./
y
<^r /yc^
" OKO I'/.KDOLA" ((JYMN0.sTIN01'.S (iLATl^'MOZINUs).
J &&ulemai\s del.
MiTLtern. Bros . Ctiramo lith. London.
PSITTACULA CONSPICILLATA.Ia,fr.
Blufi-runrped Parrakeet
Bftncroh Libnuy
THE MAGI) ALEX A BIVEB. 67
harsh screams of some macaAvs ahead of me, so I pushed on throuo-h
the trees, and got a long- shot at one which fell screaming in a
thorny jungle. I forced my way into it, and as I picked it up it
bit my thumb until the blood streamed, and before I could choke
it oft' I began to be afraid that my thumb would be cut in two.
Its cries attracted its mate, Avhicli I also shot. They were smaller
than any macaws that I had seen, and were in wretched j^lumage.
Their general color was a grass-green, bluish about the head, a
reddish brown stripe on the forehead, primaries blue above, reddish
beneath, under wing-coverts scarlet, tail reddish at base, then green,
then blue, but reddish beneath, skin of face white with lines of
bristly black feathers, beak black, feet dark [Ara sever a).
A little later I shot a pair of the small parrakeets that I had seen
for several days past. They were miniature parrots, no larger than
sparrows, a bright grass-green, with secondaries, ujiper and under
wing-coverts, rump, and a ring around the eye a deep blue, beak
and feet flesh-color [Pslttacida conspicillatay
I also shot a tanager, which the natives called a " cardinal." It
was like our scarlet tanager in size and distribution of color, except
that the scarlet, which was beautifully clear on the rump, «n'ew
darker towards the head until it became a dark garnet. The plu-
mage was velvety, especially the black of the wings. The upjDer
mandible was black, the lower a light horn-color {Ramjihocehis
dhnldlatus). Cabell then shot a small puft'-bird about the size of
our pewee, but with a larger head and weaker tail. Its upper man-
dible was forked at the tip like that of the one that we shot at
Barranquilla. It was black above, Avhite below, with a black collar,
white specks on the forehead, a white spot on the scapulars and a
little wdiite on the rump [Bucco suhfectus). Just as we were getting
on the boat, he shot a beautiful little bird about the size of our
chipping- sparrow, glossy blue-black above, with a yellow forehead
and bright yellow below [Euphonia crasslrostrls). This was a
male, and in better plumage than any bird that we had gotten so
far. The female, as I found out later, is of a plain greenish yellow.
68 A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
After tlie boat started, I was busy for several hours skinning the
birds. The macaws were especially troublesome, as the skin of the
neck refused to pass over the skull.
In the afternoon the boat stopped again and we went ashore, but
it was so boiling hot that very few birds were stirring. Cabell,
Avho was some distance ahead of me, fired, and as I came up he
called out that he had killed a humming-bird as large as a tanager.
It was certainly a beautiful bird, and its metallic i^lumage and long
bill gave it a slight resemblance to a humming-bird. It was a jaca-
mar, brilliant metallic green and bronze above, including the two
central tail-feathers. The remaining tail-feathers and the under
parts were rufous. Its throat was white and was separated from the
breast by a band of the same color as the back (Galbula ruficcmda)-
I saw here a pair of toucans, and got a shot at one, but failed to get
it or to see whether I had hit it or not. Its breast was dark red ;
its other colors I could not distinguish. I also saw in the forest a
number of dark reddish squirrels with white bellies. They were the
size of our gray squirrel and were extremely gentle, allowing me
almost to touch them with my gun-barrel as they sat watching me.
On my way back to the boat a bird fluttered up from the thick
grass in front of me, and I got it by a snap shot, but my heavy
choke-bore unfortunately spoiled it as a specimen. It was a species
of whippoorwill, just about the size of ours, and, like ours, had
bristles along its gape. It had a white throat-patch, and beneath
was marked just like our night-hawk, but the ground color was
more reddish brown. Its wings and tail were somewhat like a
whippoor will's, the wings with a light huffy spot on the primaries.
Its back was mottled and the scapulars had bufFy outer edges
[Nyctldromus alhlcoUls). Several times at night along the river
I heard the cry " whip-poor-will," and others very similar, but I
do not know what bird uttered them.
At this place the steward of the boat came up to me Avith two
dirty white eggs just the size and shape of those of our yellow-
billed cuckoo. Showing them to me, he said, "azul, azul " (blue,
THE 2IAGDALENA KIVER. 69
blue), and going off lie returned with a saucer o£ wood ashes and a
moist rag, and began to rub the eggs. In a short while all of the
white disappeared and they became the color of a robin's eoo-. He
said that they were the eggs of the ani.
In the afternoon I skinned the birds, and we shot a good many
times at alligators. The river was now very crooked and swift and
full of sand-bars and snags, so at dusk we tied up for the nioht.
At this place we saw two long-tailed monkeys make off through the
treetops as we came up. We saw quantities of birds all day, blue
and yellow macaws, ducks, herons, ibises, parrakeets, spoonbills, etc.
I was fighting red ants throughout the day. The few butter-
flies that I had captured, I tried in every Avay to save. They were
put in tin boxes with camphor, but whenever they were left for two
hours I invariably found them literally swarming with ants, their
heads and bodies eaten off, and their wings coming to pieces. No-
thing but putting them on a tumbler in a basin of water protected
them. This was impracticable for bird-skins, and I was afraid that
I would lose them all. I put the skins in the tray of my trunk,
which I suspended by strings from the ceiling, but by niolit I dis-
covered the ants traveling up and down the strings in an unbroken
column. After this I rubbed the strings with kerosene oil and car-
bolic acid, and tied lumps of camphor to them, but the ants were
not delayed in the slightest. I finally borrowed from the steward
three soup-plates, which I filled with water and placed in the centre
of each a tumbler ; on these three pedestals I put my tray, and the
ants were baffled at last.
It was clear and very hot, especially in the early night, but we
were not troubled by mosquitoes.
Wednesday, June 29, 1892. Cabell Avas taken with a slight
fever last night, caused by going out in the hot sun yesterday after-
noon. He felt badly all day, so did not leave the boat. At our
first stop, Lindauer and myself went ashore and killed a number of
birds. I shot first a pair of the little blue-rumped parrakeets (Psit-
tacida conspiciUata), a male and female. The female is plain grass-
70 A FLYING TEIP TO THE TROPICS.
green without any blue. In a marshy spot near a Uttle stream, I
shot one of the black and white birds that I had seen in the marshes
at Barranquilla. It was a male, a little smaller than a pewee, Avhite,
with AvingSj tail, back of head, and centre of back black {Fluvi-
cola j^'^cct). I also shot three more jacamars [G. rKficauda) and a
puff-bird like the one we got at Barranquilla (B. rujicoUis). Lin-
dauer shot a couple of flycatchers ; the first, a male, smaller than
our bee-martin, yellow below, brownish olive above, crown brown,
with a large yellow and orange patch, white streak from nostrils
above eye to back of head, and throat Avliite {Mylozetetes cay-
ennensls) ; the second, a female, about the size of our great-crested
flycatcher, plumbeous above, a small orange crown-patch, throat and
breast grayish, and below light yellow {Tyrannus melancholicus).
He also shot a most peculiar and beautiful little bird, a male in fine
plumage. It was about the size of a w^-en, but with an extremely
short and awkward-looking tail. Its legs were white with a scarlet
ring above the tarsus, its head rich golden yellow becoming orange
with traces of scarlet at the back. The rest of its plumage was
glossy blue-black. Its eyes were white with fine red lids, and
its bill light yellow {F'qyra mirlcapUla). At this place I saw a
flock of certainly five hundred of the orange- chinned parrakeets
(Brotogerys jugular is) in a mango-tree near the boat.
After leaving this place, we stopped no more until we tied up for
the night ; so I spent the rest of the day in skinning the birds and
shooting at alligators. Every sand-bar, or " playa " as they are
called, was sure to have a number on it. They generally lie in the
sun with their mouths wide open, the upper jaw making an angle
of forty-five degrees Avitli the lower. When shot at, they sometimes
slid off' into the water like terrapins from a log ; but when they
were well up on the playa, they rose deliberately to their feet and
walked off, their bodies looking as high from the ground as that of
a dog:-
All day long the river was very crooked ; there were bluffs of
red clay along the shores ; the country was not so marshy, and we
THE MAGDALENA EIVER.
71
rm
'^f'tvg;^|w|^'l.^^^'w
LOOKING DOWN THE MAGDALENA FROM BANCO.
saw no ducks or white egrets, but numbers of macaws, parrots,
kingfishers, and wood ibises. The doctor gave Cabell a sudorific,
and at night he was much better. We spent a very hot night,
tormented by mosquitoes.
Thursday, June 30, 1892. We made an early start this morn-
ing, and did not stop until Ave reached Puerto Berrio, about ten
o'clock. This is a village on the western bank o£ the Magdalena,
and is the starting-point for the Anti()quia Railroad, which is des-
tined to reach Medillin, the cai)ital of the department of Antioquia,
but which now terminates at Pavas, about twenty-five miles from the
river. Here Lindauer and myself went ashore with the guns. Cabell,
although feeling well, thought it best to keep out of the sun. We
went back a short distance along the railroad track ; but it was
72
A FLYING TBIP TO THE TROPICS.
POLYERATA AMAKILIS.
(From £lUo;.)
rather late in the day for the birds to be stirring, so we saw only a
few. I got two new ones : the first a tanager, a male jnst the size
of the " cardinal." It Avas velvety black, with a beautifully clear
yellow rump, its bill light horn-color with darker cutting edges
[Rampliocehis Icteronotus). The second was a humming-bird, a
female, green above, the rump and tail-
feathers bronzy, the lateral tail-feathers
o-rowino; darker towards the ends and
tipped with white. Below it was gray-
ish, with a few metallic green and blue
feathers on the throat [Pohjerata ama-
hUls). The natives call humming-birds
" cliupa flores," flower-suckers, and some-
times " pica flores." Several hours later
in the day the boat stopped again and we
went ashore, but it Avas too scorching hot
for anything to be stirring. I shot a large oriole, about the size
of our robin, with a black beak, face, chin, and wings, and black
and yellow tail, the rest of the plumage yellow. It was in such
poor plumage that I did not preserve it, so now have to regret not
being able to identify it.
On my way back to the boat I saw up a small tree what I thought
was a very large snake, but upon closer examination I found it to
be an iguana, which I shot and carried back with me. It was forty-
three inches in length, the greater part of this being taken up by its
tail, which tapered to a jioint and was striped with broad bands of
gray and black. Its body, which was about the size of our rabbit's,
was green with black marks. Along its back Avas a row of leath-
ery spines (longer than in the species figured), and beneath its
throat Avas a pouch or dcAvlap. I skinned its body, and got one of
the bongo men to cure the skin for me by rubbing it Avith Avood-
ashes. Its flesh, Avhich is eaten by the natives, looked good, and I
noticed that it had the same odor as that of our bull-frog. At this
place there Avere a feAV Indian huts, and around them a small grove
THE MAGDALENA RIVER.
73
of cacao-trees, from which chocolate is made. They were not
over twenty-five feet high, smooth barked and big leaved. The fruit
looked very much like an oblong- warty squash, and grew close to
the main trunk and large limbs. They were about eight inches
long, some green, others a deep purplish red, and wdien cut open
showed a white pith in which w^ere imbedded bean-like seeds the
size of our lima beans but thicker. These, when ripe, are taken
IGUANA TUBERCULATA.
out, roasted, and then ground between two stones, mixed with
coarse sugar, and the result is chocolate. Hung up against one of
the huts to dry, I saw several peccary skins of the plain unhanded
species [Dlcotyles labiatus). I was told that they were common in
the forest here.
Lower down along the river the native huts are made of a wattle
of split bamboo, or small sticks, daubed with mud and thatched
with palm-leaves (see page 55), but here the walls are made in a
14: A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
different manner. The large cane or bamboo, tlie " guaduas," which
often is six inches in diameter, is taken and partially split in a
nnmber of places about an inch apart, after which the whole tube
can be opened out, making a very rough plank from a foot to
eighteen inches in width. These are lashed to the framework with
bark or slender vines. We also saw many huts with nothing but
a roof and the four corner posts, protection from the sun and rain
being all that was required.
The natives along the river are, as a rule, cleanly, amiable, inof-
fensive, and very indolent. All carry the " machete," a long and
heavy sword-like knife, Avliich is the universal tool. It is about
thirty inches long, sharp on one edge, the back being very thick,
and the blade widens from the handle nntil near the point, where
it is sometimes five inches broad, then tapers suddenly. It is used
like a cleaver. Those that I saw Avere made in England and in
the United States. They are sometimes carried in a heavy leather
scabbard, sometimes in a small loop of leather tied around the waist.
I saw a few axes, but they were all of the old Spanish pattern, like
those shown in the old illustrations of " Robinson Crusoe," the blade
fan-shaped, with a ring at the back for the insertion of the handle.
Notwithstandino' the tremendous forests, lumber of all kinds is
scarce and dear. There are few, if any, saw-mills ; boards are usu-
ally sawn out by hand, and a plank ten feet long, a foot wide, and
an inch thick sells for a dollar in gold.
Although the natives are indolent, they can work, for the bongo
men sometimes toil day after day under the broiling sun for a month
or six weeks, poling their heavy bongos up the Magdalena. And,
after all, a living comes so easily to them, their wants are so few
and so easily supplied, that there is no incentive for them to Avork.
AVhen a native wishes to set up a house for himself, he selects a con-
venient spot along the river's bank, then with his machete cuts
down the bushes and vines and girdles the larger trees over an acre
or two, clears off the debris by fire, then plants a hundred plantain
shoots. In a little over six months the plants will have fruit ready
THE MAGDALENA RIVER.
75
for food. One bunch, which can be bought along- the river for a
real, will keep a man in food for ten days. The plantains are eaten
green or ripe, boiled, baked, fried, or raw, and are a fair substitute
for potatoes and bread. As soon as the bunch of fruit is cut off,
the plant is cut down close to the ground, and it innuediately puts
up fresh shoots which bear again in six months, and so on. The
natives call plantains " plutanos," and bananas they call " platani-
tos," little plantains. The bananas that we got in Colombia were
A i;OMiO UU (llAJIl'.VN OX lilE AlAUUALEXA.
(By pennission of Bureau of American Republics.)
among the most delicious of fruits. They were small, with a skin
as thin as a kid glove, and of an exquisitely delicate flavor, incom-
parably superior to those that we have. These will not bear
transportation. From seeing the biuiches before our fruit stores, I
had always thought that bananas grew pendent on the bunch, but
they grow with their free ends pointing up. The natives raise a
little corn, but there is no systematic method of planting or cultivat-
ing it. The difference in cultivation is shown by the ears, on which
the grains are irregularly distributed, and not in long parallel
rows as in our corn. As there are no mills, they grind the little
76
A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
corn tliat tliey need between two stones, the same two stones that are
used in makiiiij" chocolate and also in o-nndino- coffee. The river
supplies them Avitli fish and turtle in abundance, and they easily
.•■•/'}yiv.-/-/<xl-'./l.
CITKON-BREASTED TOUCAN.
trap different birds near their huts. They need but few clothes,
they raise enough tobacco for their own use, and the native rum,
" aguardiente," costs about the same as our cider. Their household
furniture is limited to a few hammocks, two or three earthenware
THE IIAGDALENA RIVER. 77
pots, and a supply of calabashes and turtle shells which serve as
dishes and spoons.
In the afternoon we came to a portion of the river called " An-
gostura," or narrows, very narrow and swift, where even with a full
head of steam we barely crept along*. Here I saw a great many
turtles and alligators, large flocks of macaws, and some roseate
spoonbills. Late in the afternoon we stopped for wood and I went
ashore, but did not take my gun. Lindauer took one of the guns,
and in a few minutes returned with two new birds. The first was
a very fine toucan, a female in good plumage. It was about the size
of our crow, had a very large, finely serrate beak which was bril-
liantly colored with black, Avhite, green, blue, and yellow. Its eye
and the skin of its face were a beautiful peacock-blue, its feet light
blue. Its general color was black, breast, throat, and face light yel-
low, becoming white on the cheeks, and separated from the black of
the under parts by a bright red belt. Its tail was black and square,
the upper coverts yellow, the lower bright red [Ramphastos citreo-
lannus. (See frontispiece.) The second was a parrot, the size of
a small pigeon, a female in poor plumage. Its beak was black with
a coral-red spot on each side, general plumage green, and head
and neck blue, ear-coverts black, a few rosy feathers among the
blue of lower throat, the four central tail-feathers green with blue
tips, the others blue, rosy at the base. The under coverts were
pink with blue stems and yellow tips, the edge of the wing pink
and yellow {Plonus onenstruus). I found both the toucan and
parrot difficult to skin on account of the smallness of the neck.
The colors of the beak and skin of the toucan faded in a few hours.
The nostrils of the toucan were not in the beak proper, but in the
crease between the base of the beak and the frontal feathers. The
*' pope's nose" of the toucan was longer than that of any bird that
I have skinned, and it is so freely jointed that the bird can move its
tail in any position. It is owing to this structure that when roosting
the toucan can turn its tail over to cover its back and head.
The boatmen killed in the woodpile here a scorpion, plain olive-
78
A FLYING TRIP 10 THE TROPICS.
o-reen in color, and the size of a small fiddler crab. We tied up
for the night. It Avas hot, but we were not troubled by mosquitoes.
Friday, July 1, 1892. We made an early start and did not
stop until late in the forenoon, when it was too hot to find many
birds. I went ashore and killed a curved-billed humming-bird like
COLLAKED AKAJAKI (PTEKOGLOSSUS TOKQUATUs).
those that we had shot on June 28 (yGIaucls hirsuta), and a pair
of new toucans, smaller than the one that Lindauer killed. Their
tails were longer and the feathers graduate like those of our cuckoo.
Their beaks Avere deeply serrate, the upper mandible yellowish
white with a black tip, a black streak on top, and a reddish mark at
the side of base ; the lower mandible black, and both bordered at the
THE MAGDALENA RIVER. 79
base by a white line. The skin of the face was scarlet, the eyes
yellow, and the feet olive-g-reen. The head and throat were blue-
black, a brown collar at the back of neck ; back, wings, and tail
greenish black, rump scarlet, below yellow, orange on the breast, a
black spot in centre of the breast, and lower a black and red belt,
the thighs brown (Ptero(jIossus torquatus). Both were females
in poor plumage. Their tongues were bristly, like a worn-out
feather. The remainder of the day I did but little.
The river-banks became higher and gravelly, the water much
colder, and fewer alligators Avere seen. We dropped our bongo, so
made better time, and taking advantage of the moonlight, we ran
until nine o'clock, and finally tied up about fifteen miles below
Yeguas, our destination. It was very hot all day, but cooled a little
after sunset.
CHAPTER V.
THE MULE ROAD AND GUADUAS.
Saturday, July 2, 1892. We made an early start, but stopped
for wood a few miles below Yeguas. I was busy getting our bag-
gage together, but went ashore at this place. I saw no birds, but
found scattered about over the ground a number of land shells.
LAND SHELL FROM NEAR YEGUAS.
white, with rosy lips, the largest that I had ever seen, larger than
lemons, some being four inches long {Bulmius obJongus, Miill.).
I brouo'ht back several with me. I was told that the animal inhab-
iting these shells lays an Gg^ much similar in size, shape, and color
to the eggs of the little ground dove. Shortly after I came on
THE MULE ROAD AND GUADUAS.
81
(From " Riverside Natural History," by permission of Ilougliton
Mifflin & Co.)
^4^
board, some of the men came down
to the boat, dragging a very large
rattlesnake, which they had just
killed near the spot where I had
picked lip the shells. It was not
so brightly colored as those that we have in Virginia, but was rusty
brown, with a series o£ dull yellowish, diamond-shajied marks along
its back. The native name for rattlesnake is " cascabel."
Just before reaching Yeguas the river becomes very rapid, and
curves to the left for almost half a circle. Yeguas, which is on the
western bank, is a collection of four or five bamboo and thatch
huts upon the top of a gravelly bank, some twenty feet above the
water. One of these huts serves as a station for the Dorada Rail-
road, which runs from here to Honda, about fourteen miles above.
We arrived at ten o'clock, just half an hour too late for the morn-
ing train, so were compelled to wait on board until half past three.
The road is narrow gauge, the cars small and not very clean, and
the country hot and dusty. At Yeguas the character of the coun-
try changes abruptly, the heavy forests disappear; their place is
taken by level plains, good examples of geological terraces, with
here and there high, flat-topped, and barren hills. The strata in
the hills lie horizontally, and erosion has j^roduced the same style
of landscape as seen in many pictures of Arizona. Upon leaving
82
A FLYING TBIP TO THE TROPICS.
Yeguas, the train first goes up a steep incline, until it gets upon the
level terrace, where it runs for some time at a fair rate of speed.
This plain is in parts several miles broad, covered with a very rank
sort of grass or broom straw ; and scattered here and there are
clumps of palms. A great many cattle were feeding about. Along
here on the telegraph poles I saw a number of small hawks, appar-
ently the same as our sparrow-hawk, and some large buzzards,
larger, perhaps, than our red-tailed hawk, with dark reddish brown
wings {Heteros2nzias meridionaJls f).
After ofoino' about five miles, we heard a or-reat whistlino- and
tootino- of the enoine, and lookino- out saw
that we had just run over a cow. Instead
of stopping the train, the engineer tried
to pull it over the cow ; so, after she had
been dragged several hundred yards, and
had rolled from one car to another, until
she reached the centre of the train, the
rear wheels of a truck were thrown from
the track, and we had to stop. By the
help of two wedge-like inclined planes of
steel, the car was gotten back with but
little delay ; but the poor animal was
found with her neck wedgfed between the
wdieels of the folio wins' car. After trvino-
in vain for fifteen minutes to back or pull
the rest of the train over the body, they
concluded to take an axe and cut off her
head, after which she was pulled out, load-
ed up on a flat, and Ave went ahead.
A few miles below Honda, the moun-
tains, which here are barren, dusty, precipitous, and furrowed with
gullies and ravines, close in on the river until it is shut in in a
deep gorge. At Honda, there flows into the Magdalena from the
west the Guali, a small, swift, and extremely muddy stream of
% HONDA
ARRANCA PLUMAS
THE MULE ROAD AND GUADVAS. 83
some thirty yards in width ; and a few hundred yards above, a
second and smaller stream comes in. Between these there is a
comparatively level terrace which widens considerably as one goes
back from the river, and on this and along- the river-shore the town
is built.
We reached Honda about five, and went at once to the best hotel,
a very neat one kept by two Englishmen, Messrs. Bowden and Will-
cox. It was a positive luxury, after being cramped up on the
steamer for so many days, to get into a clean and spacious room, to
find cots with clean sheets, and above all to have clean and appetiz-
ing food. After seeing that Alice was comfortably fixed, Cabell
and I went out to call upon our consul, Mr. Henry Hallam, and to
take a look at the town. We did not iind Mr. Hallam, but at his
office was a cablegram, sent from New York ^he preceding day,
saying that all were well at home.
The town is not of much size, and offers nothing of especial
interest. It is said to be the hottest place on the river, and deserves
its reputation. It is shut in by the parched and baked mountains,
and the few breezes that stir feel like blasts of hot air from a fur-
nace. The houses are of the usual type, some thatched, some tiled.
Through the enterprise of Mr. Hallam, water has lately been
brought into the town. This gentleman has also established a line
of wagons running westward to Mariquita over the terraces of the
valley of the Guali. I mention this as wheeled vehicles are prac-
tically unknown throughout the interior of Colombia. I was told
that the muddiness of the Gauli was due to the hydraulic working
of gold mines near its head-waters. This river was in former times
spanned near its mouth by a ponderous masonry bridge of two
arches, but this was destroyed by the earthquake of 1805, and now
there is a fair iron brido-e thrown across from the old abutments,
and a short distance above there is a second brido-e of wood. In
the upper members of this iron bridge several large swallows
had their nests. The centre jiier of the original bridge remains,
twisted to one side, and leaning up-stream. There are in the
84
A FLYIXG TBIP TO THE TEOPICS.
%
. 4
ter-
IF KKllXiK
l\KU i'HE (H ALi DhSl l;t)VKl) 1;V KAKTHlH'AKE.
town the ruins o£ a large cathedral which was destroyed at the
same time.
The Magdalena here is very swift, the rapids in front of the town
being like those below Niagara Falls, and it is of course impassable
for steamers ; but above the rapids there are some small steamers,
running irregularly, which have at times continued the navigation of
the river almost, if not quite, as far as the town of Neiva.
We saw piled up near the railroad station many small bags filled
with a heavy sand-like silver ore, intended for shipment to England.
Along the streets I saw a number of men with bad-looking ulcers
about their ankles and shins, and a few witli elephantiasis, a form
of leprosy in which the ankle thickens enormously.
We were so pleased Avith our hotel that we thought of waiting
here for several days to recuperate, but about dusk Lindauer came
THE MULE no AD AND GUADUAS.
S5
in to say that lie would leave for Bogota early the next morning,
and that his muleteer had enough mules to supply us also, so we
concluded to go on, and accordingly sent our trunks on ahead, so
that they could be gotten across the river before we started. It Avas
clear and hot.
Sunday, July 3, 1892. For the last five or six days on the river
we had been without ice, and for a refreshing- drink had taken a
great deal of lemonade made from the limes, or " limones," that
were found in abundance at every village. This had somewhat
upset me, so I was not feeling particularly well ; however, we had a
light breakfast at six, and started soon after. There was no train
running, so we had to walk up to the ferry at Arranca Plumas,
about a mile above the town. It was the ordinary swing ferry ; a
SWING FEHRY AT ARRANCA PLUMAS.
(After Millican.)
86 A FLYING TBIP TO THE TROPICS.
wire cable is stretched across the river, and on this a pulley runs.
The boat, a large flat lighter, is fastened diagonally to the pulley,
and the force of the current carries it across. It usually stops about
twenty feet from the shore, and is hauled in the rest of the way by
a rope thrown out from the landing. Once across, we scrambled up
a steep and rough bank of loose pebbles and sand to a little ledge
some thirty feet up the mountain-side, where there were four or five
miserable bamboo and thatch huts. These, although their thresh-
olds were on a level with the road, were thirty feet from the
ground at the back, and supported on rickety bamboo poles. The
floors Avere of split bamboo with cracks through Avhicli one's foot
mioht easily slip. In these huts were sold various drinks and some
dirty food for those whom hunger compelled to eat there. In front
of them were great heaps of boxes and bales on their Avay to the
interior. This is the terminus of the high-road to Bogota, a city
that now claims over one hundred thousand inhabitants.
Of course, our trunks had not gotten across after all, and when
they were finally over, the mules had not arrived, and when the
mules came, we were two hours in loading. Whilst waiting here,
we took a poor breakfast to fortify ourselves for the road ahead of
us. In the trees just at the landing I saw several large flocks of
the orange-chinned parrakeets.
Our trunks were lashed Avith ropes of raw hide, one on each side
of the little mules, and smaller parcels were put between. If the
trunks did not balance, the lighter one was made heavier by tying
stones to it. The mules have no other harness than a pair of
piUow-like pads, which are furnished with both breast-straps and
breeching. When all are loaded, they are started off by the drivers,
or " arrieros," who follow on foot, keep the herd moving, and drive
in the stragglers. The arrieros keep up a continual whooping and
whistling, so that the mules may know that they are close behind,
applying to them a choice selection of epithets, — " animalito,"
" mula del diabolo," etc. The loads are continually slipping, and
when they slip must be rearranged at once. The arrieros are very
THE MVLE liOAD AND GUADUAS. 87
dexterous at this. They throw their ponclio over the mule's head,
to bhiidfohl it, and it stands perfectly quiet until the poncho is
removed. They go along at a jjretty good rate, but it is pitiful
to see the little creatures staggering under tv»o enormous pack-
ing-boxes as large as themselves. Often, when they get a chance
I'ACK-MULE WITH TKCKKS AND SLEEPING-MATS.
to stop, they lie down at once, and then cannot rise without the
help of the arriero, who is certain to add blows to his aid. At
numbers of places along the road w^e saw bones where the poor
animals had died on the way. In this manner all freight is carried
to and froni Bogota. We met a great many trains on their way
down to the river. Some came unloaded, to carry back freight, but
the greater part brought down bales of hides or bags of coffee.
We finally mounted and started off shortly after eleven, leaving
the baggage to follow on. Alice and I rode horses ; the rest were
mounted on mules. The saddle, bridle, etc., are spoken of collec-
tively in Spanish as " la montura." Our saddles had large horns,
and were furnished with breast-straps as w^ell as with both crupper
88
A FLYING TRIP TO THE TBOPICS.
and breeching. The bridles and bits were very heavy, the stirrups
of brass and shaped hke a Turkish shpper. The men, when riding,
wear enormous spurs and a kind of leggings called " zamorras,"
something like the baggy rubber leggings used among us. They
are made of canvas, rubber-cloth, or of leather, and are buckled
together at the waist, thus forming a pair of trousers without a
seat. Some that I saw were made of puma-skins. They are so
voluminous that they completely cover the rider's feet, and when
he dismounts they look like an awkward skirt and interfere with
ADJUSTINC; LOAD ON PACK-MULE.
his walking. (See page 97.) For the first two miles the road,
ascending slowly, ran along the river to the south over what was
once the besinninof of a railroad. The embankments had washed
away in many places, the cuts had caved in, and at one spot we
THE MULE ROAD AND GUADUAS. 89
passed a dilapidated old locomotive rotting away, with weeds orow-
ing over the hoiler. This road was to have reached Bogota, but
the funds gave out with the first two miles. At the end of this
we turned in abruptly to our left and began a steep ascent, zig-
zagging in and out of the gulley-like ravines that ran down to the
river. When near the crest of the first ridge, the road ran over
a rocky surface which seemed to me impassable. It sloped up at
an angle of about forty-five degrees, but the feet of the mules had
worn little pocket-like steps in the stone, and our animals went up
without a slip. At the top we went through a narrow gorge, then
along over comparatively level ground for a short distance, then up
and through a second gorge so narrow that my stirrups scraped the
sides, and down and across a rough valley several miles wide. This
valley was hot and dry, but in the centre we crossed quite a large
stream flowing to the south, and on the farther side we followed up
the partly dry bed of another watercourse until we struck the foot
of the first heavy range. Here the worst part of the road began.
All travelers in Colombia, from the time of Humboldt to the
present day, have commented upon this road from Honda to Bogotii,
and all agree in calling it superlatively bad ; but none have done
it justice. In my limited experience I had been over some of the
worst roads in the western part of North Carolina and in West
Virginia, and I could not conceive that roads could be worse, but
they are pleasant drives compared to this. I am powerless to de-
scribe it, and the photographs which I took on my return trip give
no idea of the steepness of the road, since I had to point my camera
either uphill or downhill, and thus the perspective of the slope
was lost. In former times this road had been paved with blocks of
stone, some of them as large as pillows. This pavement was in some
places intact, but in a great many places it had been destroyed. To
get a faint idea of the unpaved portion, conceive the dried-up bed
of a rocky stream, filled with stones from the size of a barrel down,
placed upon a hillside with a slope as steep as a roof. The paved
parts were even worse on account of the slippery foothold that they
90
A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
afforded our animals. On the opposite page is an alleged view of a
portion of this road, hut I will venture to say that the artist was
never in Colombia, or never saw even a photograph of this road.
PORTION OF PAVED ROAD TO BOGOTA.
I have introduced it simply to show what is the generally accepted
idea of South American roads. The cut on page 241 of Mr. Wil-
liam E. Curtis's work, on " The Capitals of Spanish America," is
much more like the true state of the case. The road Avent up the
*^^^^^.
"J^»,
^$:
ROAD TO BOGOTA.
(By permission of Bureau of American Republics.)
92 A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
almost perpendicular crests of the foothills, zigzagging back and
forth at every ten yards, the pavement being built in steps up which
the poor mules toiled. After about three hours' climbing, we
stopped for rest at Las Cruces, a mud and thatch inn on the right
of the road. We found the air here decidedly cooler. Here I got
some good oranges, and some green cocoanuts which were not nearly
so good as those that we had found at Barranquilla. The country
through which we had passed to this point was parched and in some
places almost barren, being covered with a coarse grass and cactus ;
but farther on we struck the forest, and found little cool streams
crossing the road, and everything was fresher. I saw in the valley
many beautiful butterflies (some morphos especially being of large
size and brilliant color), a few humming-birds, and several flocks of
the blue-rumped parrakeets. After about three quarters of an hour's
rest, we started again, and found the road growing steadily steeper
and worse, and shortly after four o'clock we stopped at a second
inn, Consuelo (consolation), where we concluded to spend the
nio'ht. We were still half an hour from the summit, with the worst
of the road ahead of us ; but although we had traveled only five
hours, we all felt somewhat used up, partly on account of the heat
and partly because of the roughness of the road. The view from
this place was magnificent. We were up between five and six
thousand feet, and could see across the valley of the Magdalena
to the distant range of the Cauca. We found the air and water
much cooler, and needed blankets at night. Alice and I were given
a little room in which were two wooden frames with cowhides
stretched over them for beds. These we found to be swarming
with fleas, bedbugs, and a kind of flying roach an inch and a half
long, so we spent a wakeful night, tormented by bites. The rest
of our party were given cots in the main room.
The landlord, Don Clemente Mejija, kept a blank book, by way
of hotel register, in which his various guests had indulged in their
fondness for poetry by writing, above their names, verses in praise
of the host and of his hospitality, or by giving vent to the emotions
THE MULE ROAD AND GUADUAS.
93
inspired by the sublimity and beauty of the view of the distant
mountani ranges.
In the yard in rear of the liouse was chained a long-tailed mon-
key, black with a white face, and there was also a cage of dull col-
ored thrushes, marked somewhat like a newly fledged robin, but not
quite so large. Don Clemente had a tame troupial which was
allowed perfect liberty, but which came from the forest when
called.
On the road we passed many peons bent under heavy loads of
^^^^^^^^^■HHlnik ' mJtIEmb^^^^^^^^Pw
i
-•>
•?
w-\
.„ ^;^%
:iFtM
1^. V •^.. ^~*''*%^^H
ON THE ROAD TO orADUAS.
over one hundred pounds, the weight being supported partly on
their shoulders and partly by a strap passed across their foreheads.
It was clear and hot.
Monday, July 4, 1892. We were up early this morning. As I
was feeling worse, we decided to go on only as far as the next town,
94
A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
Giiaduas, and stop there, but as Lindauer was going- to push ahead,
he said good-by to us, and hurried on. We had a light breakfast,
and started off about eight. Ahce was very nervous about the
road, and walked a good part of the way to the summit and down
the other side. We reached the crest about nine, going up some
places worse than a staircase, and just before reaching the top,
through a deep and
crooked gorge not
wide enouo^h for
two animals to pass.
I saw here the use
of the brass slip-
per-shaped stirrups.
In turning sharp
angles, my feet
were often pressed
against the stones
at my sides, and
without these stir-
rups the barefooted
riders would have
their feet injured.
We rode along the
ridge for a few
yards, and then be-
gan the descent.
At one place the crest was barely ten feet wide, and fell off abruptly
on each side for several hundred feet. From this point the view
was grand. Through the clouds across to the west we caught
glimpses of the perpetual snow on the Peak of Tolima and the snow
fields of the Paramo del Ruis. To our left, to the southeast, lay
Guaduas in the valley below us. It looked very near, but we were
two and a half hours in reaching it. We went obliquely down the
side of the mountain, and found the road not so bad as on the other
" A DEEP AND CROOKED GORGE."
THE MULE ROAD AND GUADUAS.
95
side except at one place near the foot of the descent, where it ran
over a hard stone lying in strata, which sloped in the same direction
as the surface of the soil, so it was like riding- along on a roof with
no foothold for our animals.
Alice, in her nervousness from loss of sleep and from thinking
about the road ahead of us, had not eaten anything before leaving
Consuelo, and was now feeling faint from hunger, so we stopped at
an inn at the foot of the mountain, and tried to get something to
eat. I asked in succession for eggs, bread, coffee, plantains, rice,
etc., until I had exhausted my vocabulary, but received the same
ROADSIDE INN NEAR GUADUAS.
answer to all my requests, " No hay " (there is none), so we had to
push on.
From this point for about two miles the road ran o\ev compara-
tively level ground, crossing two little streams on the way. The
land was cultivated in places, and there were on either side of the
road a number of little huts surrounded by small groves of orange-
96
A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
PLAZA AND CATHEDRAL AT GTJADUAS.
trees, coffee plants, and plantains. As we entered the town, the
road became a narrow paved street with a gutter of running water
in the centre, and just as the land began to rise to meet the second
range of mountains, we came out into the principal square, the Plaza
de la Constitucion. This was a large paved square with a fountain
in the centre. On the eastern side was the cathedral, and on the
three remaining sides were various stores and public buildings, the
greater part of them of two stories in height. About the centre of
the row of houses on the northern side was the only hotel in the
place. It Avas of two stories, facing the plaza, the lower front rooms
being used as a store, and the one large room above as the recep-
tion or sitting-room. Back of this was a square courtyard, and
farther back a second. The rear of the house overhung a swift
running brook. The entrance was through a narrow passageway
THE MULE ROAD AND GUADUAS.
97
which was paved with small brown and hlack cobblestones arranged
in a very gracefnl arabesque pattern. This opened into the first
court, whence a staircase led up to the second floor. All of the
back rooms on the lower floor were used as storerooms and stables,
and above were the bedrooms. The dining-room was in the portion
separating the two courts. It was with a sensation of great relief
that we rode in through the passageway and dismounted. Upon
OUR HOTEL AT fiUADUAS. FROM THE PLAZA.
asking for the proprietor, we found that he and his wife had gone
oft' to take a bath in some stream near the town, and they did not
return until towards sundown. There was an entire lack of system
and order in the house, and things seemed just to run themselves,
but after a while we managed to get some rooms, and in about an
hour and a half we had some eggs and coffee. Our rooms were
perfectly plain, and with no other furniture than canvas cots. After
trying to rest awhile, Cabell and I went out for a short walk to look
around. We saw a good many birds, flycatchers, swallows, turkey-
98
A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
buzzards, black vultures, anis, and flocks of the little blue-rumped
parrakeets. Some of the swallows that Ave saw were somewhat like
our purple martin, a little smaller and not so brightly colored, and
they had their nests under the curved tiles of the roofs.
The town is larger than Honda and is spread out over compar-
atively level ground. The houses are of the usual type, though
many are roofed with tiles instead of thatch. Everything seemed
dull and sleepy except the cathedral. During our stay some trav-
eling missionaries
were visitino- the
place, and the church
^^^^ bells were jangling
from morning till
nioht, and
were
crowds
in and
out all day long.
The valley is fertile
and the clmiate de-
lightful, the temper-
ature far cooler than
at Honda, and blank-
ets are needed at
night. Guaduas is
said to be about
3,400 feet above the
sea.
I was struck with
the o-reat numbers of
women of the poorer
class suffering from
goitre. Hardly one in five of the middle-aged women was free from
it, and many of the men were also sufferers. Some have attributed
this disease to the drinking of water from melted snow of the snow-
clad peaks, but hardly within a week's journey of Guaduas could
GOITRK.
THE MULE ROAD AND GUADUAS. 99
such water be found. Others have attributed it to Hving at high
altitudes, but there are many people living in higher regions than
Guaduas who are not affected. In Guaduas I foinul that the women
were more affected than the men, especially the women of the
laboring class. The carrying of heavy burdens partly supported
bv a band passing across the forehead necessitates a tension in the
muscles of the neck and throat which may have some influence in
producing the enlargement. So accustomed to it are the people
here that (I was told) they even regard the goitre as a mark of per-
fection, and those who do not have it are considered as departing
from the normal.
I also saw many children Avith some of the nails missing from
their toes, and was told that this was caused by neglecting to pick
out the " chigoes," or " nigoes," as they are sometimes called.
These little vermin burrow under the nail and deposit their eggs
in a sac. This can be easily picked out with a needle, but if
neglected until the eggs hatch they produce ugly sores, sometimes
attended by loss of the nail.
When the proprietor finally returned, to our surprise we found
that he was a Virginian, a Mr. David Bain, who had been out in
Colombia for over twenty years, and who boasted of being even
more indolent than the natives. Upon learning that Ave also were
Virginians, he did all in his power to make us more comfortable,
and gave Alice and myself the room over the entrance, Avhich had
the advantage of having a AvindoAv facing on the plaza. The hotel
was once a private dwelling, and must have belonged to a person of
relatively considerable Avealth. The floors Avere paved with a large
coarse tile, as thick as our brick, but about ten inches square.
These Avere warped, and had Avide cracks betAveen them which Avere
strongholds for innumerable fleas. In going over the house, I no-
ticed at one place, Avhere the plaster had fallen off, that the laths,
Avhich were of split reeds, Avere fastened to the joists by being tied
Avitli a slender A^ine, and not nailed as ours are.
At night, as I Avas feeling no better, I found the doctor of the
100
A FLYIXG TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
place, who gave me a prescription of ipecac, chalk, and opium.
The night was cool, and we would have rested well except for the
multitude of fleas that fairly devoured us. We spent a wakeful
night and were fearfully bitten.
Tuesday, July 5, 1892. I was worse this morning, having
slight symptoms of dysentery, so sent again for the doctor, who
gave me some calomel, after which I kept on the bed all day and
spent the time reading a Spanish edition of the " Scientific Ameri-
can." In the afternoon Cabell went out with his gun, and later
returned with some birds, among which were six large humming-
birds, all of the same species, but different from any that we had
met so far. They were
large, the males brilliant
green above, the throat
and breast black with an
edging of deep blue, the
tail a rich purple bronze,
a white downy puff on
the belly, and a white
speck back of the eye.
The female was similar,
but below was white with
a black band down the
centre of the throat and
breast [Lamporms nicjricoUls). These he had found feeding on
the scarlet blossoms of a lara^'e tree near the town. He also brouii'ht
in a green-naped pigeon, like the one that I had killed on the river,
and a woodpecker about the size of our yellow-bellied, but colored
somewhat like the red-bellied. Its head, throat, and below were
ash-buff, the centre of the belly and back of the head washed with
red, back closely barred with black and white, wings and two cen-
tral tail-feathers black and white, remaining tail-feathers black with
white tips, and rump white {Cenhirus tei^rlcolor).
It was clear and warm.
LAMPOKNIS VIOLICAUDA.
(From Elliot.)
J GKeulemarLS del.
EUPSYCHORTYX LEUCOTIS , Cn„J^l
^Mr. It e - e ar eoL Partri dg e .
MTrcterruBros. Chromo litK.Londor
Bancroft Librar/
THE MULE ROAD AND GUADUAS. 101
Wednesday, July 6, 1892. I felt a little better, but was still
unable to eat anything, and stayed in bed all day.
Thursday, July 7, 1892. I felt worse in the morning and sent
again for the doctor, but was told that he had gone away the day be-
fore and would be back in " about a week." I was feeling pretty
blue over this news when my brother came in to say that an English
gentleman stopping in the hotel, a Mr. George Child from Bogota,
on his way to Honda, learning of my sickness and of the fact that
there was now no doctor in the town, had kindly offered me a rem-
edy which he had with him, " chlorodyne." Within ten minutes
after taking the first dose I began to feel better, and from this point
I recovered rapidly. Cabell made some l)eef tea for me later in the
day, which was very strengthening. In the afternoon he went out
with his gun for a little while and returned with quite a collection
of birds. Among them were a pair of cardinals, an ani like the
one killed in Barranquilla, and a hawk rather smaller than our
Cooper's hawk, beak horn-blue and black, eyes, feet, cere, and skin of
face yellow, above plumbeous, the tail black barred, the rump white
with black bars, the primaries chestnut, black barred, under coverts
finely marked with chestnut arroAvs, below plumbeous turning to'
rusty, breast and belly closely barred, the bars growing smaller
towards the vent, and thighs closely barred with rusty [Rupornls
magnirostr'is). The natives called this a " garrapatero," or tick-
eater, but they apply the same name to the milvago and to the anis.
He also brought back a tanager of the usual size, and with a beak
much like that of our summer redbird, uniform blue-black with
white shoulders and under wing-coverts { Tuchyphonus 7nelaleucus),
a little ground dove, a blue-rumped parrakeet, and a pair of par-
tridges, both males, about the size and shape of our " bob- white."
Their back, wings, and tail were very like those of our bird, top of
head huffy and black, with a recurved crest of clay-colored feathers,
chin, forehead, and ear-coverts whitish, throat, stripe above eye, and
malar stripe rufous, breast mottled black, white, and rufous, the
rufous prevailing on the lower breast (£!((j)f/si/chortt/x leucotis).
102 A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
Towards evening I was feeling very much better, so I went in to
the supper-table, though I confined myself to beef tea. I enjoyed
conversation with Mr. Child, as he was well informed about the
country. Whilst we were at the table, Mr. Millican, that energetic
collector of orchids, came into the hotel. He was just on his way
to Honda with a consignment of plants, which he was going to ship
to Enofland, and then return at once to his collectina;-oTound.
About eleven o'clock that night I heard quite an uproar, and upon
inquiry found that he had unfortunately uttered some criticism
about the hotel, which reached the ears of the landlady, and she
was so incensed that she immediately turned him and his servant
out into the street, driving out his mules, and throwing their sad-
dles out of the door after them.
It was clear and hot during the day, but delightfully cool at
night. The fleas, however, entirely prevented our sleeping.
Friday, July 8, 1892. I felt much better, but still stayed in or
near the hotel the greater part of the day, and confined myself to a
beef -tea diet. At breakfast I thought that I would try a soft-boiled
Q:^^ ; but when I cracked it into my plate, it was not done, so I
thought then that I would have it scrambled ; and, to hurry it up,
I took it out to the kitchen myself. When I had explained what I
wanted to the cook, — a dirty old Indian, — she took my plate and
scooped up the half-done egg in her hand, and transferred it thus
to her pan ; so I changed my mind about wanting egg after all.
Speaking of this reminds me that in Guaduas, and in other places
in Colombia, they call scrambled eggs " pericos," which means,
literally, little parrots ; but why they are thus called I could not
find out. The kitchen of our hotel was peculiar. It was a large
room, without fireplace, stove, or chimney. Along two sides ran a
built-up ledge of stone, much like the hearth in a country black-
smith's shop. On this all the cooking was done, a dozen little fires
being built at intervals. All of the earthenware utensils made
in the country have round bottoms and no legs, so they cannot
be made of themselves to stand upright, but three round cobble-
THE MULE ROAD AND GUADUAS.
103
stones must be placed around the fire, and the vessel placed on
them.
I thought it best to have my drinking-water boiled whilst I was
sick, so purchased an earthenware jar for the purpose ; but I had
great trouble in the matter. At one time, as soon as the water
boiled it was taken by the servants to wash dishes ; at another time,
when I asked about it, the cook, to see how hot the water was, put
her hand into it.
I was also occupied for a portion of the day in trying to destroy
MARKKT IN PLAZA AT GUADUAS.
some of the fleas in our room. I purchased a pound of crystallized
carbolic acid, with which I made a strong solution, and scrubbed
the floor with a broom, being careful to let the liquid run into the
cracks ; but at night we were bitten as severely as before. Every
104
A FLYING TFiIP TO THE TROPICS.
morning our white blankets were found full of them. They creep
into the wool as they would were it growing on an animal's back.
The few dogs that I saw around Guaduas were abject-looking
creatures, and appeared as if life w^ere a burden to them. The
most of them were hairless. They are not only devoured by fleas,
II
1
11
M
^
ito
^ .\
m
F
F - -mS^^^m '
M
aUHj
V •
^»M
wSI^^^
A PACK-OX AT GUADUAS.
but there are other vermin which burrow under the skin, like the
" wolf " in our rabbit. Cattle suffer in the same way, and we saw
some mules and horses with one ear gone, due to the attack of some
insect.
This was market-day, and the plaza was crowded. I walked
around to see what was going on, and to take some views with my
camera. There was the usual assortment of fruits and vegetables
for sale in the market, and nothing remarkable except that at one
place I saw unborn pigs exposed for sale. This, I thought, was
THE ROAD MULE AND GUADUAS.
105
rather getting ahead of us in our dish, sucking pig. Salt, of which
the government has the monopoly, was Aveighed out in little scales
as carefully as a druggist weighs his medicines. The duty on salt
is about three and a half cents per pound, and in Guaduas it was
sold at ten cents per pound. Beef is very good here, and cattle
are butchered every morning. The hides, which are exported in
large quantities, are prepared by simply stretching them out with
pegs over the ground, hair side down, but clear by about ten inches.
When dry, they are folded up into squares about the size of a coffee-
sack, and then tied up into bales.
A good deal of the produce from the neighborhood was brought
in on the backs of bullocks. They are said to be even more
sure-footed than the mules, though slower. Such things as fruit,
vegetables, earthenware vessels, etc., are put into purse-like bags
of a coarse netting, and then loaded on the pack-animal. (See
page 88.)
In the afternoon Cabell went out with his gun, and later Alice
and I went out a short ways to meet him
on his return. He had been to some flow-
ering trees near a coffee plantation along
the road, and })rouglit back eleven hum-
ming-birds of eight different species. They
were, first, a pair of the large black-
throats (Lampornis nUjrlcoUls). Sec-
ond, a pair, male and female, but slightly
smaller ; the male green above and below,
with broad, black tail-feathers and con-
spicuous white plume-like under tail-co-
verts ; the female Avas similar, but had
more gray in the green below {Ilijimrop-
tila huffoni). Third, a pair, golden bronze
above with a greenish tinge, the central
tail-feathers the same ; the others chestnut, Avith purplish bronze
and white tips, below gray, with a darker patch on the throat
HYPUROPTILA BITFFONI.
(From EUiut.)
106
A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
DAMOPHILA JULIA.
(From Elliot.)
(young of CkrysoktTnjns moschitics). Fourth, a rufous-tailed hum-
ming-bird, like those that we had gotten on the river (Amazilia
fuscicaudatu). Fifth, similar to the last, but tail blue-black and
forehead dirty blue {Ainazllia ci/anifrons). Sixth, small, brilliant
emerald green above and below, and tail blue-
black [ChJorostilhon angusti2:)ennis). Sev-
enth, similar in size and shape to the last, but
tail different, and belly very deep metallic
blue {Damojihila jiilia). Eighth, very mi-
nute, greenish above, white collar and flanks,
below rufous, tail chestnut, Avitli dark green
subterminal bar and a few metallic amethyst
feathers in a dusky throat (young of Aces-
trura heliodori). The total length of this
last was just two and a quarter inches. He also shot an owl about
the size of our short-eared owl, but Avith long ears, the plumage
more rusty than that of our long-eared owl and the feet more bare
{Bubo mexicanus). This he had found roosting in some thick
coffee plants.
At night two friends of Mr. Bain came in and gave us some
excellent music. They played on two instruments shaped like
guitars, but both strung with four double strings like a mandolin.
The smallest, which Avas very small, was called a " tiple ; " the
other, about the size of a guitar, was called a " bandola." The
performers excel in keeping time.
I saw to-day a new fruit, a " badea." It was the size and shaj^e
of a small pumpkin, and when cut open its flesh made the resem-
blance stronger. In the cavity inside were many seeds, each one
surrounded by a pleasantly acid pulp, and this was the part that
was eaten. There are pomegranates in Guaduas ; but they do not
come to the same perfection as at other places. I also saw here for
the first time another fruit, of which I had heard so much, and
expected to find delicious, the " granadilla," or little pomegranate,
and to my surprise recognized an old friend, the " may pop " of
THE MULE ROAD AND GUADUAS.
107
our Southern States, the fruit of the common passion-flower, which
is so abundant in our corn-iiekis in the early fall. It owes its
Spanish name to the fact that, like the pomegranate, the portion
that is eaten is the pulp around the seeds. It was my experience
to be greatly disappointed in the fruits of the tropics ; but as this
disappointment was only in those fruits which I had never before
tasted, it may be that in time my taste would have been educated
up to the point of liking them. The oranges, jiine-apples, and
bananas Avere incom-
parably superior to any
that we get, and I be-
came in time very fond
of the nispero ; but
after once tastino- the
mango I had an aver-
sion to it amoantino' to
disgust, and were I to
describe the fl.avors of
the many other fruits
that I tried, I would
say that they varied
from that of a pump-
kin to that of our paw-
paw. There being no
frost in this climate, some plants which regularly die every winter
with us, grow here indefinitely. Such are the Pahna chrisfi, or
castor-oil plant, which becomes a fair-sized tree, and cotton. I saw
several cotton plants which might almost be called small trees ;
however, the bolls were very small, and produced an inferior cotton.
The principal forage for horses and mules is young sugar-cane,
which is choj^ped up with a machete into little pieces of an inch in
length. The animals are very fond of it ; and it seems to suit
them, for, notwithstanding their hard labor, they all look sleek and
in o()od condition.
TIKEI) OUT.
108
A FLYING TBIP TO THE TROPICS.
Saturday, July 3, 1892. Cabell, Alice, and myself were up early
this morning, and, after having some eggs and coffee, went back
along the Honda road for about a mile to a coffee plantation, a
place called " Tuscola," where we had obtained permission to shoot,
and where Cabell had found the humming-birds on the day before.
When we reached the place, we found on the roadside a tree in
bloom, and around this some humming-birds were feeding. The
first one that I saw and shot proved to be a new one, but in poor
plumage. It had a long, curved beak, the lower mandible yellow.
Above it was dull green ; be-
low dusky, mark above eye
and ear coverts black ; a Avhit-
ish superciliary streak. The
two central tail-feathers were
prolonged and pointed, their
tips white and bases dusky
{Phcetliorn is su2:)erclUosus).
From here we went up into
the plantation, which we found
grown up into a perfect jun-
gle. It consisted of coffee,
orange, and cocoa trees planted together ; but they were all shaded
by large forest-trees, and interwoven so thickly as to be almost im-
penetrable. We found a cool, shady spot near a little trickling
spring, and Alice arranged herself comfortably with a book, whilst
we hunted around within fifty yards. As we drew near some trees
with a white, fringy blossom, we could see humming-birds darting
about among them, and could hear their humming and buzzing at
quite a distance. The first one that I shot was a perfect gem, —
by far the prettiest that we had yet seen, — a male, ruby and topaz
[Clirysolamjns moschitus), in perfect plumage. Its body was
brownish green ; tail rich chestnut ; head above ruby ; gorget
brilliant, golden yellow. Later, I killed two young males, similar
to those that Cabell had shot the day before, but having a few
PH^THORNIS SUPERCILIOSUS.
(From Elliot.)
THE MULE BOAD AND GUADUAS.
109
CHltYSOLAMPIS MOSCHITUS.
(Froiii Elliot.;
ruby feathers on the crown and a few topaz ones on the throat.
Thong-h we saw great numbers of hnniniino-birds, we had to select
our shots carefully, for if one
fell in the thick underbrush,
it was a hopeless task to
look for it. We found that
we had either to wait until
they were over an open space
or else shoot them immedi-
ately overhead, so that they
woidd drop at our feet, and
even then we lost a good many.
A third new kind that I
killed was a small bird, green above, green and white below^, chin,
spot back of eye, and flanks white, and gorget amethyst. Its tail
was peculiar, black, and forked, the two outer feathers on each side
being reduced almost to a bare stem [Acestrura inidsanti).
In the grove we picked some of the most delicious oranges that
I ever tasted. We started back to the hotel shortly after ten o'clock,
and on our w^ay stopped to fish in the little stream that we crossed.
We used grasshoppers for bait, and in a few minutes caught a half
dozen small fish, shad-like in general
shape, but with the fleshy dorsal fin of
a trout. Their jaws were also much
heavier than those of a shad, and in
the lower jaw in front were a pair of
strong and sharp teeth {Chdravln s'j).).
We broke the only hook that we had
with us, so had to stop fishing.
In the afternoon Cabell and myself
returned to the coft'ee plantation, and
got seven or eight humming-birds. It was close cloudy at this
time, and the light under the trees was barely more than twilight,
so we lost more of the lunnming-lnrds than we got. I myself lost '
ACESTRrUA MULSVNTI.
(From Elliot.)
110
A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
nine. We got in all to-day twenty-one, among which were five
males of the ruby and topaz, all in fine plumage. In the morning
I saw flying over high in the air a pair of fork-tailed flycatchers
[Jllh'uhis tyrannus) ; but they kept on out of sight without light-
ing. We saw a small flock of partridges ; but although we ran
at once to the spot where they lit, we did not succeed in flushing a
sinofle one.
I noticed all through the coffee plantation a number of little
beaten paths, from two to three inches wide, and perfectly cleaned
of all grass, leaves, twigs, and even small gravel. They looked like
the impressions left on a grass lawn when a piece of timber that has
been lying on the grass for six months or more is taken up. A
peculiarity of these paths was that even when they passed for
several yards over
.''T^£' IW*1M1 the out -cropping
stone, they could
still be plainly
traced, for the lich-
ens and dust had
been cleaned off un-
til it looked as if an
attempt had been
made to polish the
stone, and the path
was liohter colored
than the adjacent surface. I was wondering what animal had
made these, when I came upon one in use. Thousands of ants were
hurrying along in opposite directions, those going in one direction
being empty handed (or rather, empty jawed), each one of the oth-
ers carrying held up edgewise a piece of leaf, approximately circu-
lar in outline, and about the size of one's finger-nail. The ants
were a little smaller than our large black wood-ant. They were the
leaf-cuttino- ant, described by Bates in his " Naturalist on the Ama-
SAUBA OK LEAF-CARHYING ANT. 1. WORKER-MINOR;
2. WORKER-MAJOR ; O. SUBTERRANEAN-WORKER.
(From "Tlie Naturalist on the Amazon.")
THE MULE ROAD AND GUADUAS.
Ill
zon." I later found their hill. It was about a foot in height, but
certanily twenty feet in circumference. There were numerous en-
trances, and their highways radiated in every direction. I followed
one for about half a mile. The leaves came mainly from the cott'ee
plants.
An interesting plant here is the guadua [Guadua kit i folia), from
which the place derives its name. This is what I have spoken of as
the bamboo. It grows in graceful feathery clumps and reaches a
large size. I saw some nearly fifty feet in height and as thick as a
man's thigh. It sprouts up like an asparagus plant, that is, shoots up
a large, club-like growth which does not put out leaves or branches
until it reaches a good height. It has a hundred uses ; many uten-
sils and vessels are made of the joints, and it is one of the most
universal building and fencing materials. The smaller ones make
good fishing-poles.
At the supper-table we met the first ill-mannered person whom
we had thus far encountered in Colombia, and I am ashamed to have
to admit that he was an American drummer.
We spent another wakeful night tormented by the fleas. It was
clear and warm in the morning, but close cloudy in the afternoon.
Sunday, July 10, 1892. Ahce,
Cabell, and myself went out again
early this morning to the same
place to which we had gone the
day before, but we came back
soon. We got twelve humming-
birds, but there were no new ones
among them. They were divided
among the following species : five
emerald green ones {ChIo7'ostil-
hon angustipennis), two of the
small emerald o-reen and blue ones
{DamophUa juJia), one of the smallest kind [Acestrura heliodorl),
one with an amethyst gorget (Acestritra midsanti), two young ruby
JAGUAH SKULL.
112
A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
and topaz, and one of the large black-tliroated ones {Lamporn's
nUjricoUls).
In the afternoon we were bnsy getting our things together, as Ave
ly. The climate of
concluded to start back on the following dii
Guaduas is delightful, and the place promises well, but Alice is get-
ting worn out by loss of sleep and by poor food. I arranged about
our mules and two peons to accompany us and bring the mules
back. Our specimens so filled a trunk now that I had to purchase
another pataca. In the little shop where I bought the pataca, I saw
several deerskins, apparently of just the same color as our Virginia
deer, the fawns being likewise spotted, and the skull of a young
jaguar that had been killed not very far from Guaduas. The shop-
THE MULE ROAD AND GUADUAS.
113
keeper, seeing that I was interested in it, insisted njion making me
a present of it. The native name for jaguar is " tigre." They are
said to be especially abundant in some portions of the Magdalena
Valley. They are heavier and more stocky than a leopard, but
otherwise are much like that animal. There are also many pumas
in Colombia, and I saw numbers of their skins. Mr. Bain wore a
handsome pair of zamorras made from a pair of puma-skins which
had come from near the snow line of the Paramo del Ruis. The
natives call the i)uma " tigre Colorado," red tiger, or sometimes
" leon," lion.
The religious ceremonies which had been going on all during our
stay culminated late in the afternoon with a procession around
the plaza. Some really pretty arches were erected at the four
RELIGIOUS PROCESSION AT GUADUAS.
114 A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
corners of the square and covered with pahns and flowers. The
procession was formed on the steps of the cathedral and filed
slowly around under the arches, halting- at each one whilst one of
the priests delivered a brief sermon. The column was headed by
four musicians, these were followed by several priests, then came the
communicants, little girls from five to ten years old and of all
colors. They were dressed mainly in white, some with little gauze
wings, as if to represent fairies at a fancy dress ball, and all wore
flowers in the hair. Their mothers marched on either side, all
dressed in black with a black shawl over their heads, and bearino- a
candle. After the girls came the little boys carrying small banners,
and then came groups of men bearing on their shoulders j^latf orms
with wax figures of the Virgin, Saint Joseph, and other saints. The
Virgin wore a crown and dress like those worn by Queen Anne.
One of the saints was dressed like Charles the First. The houses
facing the procession were made gay by flags and lace curtains
draped over the balconies.
During our stay in Guaduas several detachments of soldiers
passed through the town escorting government stores from the river
to Bogota. They usually rested a day in the town, and spent their
time whilst there sitting in the shade of some doorway and playing
cards on a poncho spread on the ground. They were armed with
Remington rifles, but apparently knew nothing of keeping their
weapons in order, for such of their pieces as I examined looked as
if sandpaper and fat pork were the cleaning materials.
I approached a jDarty playing cards on the hotel stairs, and pick-
ing up a cartridge-belt examined the cartridges. The bullets had
all been drawn, the powder sold, and the bullets then put back. In
some cases the bullet had been lost, but a wooden plug answered
every purpose.
CHAPTER VI.
BACK TO BARRANQUILLA.
Monday, July 11, 1892. We were up very early, but owing to
the usual delays did not get oH: until half past seven. Mr. Bain
insisted upon accompany-
ing us for a portion of the
way. Besides our riding
mules, we had three bao--
gage mules, so we made
quite a train.
The air was
fresh and
cool, and we
DISMOUNTED ONLY FOH THE BAD PORTION ABOVE CONSUELO."
passed without trouble the bad spots in the road, so reached the
summit in ofood time. Alice was more accustomed to the road
by this time, so she dismounted only for the bad portion above
116 A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
Consuelo. I carried my camera under my arm, and took various
views as we went alonp-. It was with feelino-s of resret that I
took the last hackward look at Guaduas, as we turned to go over
the crest. Before us stretched a magnificent view. The valley
beneath us was filled with clouds, but above them we saw the glit-
tering snow of Tolima and of the Paramo del Ruis. I tried several
views from this point Avith my camera, but much to my disappoint-
ment, when the plates were developed, the blue sky and the white
peaks both came out white, and there was no contrast between the
two.
At Consuelo we said good-by to Mr. Bain, and waved an acknow-
ledgment to Don Clemente's " feliz viaje." We traveled along com-
fortably as far as Las Cruces, where we stopped for breakfast and to
rest. For about twenty-five cents w^e got some bread, rice, and
eggs, all nicely cooked, and some of the most delicious coffee that
I ever tasted. From this point, as we descended, the heat increased
until it became almost unbearable ; however, as we wished to reach
Honda before night, we had to push on, as the ferry stopped run-
ning at six. The distance from Guaduas to Honda is some sixteen
miles, and we were traveling for about seven and a half hours.
The latter part of the road was made doubly disagreeable by thick
clouds of a suffocating dust in which our mules sank to their ankles
at every step. We had no drinking water along the road, and all
suffered from heat more or less. After an irritating delay at the
ferry we finally got across, and about five o'clock I w^as relieved by
once more reaching in safety Mr. Bowden's welcome hotel. Mr.
Child, who had preceded us from Guaduas by several days, had
engaged good rooms for us, so we were soon comfortably fixed.
After supper Cabell and myself took a short walk through the town,
and I purchased for fifty cents a very pretty tiger-cat's skin.
Shortly after passing Las Cruces, as we were riding along through
a parched bit of scrubby woods, I heard a loud rustling noise as if a
high wind were approaching ; but in a short while I discovered that
the noise was made by an immense swarm of grasshop23ers creeping
BACK TO BARRANQUILLA. 117
and lioj^ping" over the dry leaves. They were of comparatively large
size, yellow with a black stripe down the back, and were wingless,
that is, their wings were not yet developed. The noise that they
made could be heard at least one hundred yards. I have heard in
Florida a similar noise made by multitudes of fiddler crabs runninji^
over the dry marshes, but the noise of these grasshoppers was
greater.
At another point on the road Ave passed a man who was carrying
with him a half dozen game-cocks. These were arranged in a pecul-
iar way, so as to be carried without injury. Each was furnished
with a pair of trousers of cotton cloth into the legs of which its
legs were thrust. The part corresponding to the seat was brought
up and buttoned over the back, securing the wings, and on the back
a looj) was sewn by which the cocks were suspended from the sad-
dle. They were thus carried in a natural position without chafing
and without being able to strike at one another. It was clear and
hot.
Tuesday, July 12, 1892. We stayed around the hotel in the
morning, and later went for a short walk through the town, calling
on our way upon Mr. Hallam. As Ave came back I bought for five
dollars at a saddler's shop a very large and handsome jaguar-skin.
Late in the afternoon Cabell and I took our g-uns and went out
about tAvo miles on the table-land in rear of the toAvn. We saAv
very fcAv birds. The land is hot and dry, Avith scanty vegetation,
and promises little. On our way out an iguana about three feet
long ran across the street just in front of us, and scrambled up
amonof some vines on an old stone Avail. Cabell shot a rufous
ground dove {ColumhUjalllna riifipennh) of the same kind as the
one that we obtained in Barranquilla. We saw some partridges,
kingfishers {C. amazona), flycatchers, anis, and some very small
finches, but hardly anything else. We saw several small SAvarms
of the same kind of grasshoppers that we had seen on the day
before. The anis Avere feeding on them. There are some beauti-
fully colored grasshoppers in Colombia. One that I saw several
118 A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
times was an almost metallic green with bright scarlet eyes, legs,
and bead-like markings, looldng like a jeweler's design in emeralds
and rubies.
In the neighborhood of Honda there is an upright cactus which
is used for hedges and fences, but which differs from the one used
for that purpose in Curagao. The latter is approximately circular
in cross section, but the former is star-shaped, that is, it has a small
circular core but wide radiating flanges, thus being very rigid and
at the same time lioht. Near Honda I also saw a cactus much like
the prickly pear, but its lobes were perfectly smooth and devoid of
thorns. It was clear and intensely hot.
Wednesday, July 13, 1892. We stayed around the hotel the
greater part of the day, and did nothing in particular. In the af-
ternoon, Cabell and myself walked down to the river and watched
a man fish for a while, but he caught nothing. We saw in an
Indian's hut a domesticated bird called a " guacharaca." It was
about as large as our ruffed grouse, but had much longer tail,
legs, and neck, and a little head like a turkey's. Its plumage was
dark without distinctive markings, and it had a slight gular pouch.
This was an immature bird. The name " guacharaca," given to
this bird from its call, recalls at once the Mexican bird similarly
named, the " chachalaca." It was clear and hot.
Thursday, July 14, 1892. Cabell and myself went out about
six this morning to the place where we went on Tuesday. We had
hardly reajched the spot when we saw several fork-tailed flycatchers
[Milmilus tyrannus), and I shot a pair, male and female. Their
bodies are about the size and color of that of our kingbird, light
gray above, the head blackish with a concealed yellow patch. Their
flight is so graceful that they seem to float through the air. They
perch on the tops of small bushes, just as our kingbird does. A
little later Cabell shot a new dove, a male, about the size of our
Carolina dove, but with a short tail, reddish, the under tail-coverts
reddish, and two blue-black streaks on each side of the head {Ze-
naida ruficauda, Bonaparte). He also shot a pair of the little
BACK TO BARRANQUILLA.
119
FOKK-TAILED FLYCATCHER (mILVULUS TYKANNUS).
gi'ouiid cloves, and later I killed a second one of the rufous-tailed
doves, also a male. We saw a covey of eio^lit partridges; but
although we ran in upon them at once, we flushed but one and did
not get it. We were much troubled to-day by a sort of nettle which
120 A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
is very abundant here. It has large leaves covered with a multitude
of hair-like thorns, which prick at the least touch and produce a
burning pain Avhich lasts for some time, and, to say the least, is very
disagreeable. The heat soon became so oppressive that shortly after
eisrht we turned back and reached the hotel about nine. After
breakfast I skinned the birds, and the remainder of the day we
spent around the hotel. An Indian boy brought to the hotel for
sale a fresh fish of the same kind as the small ones that we had
caught at Guaduas, but this one was about four pounds in weight.
It had been caught in the river in front of the town.
We received some letters to-day, the first that had reached us
since our departure. It was clear and hot.
Friday, July 15, 1892. We stayed around the hotel all day, saw
about our tickets for the steamer America that was to go down the
river next day, and got together our baggage. At Mr. Hallam's
we had the pleasure of meeting the captain of our boat. Captain
Bradford. This gentleman, a Georgian by birth, a graduate of the
Naval Academy, and an officer of our navy, left the service of the
United States to side with the Confederacy at the outbreak of
the late civil war, and upon its termination settled in Colombia,
where for the last twenty-five years he has run upon the Magdalena
River. He is a gentleman of the old school, and we found in
him at all times that courteousness which is so delightful, but which
we now, unfortunately, so rarely meet. I should advise any future
travelers on the Magdalena to make inquiries as to Avlien the
America will go up or down, and, if possible, take passage on her.
It was clear and intensely hot.
Saturday, July 16, 1892. We were up early this morning, and
soon had our trunks packed, after which Cabell and I went out to
get the tickets which we had engaged the day before. The fare
for the down trip, owing to the shorter time required, is only two
thirds of the fare up. We saw a very large iguana in one of the
trees overhanoino- the Guali at the old bridsfe. In the same tree
I saw a new bird, a woodpecker about the size of our red-headed
BACK TO BARRANQUILLA. 121
woodpecker, but with its colors distributed like those of Lewis's
woodpecker. Its general color was a dark sage-green, its cheeks
white, the back of its head red. I did not see its under parts. This
bird I have not yet been able to identify [Chloronerpes sp.).
We had our breakfast about half past eleven, and afterwards
went down to the station to take the train which was to leave at
one. We reached the station about twelve minutes ahead of time ;
but the agent had gone off to his breakfast, and the conductor
positively refused to allow me to put my baggage on board. I tried
every argument, offered him money, represented to him that we had
purchased our tickets for the steamer which was to sail at three
o'clock, and that there was no other train until the next day, but
my trouble was for nothing. At last I was so incensed that I did
what I should have done at the outset, that is, I began to put the
baggage on board myself ; but one of the loafing officials, seeing
that I had nearly everything on, gave the signal to start, and the
train pulled out about three minutes ahead of time. I hardly knew
what to do ; but as Alice and Cabell were on board, I jumped on
also, and called out to some one on the platform to look after the
trunks that were left. We were an hour and a half in reachinsf
Yeguas, and by that time I had cooled down a little. From here I
telegraphed back to Honda, and finally got orders for the engine
to return for my trunks, and Captain Bradford secured permission
to hold his boat for me. I went back with the enoine and flat car
in thirty-two minutes, and returned in twenty-nine. The road was
so rickety that I was in constant dread that Ave would jump the
track. For this special engine I had to pay thirty-five dollars in
paper.
As soon as I reached Yeguas our trunks were put on board, and
the steamer started. We went up the river first for about a quar-
ter of a mile, then turned and came down, running with the cur-
rent like an express train. Captain Bradford had selected very
comfortable staterooms for us, and did everything in his power to
make our trip a pleasant one. The America is one of the mail
122 A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
steamers, and is ran on quite a different plan from the Enrique.
We made very few stops, and did not take on wood until we tied
up for the night. Just after sunset we tied up, and as soon as the
gang-plank was put out, Cabell and I hurried ashore. Within
twenty yards of the landing Cabell shot a large hawk which dropped
in a thicket near by, and as he ran to pick it up a large bird sailed
out of the forest, and lit in the tree over his head. He fired at it,
and it spread its wings and glided down to the ground about fifty
yards off, where one of the little Indian boys with us ran and
brought it back. Darkness comes on almost instantaneously here,
for in the minute or two that had elapsed since the hawk was shot,
it had become so dark that we had to give up the search for it, and
return to the boat. We found Captain Bradford anxious on our
account, fearing that we would be snake-bitten. When I came to
examine the bird that the little Indian had jjicked up, I found it to
be something new and very curious. It was of the whippoorwill
family, but very large, measuring twenty-one inches in length by
forty-two in extent. Its mouth, which was not provided with bristles,
was so large that I easily put a moderate-sized orange in it. Its eyes
were very large and dark, the soles of its feet broad and flat like the
palm of a hand. Its upper mandible had a tooth-like projection on
each side, and fitted over the lower. Its tail was large and rounded,
and, like the rest of its plumage, was beautifully mottled with gray
and black. Its back was rusty in places and its shoulders were
dark brown {JVf/ctib'ms grandis). I skinned it the following morn-
ing. It was a female, and had been feeding on large black beetles.
It was larger than a short-eared owl.
I bought at this place a very prettily marked tiger-cat's skin,
quite fresh, and saw several peccary-skins and a portion of tlie skin
of a tapir. I was told that there were two species of tapir found
near here, one in the river valley and another on the mountains.
Above Yeguas I saw the same kinds of sparrow-hawks and ru-
fous-winged buzzards that I had seen when here two weeks ago.
Below Yeguas I saw many blue and yellow, and blue and scarlet
BACK TO BABRANQUILLA.
123
macaws, parrots, hawks, and cocoi herons. For nearly a mile the
steamer passed through an immense swarm of grasshoppers. They
almost darkened the air, and actually bent down the bushes upon
which they settled. They were of the same kind as those that we
had seen at Honda, but were fully grown.
I had been told that no alligators were found above Yeguas, but
when I went back on the engine for our trunks I saw several large
ones within a couple of miles of Honda.
At night Ave Avere not troubled with moscpiitoes, but made the
acquaintance of a new insect pest, the " egen." This is a minute
fly that causes a blood-blister the size of a pin's head to rise
on the skin. It does not itch, so is not as irritating as the bite of
a mosquito, but leaves a mark that lasts for a week or more.
It was clear and very hot.
Sunday, July 17, 1892. We started at early dawn, made very
few stops during the day, and ran along rapidly. The river was
GKAND POOTOO (NYf'TIBIUS ORANDIs).
124 A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
much lower than when we came up. We saw quantities of aUi-
gators, and shot at them many times. We struck a number, but
killed very few. Cabell killed a tremendous one, and we wished
very much that we could have gotten it. It was fully 250 yards
distant, and he killed it with the 32 Winchester after firino- four shots
at it. Captain Bradford, who is an excellent shot, joined us in the
shooting. He used a 44-calibre Remington, which was much more
effective than the light Winchester. About noon we made a short
stop at Puerto Berrio. I hurried ashore with my gun, and in a
few moments shot a new toucan. It was similar in size and colora-
tion to the one killed by Mr. Lindauer on the up trip. The beak
of this one, however, was plain, not serrate, and was chocolate-
brown, almost black below, greenish yellow on top, becoming pure
yellow at the tip. The skin of its face was a bright lemon-green,
feet lead-blue. The colors of the plumage were like those of the
first one, except that the rump was white [Ramphastos amhifjims).
This was a male, and was one of a large scattered flock.
We did not tie up for the night until it was too late to go ashore.
I saw during the day some capybaras, two kinds of macaws, some
guacharacas, and four kinds of toucans, the three of which we have
obtained specimens and a fourth whose under parts seemed largely
red.
The steward bought for the table a large turtle, or rather terrapin.
It had a smooth shell, a uniformly colored skin, a sharp pointed and
snake-like head with the eyes much nearer the tip of the nose than
in our river terrapins. The poor reptile was secured by having its
feet sewn together. It was clear and hot and rained at night.
Monday, July 18, 1892. We started very early, and made a good
day's run, passing Bodega Central, Puerto Nacional, and other
places, but made no stop long enough to go ashore for birds.
We shot a great many times at alligators. I saw several iguanas
at the mouth of the river Lebrija. At Puerto Nacional there was
one on the river's bank, and getting between it and the trees, I
made an attempt to catch it ; but without the slightest hesitation
BACK TO BAh'llANQUILLA.
125
KING VULTURE.
(From " Riverside Natural History," by permission of Houghton, Mifflin & Co.)
it dived boldly into the water, and swam off beneath the surface as
easily as a frog. We saw several small bands of monkeys in the
trees as we passed along. After we had tied up for the night, the
mosquitoes became very troublesome. It was clear and hot.
Tuesday, July 19, 1892. We passed Banco early in the morn-
ing, and later the mouth of the Cauca, soon after which we made
a short stop at Magangue. The water was now too low for us to
get into Mompos. I saw during the day several herds of capybaras.
126 A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
Before I got up, Cabell had seen a king vulture, and later in the
day I saw a pair perched in a low dead tree growing in a marsh.
At the distance that I saw them, they looked black and white with
red heads. I also saw another new bird, apparently an ibis, very
large, snowy white plumage with black head and legs {Mi/cteria
americana). I saw large flocks of black and white ducks of two
or three kinds, wood ibises, blackish ones, like those that we shot at
Barranquilla, roseate sjDOonbills, white egrets, snowy herons, cocoi
herons, the black and white terns, some small sand snipe, large
plover, three kinds of kingfishers, numbers of the screamers, cara-
cara eagles, etc. Late in the afternoon we stopped for wood, and
Cabell and myself hurried ashore, but in a few minutes a drenching
rain fell, and before we could run back to the boat we were soaked.
Cabell shot a very large hawk, probably a young caracara eagle, as
it had the same large bluish white beak with pinkish colorations
along the side of the head. It was in wretched plumage, and stunk
so intolerably of carrion that we did not bring it on board. It was
of a dirty dark brownish color above, with a great many narrow
brown and white bars on the tail. In the same tree in which the
hawk was sitting there were three large iguanas. They seem very
abundant along the river here.
The boat ran all night. Just about dusk, as we were running
close to the shore, a large yellowish owl flopped out from some
scrubby bushes and flew off from the river. With the exception of
the rain in the afternoon, it was clear and hot.
Wednesday, July 20, 1892. When we woke at daybreak this
morning, our boat was just making fast to the wharf at Barran-
quilla. We dressed quickly, got off our baggage, and drove around
to Miss Hoare's, where we were given very nice rooms. After we had
taken some coffee, Alice rested whilst Cabell and I walked around
to the market. I bought two more jaguar-skins, — not such large
ones as the one I had gotten at Honda, — and paid for them seven
dollars and fifty cents in paper. I saw in the market an Indian
with a macaw of a kind that I had not seen so far. It was large,
BACK TO BARBANQUILLA.
127
with scarlet and yellow the prevailing colors, the wings being largely
yellow {Ara macao). I was told that it had been caught near
Barranquilla.
Later on it grew so hot that we returned to the hotel, and sat
around in the shade until about four o'clock, when we went out for
%
3it«»
CATHEDRAL AT KAKKANt^UILLA.
a long drive through the town. It covers a good deal of space, but
except the cathedral and one or two buildings near by, there are
no houses of any architectural pretensions. The majority of the
dwellinghouses are of mud and bamboo, thatched with rushes. In
some the mud is whitewashed, or is plastered smooth with lime, so
that from the street they appear solidly built of brick. One house
128
A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
of some pretension was unique. Between each window was a large
panel in the wall, and these panels were decorated with paintings or
frescoes horribly executed, the figures of life-size and gaudily col-
ored. In one of the panels was the " Angelus." In the evening
we called on Captain Bradford. It Avas clear and hot.
In the courtyard of our hotel there was a little armadillo which
had been bought at the market here. Its body was about the size
' Vr^'- K A h
NINE-BANDED ARMADILLO (tATUSIA NOVEMCINCTA).
of a rabbit's, but its head was longer and smaller, and its tail long
and thick at the liase. Its scales did not overlap, nor were they
separate, but were like those on the under parts of an alligator. Its
eyes were very small (Tahinla novemchicta).
BACK TO BARRANQUILLA. 129
Thursday, July 21, 1892. Cabell and I had arranc^ed for a man
to come and take us out in a boat early this mornino-, so we mi<>-ht
get some waterfowl ; but although we were ready by five o'clock,
he failed to appear. About seven we walked around to the market,
where, after considerable inquiry, we managed to find a man and a
boy, who took us out in a large dug-out. We started about half
past seven, and went through a large ditch or canal, which ran
across a marshy tract for over a mile, until it opened into the
Magdalena. Here we turned up-stream, and hugged the shore
closely so that our boat could be poled along. On our way in the
canal we came across the badly decomposed body of a very large
alligator, in whose jaws a few teeth yet remained, which our boat-
man pulled out for us. As we turned a bend in the canal, we saw
coming towards us a boat-load of natives transporting cattle in a
most curious way. The boat was a huge dug-out, but was so nar-
row that four or five bullocks would have filled it, so the boatmen
had devised a peculiar plan. They had lashed across the boat, at
equal distances apart, three long poles that projected like out-rig-
gers ten feet or more on either side. These poles were probably
about a foot above the surface of the water. The cattle were
driven into the water until they were swimming, and then their
horns were lashed firmly to the poles. For each pole there were
eight bullocks, — fo^^u* on a side, making twenty-four in all. The
boat was poled along by the crew, the cattle swimming, and the
poles keeping their heads above water, so that they could not
drown.
We had hardly left the canal when I shot, on a mud flat, a small
grayish heron. It was smaller than our green heron, but quite
similar in coloration, the top of its head dark ; its back and wings
the same greenish gray, with lighter edgings to the feathers ; the
neck light and streaked below {Butorides cyanurus). This bird
was unfortunately stolen by a cat at the hotel before I had skinned
it. At this same spot I saw standing, on a strip of mud by a pool
in the marsh, one of the white-winged jaganas that are so common
130 A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
here. I sliot and killed it, and tlien directed the little Indian with
us to bring it. He started for it ; but before he could reach it a
small alligator darted out of the pool, grabbed the bird, and
returned to the water with it. I ran up at this, and frightened the
" caymancito " so that he dropped the jagana, but rose to the
surface, and, with his eyes just on a level with the water, watched
me closely. Cabell now came up with the rifle, and I took good
aim at a distance of some ten feet, and blazed away. The alligator
turned over on his back, and sunk in about eighteen inches of
water. I waded in, and secured both it and the bird. The alliga-
tor was stone dead ; yet, though I examined it closely a dozen times,
I could never detect the slightest scratch upon it. It was probably
killed by the concussion, as blood oozed from its throat.
The jagana had a yellowish orange beak, a scarlet frontal shield
and lobes at the side of its mouth. It had a yellow, thorn-like spur
on the inner side of each wing at the wrist-joint. Its general color
above and below was black, with greenish and purplish reflections ;
its primaries and secondaries pale, greenish white, with narrow,
blackish edgings ; its legs and feet olive {Ja(;ana n'ujra). When I
came to skin this bird, I found that, although it much resembles a
coot, it is very easily skinned, whilst it is almost an impossibility to
get the skin of a coot's neck to pass over the head. Later in the
day I saw others that were whitish below. They were probably
young. The one that I killed was a female. At this place I saw a
slender clay-colored snake ; but it ran under some driftwood before
I could kill it. A little farther up the river I shot at a purple gal-
linule, and crippled it, but did not get it. Cabell got a snap shot
at a small alligator, but missed, and later he shot one of the terns
that we had seen so often. It was a large bird, a male in poor
plumage, grayish above ; tail short and forked, dark grayish ; wings
white, primaries black, below white, crown black, beak yellow,
feet the color of yellowish green oil paint [Phaetlmsa magniros-
tris). Farther up the river, where an opening offered, we went
ashore. Here we found among the underbrush a number of small
jLAOK JACANA (JACANA NIGRA).
132
A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
wliippoorwills, and Cabell shot two, both females. They were much
smaller than ours, had bristles along the gape, their tails were
sHghtly forked, and marked like that of our night-hawk, except
rusty instead of gray. Above they were mottled with rufous and
black [Stenopsis rujicervlx). Here, also, we got several long shots
at some cormorants, but failed to get any. They seemed to be of a
uniform grayish color. The boatman called them " pato cuervo,"
crow-duck.
I saw at least three species of ducks, but could not identify any
"^J^UC^Cjcfyt
MURINE OPOSSUM (DIDELPHYS MURINUS).
of them. When we returned to the boat we concluded to cross the
river, so we hoisted a coarse sail of bagging, and were soon across,
although the river here is very wide. As we passed under some
BACK TO BARRANQUILLA. 138
willow-like bushes overliaiiging the water, I saw in one of them a
large mud ball, about the size of a man's head. Cabell pulled it
down, and found it to be a nest of some kind. It had a little hole
in one side, and was lined with strips of bark. In it he found what
I thought at first was a rat ; but a glance at the thumb on the fore
paws showed it to be a 'possum. It was smaller than a rat, yellow-
ish brown above, paler beneath, with a black stripe on each side of
its head, from its nose to its ear, embracing the eye {D'tdeljjhys
Diurinus). It was a female, I think, and had no pouch that I could
discover ; but its teats were arranged in a circle at the lower part
of its belly. At this place we saw a number of large alligators,
but got no shots at them, as they were all swimming. We went
ashore here, and I shot one of the smallest-sized kingfishers [Ceryle
americana). It w^as just a miniature of the one that we got on
our way up the river, glossy green above, white below, a white
collar, and a chestnut-red belt. This was a male. The female
which I saw was without the belt. We saw numbers of iauanas
and of the large brown hooded lizards. The latter were called
" lobos," or wolves, by our boatmen.
It had now become too hot to remain out longer, so we turned
back, and reached the market about eleven. On our way we passed
several dug-outs loaded almost to the water's edge with mangoes,
which are eaten here in great quantities. We saw birds too numer-
ous to mention : great flocks of parrakeets, numbers of kites, herons,
ducks, etc.
In the market we found some men skinning a manati, which they
had just harpooned in the river. It was upon its back, and was
half skinned, so I could not get a good look at it. It was about
seven feet long and as thick through as a small horse. Its color
was that of a hippopotamus, its skin very thick with a few coarse
hairs, its flesh like coarse beef in appearance and covered with heavy
blubber. Its tail was flat and fan-shaped, with no divisions, and not
so pointed as in the figure given. Its fore flippers were like long
paddles and smooth, but when skinned, the different bones were
IM
A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
THE MANATI.
(FromT'. S. Fisli Commission Report.)
easily seen. Its lips were thick and fleshy, and well covered with
stiff hairs. I promised the man a reward if he would bring me the
skull, but he failed to do so. When we reached the hotel we had
breakfast, after which I skinned the birds and the 'possum.
We had intended to leave for La Guayra by the French steamer,
and take the Red " D " Line from that place on the 30th, but for-
tunately for us, the Royal Mail Steamer, the Derwent, was in port,
and would leave for Curagao on the next day, so we concluded to go
there instead, especially as we heard bad accounts of the state of
affairs in Venezuela due to the revolution.
Late in the afternoon we went for a drive, and upon our return
BACK TO BABRANQUILLA. 135
Alice began to feel badly, and spent a sleepless night, troubled with
a high fever and severe headache. It was clear and very hot.
Friday, July 22, 1892. Just as soon as possible after daybreak,
I secured a doctor, who found Alice suffering from malaria, and pre-
scribed quinine. Cabell and I sjjent the morning in packing, and
at one o'clock left our hotel for the station. Our train left shortly
before two, and we reached Puerto Colombia in about an hour.
We noticed a great change in the country since we first went over
the road. Everything now was dry and dusty, where there were
pools and lakes before. We saw at one j^lace a lot of large plover,
and some stilts that waded about in water up to their bodies. The
ride down was extremely hot, and was very trying to Alice, who had
a slight chill when we reached the wharf. We had to wait over an
hour for the tug, which finally came and carried us out to the Der-
went. Captain Buckler gave us very good staterooms, and I got
the ship's doctor to prescribe for Alice as soon as possible.
The steamer started about five, and in a few minutes I had to
give in to seasickness. Cabell, however, kept well.
It was clear and hot.
CHAPTER VII.
CURACAO AGAIN.
Saturday, July 23, 1892. This morning at daybreak we had a
magnificent view of the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta. I could
not believe at first that the immense snowy masses that apparently
towered above us could be anything else but clouds. They appeared
to rise abruptly from the seashore, but in reality they are some thirty
miles inland. The highest peak is over 16,000 feet above the level
of the sea. As the sun rose, clouds began to gather, and soon
blotted out from our sight the last portions of the Colombian
coast. Alice was feeling better at night, though still sufl^ering from
headache. I was seasick all day, so sat around and confined myself
to a diet of toast and ginger ale. There was a perfect menagerie
on board, belonging to the officers and crew : a tiger cat, a peccary,
two monkeys, a red and white squirrel, a pair of thick-billed
euphonias, and about twenty macaws, parrots, and parrakeets. The
tiger cat, which was of the same species as those of which we pur-
chased the skins on the Magdalena, was taller and slightly larger
than our wild-cat, and very prettily marked.
It was clear and hot.
Sunday, July 24, 1892. Early this morning we passed on our
right the island of Aruba. It is similar in appearance to Curagao,
which place we sighted about noon. We finally entered the har-
bor of Santa Ana between four and five. I went ashore as soon
as possible, and secured some good rooms at the Hotel Commercio ;
then returned, got together our baggage, and we left the ship.
We had a large, bright room through which the trade wind blew
CURAgAO AGAIN. 137
steadily, and we found it delightfully cool, and enjoyed a good
night's rest.
It was clear and hot.
Monday, July 25, 1892. We stayed in or near the hotel the
greater part of the day, and did nothing in particular. We
secured staterooms on the Venezuela, which was expected on the
28th. After breakfast Cabell and I took a short walk. A negro
fishing on the wharf near the old fort gave me a very beautiful
fish. It was about the size and somewhat of the shape of a large
sun perch, black, with bright yellow stripes, and a brilliant blue
line just below the eye. Each of the black scales had a little silvery
crescent at the tip (gen. Pomacantlius).
About four o'clock Alice and I went for a short drive to the
southeast of the town. We found splendid roads and everything
looking fresher and greener than when we were here last. The
houses and streets were certainly very clean and prettily kept. I
noticed at one place a gang of convicts sweeping the streets. They
wore the ball and chain, but were not dressed in the striped clothes
that our convicts sometimes wear. Instead, they wore a white coat
with one red sleeve and one blue sleeve, and the legs of their
trousers were of different colors.
Houses, even those in the outskirts and far into the country, are
solidly built as a general rule, but we saw a few little wattle and
thatch huts which looked quite picturescpie.
I saw flying over the harbor a flock of five brown pelicans, and
some medium-sized terns, gray, both above and below, with black
crowns.
It was clear and warm.
Tuesday, July 26, 1892. I woke about half past five, called
Cabell, and we took our guns, crossed the harbor, and Avent up over
the hill to the spot where we hunted when here before. We saw
the same species of birds that we had seen, and, in addition, some
others. I saw quantities of the little ground doves, the little dark
finches, the honey-creepers, and the chestnut-crowned yellow war-
138
A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
biers, of which I killed three, two males and a female. The female
had no chestnut on the head, and the sjDots on the breast were very
faint, almost wanting. I also saw quantities of the chestnut-col-
lared sparrows, and shot a male. As we were walking along the
road near the monastery, I saw a pair of partridges run through the
hedge in front of me, and by a snap shot I killed one, a male in
fine plumage. It was very similar to those that we had gotten in
Guaduas, perhaps smaller, and lighter colored generally, its throat,
chin, and forehead being buff without the rufous of the Guaduas
bird [Eu])sy chart yx C7^istatus). Cabell shot one of the mocking-
birds, which I found to be very similar to ours. This was a young
bird with speckled breast {Mimus (jilmis rostratus).
Upon one of the hills we came across a flock of seven or eight
large pigeons, the " ala blanca." They seemed to be large grayish
WATTLE HUT, CUKACAO.
CURACAO AGAIN. 139
birds, with a white streak in each wing-. Cabell got a long shot and
struck one, but failed to get it. They were very shy, and we got
no more shots at them. We also saw a number of doves or pigeons
of a smaller size, intermediate between this and the ground dove.
They were all flying at a distance and we got no shots. Later I
shot a sparrow-hawk, a female, marked like ours, above reddish
brown with black bars, its head bluish gray above with traces of
rusty on the scalp ; below whitish, streaked with brown, its thighs
whitish, cere and feet yellow, eyes brown, beak horn-blue, black at
the tip { Tlnnunculus sjicirverius hrevipetinis).
When we reached the tamarind-trees near the old convent, we
found them in bloom and perfectly swarming with humming-birds.
In a few minutes we got twenty-four ; but as there were but two
species among them, we killed no more. They were the ruby and
topaz [Chri/solamjils moschltus) and the small emerald green [Chlo-
rostilbon atala). We started back shortly after eight, and on the
way we flushed some more partridges, but failed to get any. We
found in a scrubby cactus the nest of one of the little dark-colored
finches. It was almost spherical, with a hole in one side, and con-
tained three eggs much like those of our field-sparrow. The ruby
and topaz humming-birds that we killed were in very poor plumage,
their bodies covered with undeveloped pin-feathers. We reached
the hotel about half past nine, and after breakfast Avorked for sev-
eral hours skinnino- our birds. In the afternoon we went for a
long drive, this time in a northerly direction and beyond the monas-
tery. Everything looked beautiful. The roads were well kept and
ran between high hedges of the club cactus. Notwithstanding the
mountains, there is a good deal of level land. In all of the little
valleys there are small embankments, or dams, built across at inter-
vals, — just as we make ice-ponds, — to catch any rain that may
fall, and let the water soak in instead of running off. I saw quan-
tities of the lizards that I saw when here before. It was cloudy
in the morning, and rained after breakfast, but held up before we
went out for our drive, so we found it very cool and pleasant.
140
A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
There are three or four papers published in Curagao, and one that
I came across was printed in the Papamiento dialect. After I had
read some of it, I did not wonder that I found it difiicult to under-
MOrNTAIN AT nURACAO.
stand. I give below an advertisement with the corresponding
Spanish, so that they may be compared : —
Plateria . . .
Caya Grandi.
E winkel aki ta ofrece na pu-
blico su sirbishi, garantizando
tur trabauw pa bon ejecucion i
bon ousto. Tambe tin di beende
un erran surtido di, etc.
Plateria.
Calle Grande.
El aqui a ofrecer al pu-
blico sus servicios, guarantizando
todo trabajo para buen ejecucion
y buen gusto. Tambien tiene y
viende un gran surtido de, etc.
In Papamiento the name Curagao is spelled Corsouw. It is a
CUEAgAO AGAIN. 141
phonetic derivation from Spanish with a mixture of Dutch (as in
the word winkel above), but in many cases there is an omission of
syllables, as, for instance, " tur lo ke ta " is in Spanish " todo lo
que esta." Whilst I am on the subject of languages, I am reminded
to say that in Colombia a good Spanish is generally spoken. There
are a few peculiarities that I noticed. The letter c is generally pro-
nounced as in English without the lisping tJt sound that I had been
taught was proper in Spain. The d in such words as lado, pescado,
Colorado, etc., is generally omitted in pronunciation, thus making
the word lao, pescao, etc. The letters h and v are interchanged in
a hopelessly confusing way ; h is in general pronounced c, but the
rule to the contrary is sometimes observed, as, for instance, the
word for twenty, veinte, I heard pronounced beinte. There are
some delicate shades of meaning expressed by uses of the aug-
mentative and diminutive terminations. Temprano means early,
tempranito means very early, or soon in the morning : " ^ Esta todo
arreglado?" means. Is all arranged, or ready? "^^Esta todito arre-
glado?" Is every single thing ready? The ordinary aj^pellation
for servants is hombre, in preference to mozo.
Wednesday, July 27, 1892. Cabell and myself went out early
this morning to the same place that we visited the day before.
When we reached the spot where Ave had seen the pigeons, I crept
up cautiously, got a long flying shot and killed one, a male. It
was a large bird, the size of a common pigeon, its beak light flesh-
color, the nostrils pinkish, eyes reddish, skin around them blue,
around this a circle of brown roughened skin lookinj^ like the sand-
j^aper on a match-box. It was of the usual dove-color, becoming
bluish on the rump, lighter below, the tail plain grayish with no
bars or marks, the scapulars brownish gray, a diagonal white band
from the wrist-joint to the scapulars, the primaries and secondaries
sepia with fine white edges. The feathers of its iris were j)rettily
marked ; each was something like a miniature turkey's feather ; a
narrow band of black at the tip, and above this a strip of metallic
color, giving the neck a barred appearance. The feet were large
142 A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
and of a deep pinkish red (Columha gymnoptliahna). A little
farther on Cabell shot an oriole similar to the one we had killed
at Barranquilla. It was the size of our Baltimore oriole, brilliant
yellow, its throat, chin, spot from eye to beak, tail, and wings black,
wing with a white bar and many feathers edged with white, some
of the tail-feathers white tipped [Icterus xanthornus curasoensls,
Ridgw.). This was the bird that our guide had called a troupial
when we were here before. A little later Cabell shot another, which
was also a male, but was dull olive-yellow, darker on the tail and
wings and lighter below. We also got another mocking-bird and a
honey-creeper like the one that we killed before, but having its
throat and supra-orbital stripe yellow.
From this place we crossed over to the seashore, where, on the
edge of some salt-pans, I shot a young male spotted sandpiper
{Actitis macular la). This was in the unspotted plumage, its breast
plain white. We saw very many humming-birds, but shot none, as
they were all of the same species as those that we had killed the day
before. We also saw in a mangrove swamp a pair of small herons, -
which I took to be our green heron, a number of the medium-sized
doves, a medium-sized tern, apparently jiure white, and a very small
one, white with a black crown. We reached the hotel before break-
fast, and afterwards skinned our birds. In the afternoon we went
for a long drive. I carried my camera and took a number of views.
We saw great numbers of humming-birds and ground doves, and
three partridges running along the road with their crests up. I
also saw several sparrow-hawks, and a hawk of much larger size
flying at a distance.
Donkeys are used a great deal around Curagao. We saw many
men and women riding them, the women sitting astride of the little
animals, with their big toes thrust in loops of cord which served as
stirrups. It was partially cloudy and cool.
Thursday, July 28, 1892. The Venezuela came in shortly after
daybreak this morning, so as soon as we Avere up we went over to
see our friends on board. After our return to the hotel I took my
^^r*-— ^
J S KeudemajTs del Miruter-ri. Bros . Chromo lith. London.,
ICTERUS XANTHORNUS CURASOENSIS,i^Tv.
Ciaracao Qpiole .
daikoroft Librasty
CURACAO AGAIN.
143
camera and went up to Fort Nassau on the hill hack of the town,
whence I took several views of the liarhor. I passed on my way
some tamarind-trees in hloom, around which were quantities of
humming'-hirds of the two species. I also saw numbers of the
chestnut-crowned yellow warblers, the honey-creepers, and the
ABORIGINES OF CURACAO.
mockino'-birds, and three sparrow-hawks. In the afternoon we went
for a long- drive to the southeast of the town. At a point on the
southern edge of the Lagoon we passed some large shallow salt-
water pools, where 1 saw wading about sand snipe of three different
sizes, but could recognize none of them. I also saw at a distance a
large hawk that flew like our marsh-hawk. I regret that we could
not stay here long enough to work up thoroughly the birds of the
island. In the course of our drive Ave passed many attractive-looking
IM
A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
country places surrounded hy cool groves of fruit and palm trees.
The nisperos were in perfection. Tliey mucli resemble a russet apple,
but are soft and jiulpy, with large flat seeds. The pulp is very
sweet, like unrefined sugar, and though I did not care for them at
first, I soon grew to like them. I also tried some cashews, or cachiis,
and found them not unpleasant, but my unfortunate curiosity led me
to bite into one of the kidney-shaped excrescences at the larger end.
Be warned by me, and if you ever have a cacliii, avoid the bean.
DONKEY TEAM. (;UKA<'AO.
Of all the most disgusting, acrid, bitter, burning, clinging tastes
this is the worst, and though I went no farther than to stick my
teeth into it, it was hours before I could rid myself of the taste,
even though I repeatedly rinsed my mouth with pure alcohol.
During our stay here we saw many fish in the harbor, but they
CURAgAO AGAIN. 145
did not seem to bite at all. Great numbers of a fish not much
laraer than a sardine are eauoht in cast nets. Some of them are
dried and sold thus, tied up in little bundles like cigars ( Trachuro'ps
t>p.). Very good food fish are caught outside. Among them I
noticed " el capitan," a fish much like our scup, about a pound and
a half in weight, and with red pectoral and ventral fins, and the
" king fish," eight or nine pounds in weight, a species of mack-
erel of a uniform dark color. Of the shellfish, I saw quantities of
sand fiddlers, a few crabs of larger size, deep mahogany red with
Avhite claws, and some large lobsters, much like ours but without
the two big claws and with very long antenucie. There are said to
be some rabbits on the island and a few snakes, but we saw none.
The natives here have a peculiar way of hitching two donkeys to
a cart. One is put between the shafts, whilst the other has no other
harness than a loop around its neck, one end of which is tied to the
nearest shaft. Oxen are not yoked as with us, but a cross-bar is
lashed to their horns, the weight thus coming just on their fore-
heads. It was clear and hot.
Friday, July 29, 1892. As the Venezuela was to leave in the
afternoon, we were busy all the morning, cleaning our guns and giv-
ing a final packing to our baggage. We finally went aboard about
two o'clock, but it was not until after six that we left the harbor
and headed for La Guayra. We had supper immediately after get-
ting outside, and when we came up on deck afterwards it had
grown dark, and the island of Curagao had faded from our view.
It was clear and hot.
Saturday, July 30, 1892. When I went out on deck this morn-
ing we were within a few miles of La Gur^yra. The view was beau-
tiful. The town lay on a narrow strip of land at the foot of a
mountain that rose abruptly from the sea until its top was hidden
from us by clouds. A few houses above the town were actually
built in niches which had been excavated to receive them. To oiu-
right we could trace by the cuttings the railroad winding its way up
to Caracas ; to our left lay the main portion of the town, above which
CUBAgAO AGAIN. 147
was seen the roof of the bull-fig-hting arena, and higher up on the
mountain-side a Uttle pill-box of a fort. There was a Venezuelan
man-of-war in the harbor, a dirty little steamer about the size of the
average steam yacht. We tied up alongside a strong-looking pier
and breakwater of concrete and iron, out upon which ran the tracks
of the railroad, a narrow-gauge road with English cars and locomo-
tives, the passenger coaches looking like a second-hand summer
street car. Shortly after we had tied up, Cabell and I took a short
walk up into the town. We found it indescribably filthy and bad
smelling, the stores dirty, narrow, dark, and overhung- with cob-
webs. There was an air of general stagnation of business, due no
doubt to the revolution then in progress. There is a fine stream
tumbling down the mountain through the centre of the town. It is
walled in on either side. We found the heat so oppressive that we
soon returned to the ship. On the wharf we were much interested
in seeing the fishermen come in. They go out to sea in little cockle-
shell dug-outs of a different design from those used at Barranquilla.
These are skiff -shaped, ride very high in the water with both ends
clear, and are painted. The fishermen squat on the bottom in the
middle of the boat, and, using a single-bladed paddle which they
change from side to side about every third stroke, they skim swiftly
over the water. They brought in some fine fish, some that I rec-
ognized, others that I did not. Among them were several fine red
snappers and Spanish mackerel ; some fish of the mackerel species,
about a yard long, with heavy teeth and of a uniform dark color
[Cero s]).); some perch-like fish with yellow longitudinal stripes
(PomacentriLS s^J.) ; a small brown fish very like our chogset, but
with circular dots of sky-blue all over its body {Ilanmilon sp.) ; a
few small flat fish, and an eel, broad and thin, brown with light
yellow dots, a wide opening mouth with vicious-looking teeth
(gen. Murcena). The water was marvelously clear, and looking over
from the pier Ave saw some of the most beautiful fish that I have
ever seen. There were some little fish marked with broad black
and yellow bars like a sheepshead, some fool-fish {Alutera s^j.), and
148
A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
some of the brilliant yellow and black ones like the one that I saw
in Curagao ; but the most beautiful of all was what the men on the
wharf called " loro," or parrot. As well as I could see, it was of
the same shape as the black and yellow ones, its head and neck a
vivid blue, its body light green, its tail a golden yellow, and its fins
tipped with pink (family Scar idee). We had some flying-fish for
RED SNAPPER.
breakfast on the steamer. They taste a little like smelts, but are
dry. Whilst we were watching the fish a frigate pelican hovered
over our heads for some time, coming at times within thirty yards
of us so that we had a good view of it. The small boys on the
wharf Avere catching great numbers of the little fish that were so
abundant at Curagao {Trachurojjs), We left La Guayra about
eleven o'clock, and headed north. The vessel ran steadily, and I
fortunately escaped seasickness. Before sunset we passed Los
Roques.
The rest of our trip was uneventful. The sea remained as quiet
as a mill-pond, and we made fine runs of nearly 340 miles per day.
Among the passengers we had the pleasure of meeting our consul
from Curagao, Captain L. B. Smith, a most agreeable gentleman,
whom I will always regret not having met during our stay on the
CURACAO AGAIN. 149
island. This oentleman told me that but a few days before he had
seen a barn-owl that was caught near the town (probably Strix
flammea bar get, Hartert). He also told me that on the island of
Bonaire there were many flamingoes. It is to his enterprise that
the town owes the drawbridge across the harbor, its ice-machine,
and othei" improvements. Since my visit he has sunk five artesian
wells upon his place. Planter's Rust, the combined production of
which is 87,000 gallons of water of excellent quality per day.
This will prove a godsend to the island, as only those who have
been there can form an idea of the great importance of this water
supply.
We made the Mona Passage on Sunday afternoon. On Tuesday
a turnstone flew around us several times and finally went off in the
direction of the Bermudas. On the following day a small warbler
lit on the upper deck among the life-boats, but I could not find it.
On Thursday we saw several schools of blackfish and a whale.
At sundoAvn Ave saw the Barnegat Light, and about eleven o'clock
we came to anchor off quarantine. At half past eight on Friday
morning, August 5, we landed in Brooklyn, and our trip was at an
end.
CHAPTER VIII.
RESULTS OF THE TRIP.
We had been gone from New York just fifty-four clays. In that
time we had been sixteen days on the ocean, twelve days on the
Mag'dalena, and three days on the mule road ; that is, we were trav-
eling thirty-one days. Exclusive of the shooting that we did
during the stops of the river steamer, Cabell and I had been out
together with our guns ten times, and he had been out three times
alone. We brought back 210 skins. I give below lists of the
birds that I observed in Colombia and in Curagao. Mr. Robert
Ridgway of the Smithsonian Institution has been kind enough to
identify the skins for me and also to assist me greatly in the prepa-
ration of the accompanying lists. The names of those birds identi-
fied beyond a doubt are printed in small capitals, whilst those which
are at all doubtful are printed in italics. References after notes
refer to colored plates of the bird.
BIRDS OBSERVED IN COLOMBIA, SOUTH AMERICA.
1. Phaethusa magnirostris (Light.). Large-billed Tern.
Abundant on the Magdalena from Barranquilla to above
Puerto Berrio. We often saw as many as a hundred standing
together on some of the low sand bars, and sometimes a dozen
or more would float by us on a piece of driftwood.
2. Anhinga anhinga (Linn.). Snake Bird.
I saw a dozen or more of these along the Magdalena, but
never more than two together. They were usually flying, but a
RESULTS OF THE TRIE. 151
few were seen peiclied on dead snags. And. B. of N. A. vol. G,
pi. 420.
3. riiahicrocorax vUjua ( Vie'tU.) ? Brazilian Cormorant.
A good many small cormorants were seen flying over the
marshes at Barranquilla, but as I did not get a specimen, 1
am doubtful about the identiiication. U. S. Astron. Exj^ed. to
Chili and Peru.
4. Pelecanus fuscus (Linn.). Brown Pelican.
These were the first Inrds that we saw as we approached our
anchorao'e oft" the Colombian coast. We saw laro-e flocks of
them around the seashore, but none in the interior. The Spanish
name is "alcatraz." Aud. B. of i\^. A. vol. 7, ppl. 423, 424.
5. Caikixa moschata (Linn.). Muscovy Duck.
These ducks Avere seen continually from Barrancpiilla to Avithin
a short distance of Yeguas, sometimes in enormous flocks. They
often lit in trees when first disturbed by the steamer. The
native name is " pato real," royal duck. I also saw ducks of
other species, but could not identify them ; among them two species
of Dendrocygna.
G. Ajaja ajaja (Linn.). Roseate Spoonbill.
We saw a few small flocks of these lovely birds at different
places along the river. The largest contained six individuals.
Aud. B. of JV. A. vol. G, pi. 3G2.
7. Phimosus infuscatus (Light.). Dusky Ibis.
Mr. Ridgway identifies my description of the two shot at
Barranquilla as belonging to this species. I failed to save their
skins. We saw a number at Barranquilla, but few higher up the
river. I saw some carrying sticks for nests on June 22.
8. Tantalus loculator (Linn.). Wood Ibis.
These were seen in great numbers along the river, especially
along the central portion. When suddenly disturbed they flew
off irregulai-ly in different directions, but when traveling they
kept together in strings. They usually flew with heavy wing-
beats, but I saw many soaring at a great height with motionless
wings. Aud. B. of J\\ A. vol. G, pi. 3G1.
152 A FLYING TBIP TO THE TROPICS.
9. MyCTERIA AMERICANA (LlNN.). Jabil'U.
I saw only two of these large birds, and tliey were on the
lower river. I thought that they were a species of ibis, as they
flew in just the same Avay, with their necks extended instead of
doubled back like the herons. Their plumage is snowy white ;
the beak, head, and legs black. The native name is " cabeza
negra," black head.
10. Ardea cocoi (Linn.). Cocoi Heron.
Seen abundantly at every point along the Magdalena. This
bird is very much like our great blue heron, but has more white
below, and the entire crown is black. The Spanish name for
heron is " garza."
11. Ardea egretta (Gmel.). White Egret.
I saw a great many of these birds along the river, though they
were by no means as abundant as the preceding species. We
sometimes saw them in small flocks, but rarely saw more than
two of the cocoi herons flying together. Aud. B. of N. A. vol.
6, pi. 370.
12. Ardea candidissima (Gmel.). Snowy Heron.
These beautiful little birds were by far the commonest of the
herons. We saw them continually, and at some places the muddy
edgfes of the river were lined with them. Towards nio-htfall
they flew overhead, going to their roosting-places in large flocks.
Aud. B. ofN. A. vol. 6, pi. 374.
13. Butorides cyanurus (Vieill.). Blue-tailed Heron.
I saw a good many of these in the marshes near Barranquilla,
and I shot one ; but unfortunately it was stolen by a cat before
I had skinned it. They are smaller than our green heron, but
similar.
M. loNORNis MARTINICA (LiNN.). Purple Gallinule.
I saw a few in the marshes at Barranquilla, and wounded one,
but failed to get it. Aud. B. of N. A. vol. 5, pi. 303.
15. HiMANTOPUS MEXiCANUS (MuLL.). Black-necked Stilt.
From the train I saw several pairs of these birds wading in
RESULTS OF THE TBIF. 153
some pools a few miles below Barraiiquilla. I saw them both in
June and in the latter part of July. Aud. B. of JSf. A. vol. G,
pi. 354.
16. Ja^axa nigra (Gmel.). Black Jagana.
These birds were abundant in the marshes around Barran-
quilla, especially where there were lily pads floating on the sur-
face of the water. They were very noisy, and often held their
wings up vertically, as some snipe do, as if stretching. I saw
some with their under parts lighter colored, probably young.
17. EupsYCHORTYX LEUCOTis (GouLi)). Wliitc-eared Partridge.
The two killed by my brother at Guaduas were identified by
JNIr. Ridgway as belonging to this species. We saw numbers of
partridges at Guaduas, at Honda, and at Barrancpiilla, but did
not succeed in getting others, so cannot tell if they were all of
the same species or not. We found it impossible to flush them a
second time ; and it so happened that whenever we got shots,
our guns were loaded with dust shot, so we failed to stop the
birds. At Barranquilla I heard partridges uttering the familiar
call " bob-white." Gould, Man. of Odoutoplionna'.
18. Stegnolama monfagnii (Uonaj^.)? " Guacharaca."
I saw one of these domesticated at Honda, and lower on the
river I saw a small flock in the edge of the forest. The identifi-
cation is from my meagre description, and therefore is very
doubtful.
19. Chauna derbiana (Gray). Colombian Screamer.
We saw a few of these birds on the lower Magdalena. They
were either perched in the tops of dead trees, or walking about
on the ground like turkeys. I saw a pair domesticated. They
kei)t Avith the poultry, and walked about in a very slow and dig-
nified manner. PI. 11, P. Z. S. 1861.
20. CoLUMBA RUFINA (Temm.). Grecu-naped Pigeon.
I shot a fine specimen on the INIagdalena, and my brother
killed a second one at Guaduas. These were the only ones that
I saw.
154 A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
21. Zenaida ruficauda (Bonap.). Rufous-tailed Dove.
We killed a couple of these doves at Honda, both of which
were males ; and we saw them frequently during our stay at that
place.
22. COLUMBIGALLINA PASSERINA (LiNN.). Gl'Oimd Dove.
We found this little dove common at Barranquilla, Honda,
and Guaduas. When running- along on the roads, they carry
their tails held up very prettily. Aud. B. of N. A. vol. 5, pi.
283.
23. COLUMBIGALLINA RUFIPENNIS (BoNAP.). RufoUS GrOUnd
Dove.
We saw a few of these at Barranquilla and at Honda. They
are not so abundant as the preceding species.
24. Gypagus papa (Linn.). King Vulture.
We saw three individuals on the Magdalena a short distance
above Barranquilla. They were all perched in dead trees, which
grew in overflowed marshes. Descourtilz, Orn. BresiUenne.
25. Cathaetes aura (Linn.). Turkey-buzzard.
Common at Barranquilla, Honda, and Guaduas, but not so
abundant as the following species. Aud. B. of N. A. vol. 1,
pi. 2.
26. Catharista atrata (Bartr.). Black Vulture.
Very abundant at every point that we visited in Colombia.
They collect in immense numbers around slaughter-houses, and
on sand bars in the river when they observe a fisherman cleaning
his catch. Aud. B. of N. A. vol. 1, pi. 3.
27. RosTRHAMus sociABiLis (ViEiLL.). Everglade Kite.
These Avere very abiuidant at Barranquilla, and flew about
over the marshes just as do our marsh-hawks. Baird, Cassin &
Lawrence, B. of N. A. pi. 65.
28. RUPORNIS MAGNIROSTRLS (GmeL.).
My brother killed one at Guaduas, wdiich was the only one
that I saw. The natives called it a " garrapatero," or tick-eater ;
but they apply this name to the milvago and also to the ani.
EESULTS OF THE TBI P. 155
29. Heterosphkiii merhliouaJis (Lath.) ? Rufous Buzzard.
Mr. Ridgway identities thus the large iiit'ous-winoed hawks
that I saw over the grassy meadows at Yeguas. Having nothing
but my description to go by, I have indicated the identification
as doubtfuL
30. Falco spari'ey'ius {Luiii.) ? Sparrow-hawk.
The remarks for the preceding species apply to this. Those
that I saw from the train above Yeguas were near enough to
distinguish the crescent marks on the head, and to all appear-
ances were the same as our species. Aud. JJ. of JV. A. vol. 1,
pi. 22.
31. Polyhorus cheriway (Jacq.) ? Audubon's Caracara.
This large carrion hawk I saw at a number of places along the
river, and on our down trip my brother shot a young one in poor
plumage ; but it stunk so from its last meal that I did not skin
it. Aud. JJ. ofjSr. A. vol. 1, pi. 4.
32. MiLVAGO CHiMACHiMA (ViEiLL.). " Cliimachima."
This carrion hawk was common around Barranquilla and at
other points higher up the river. They were noisy, and, whilst
utterino' their cries, held their heads back until it seemed that
they would topple over backwards.
33. Pandion hali^tus carolinensis (Gmel.). Fish-hawk.
I saw a few fish-hawks along the upper JNIagdalena. Aud. /A
ofN. A. vol. 1, pi. 15.
34. Bubo mexicanus (Gmel.). Striped Horned Owl.
My brother shot one that was roosting in some thick coffee
plants at Guaduas.
35. Ara ararauna (Lixn.). Blue and Yellow Macaw.
This Avas by far the commonest macaw seen, and was abundant
as far up the ^lagdalena as Yeguas, where the heavy forest
ended. Their discordant cries woke us in the mornings, and we
saw many of them fiying to roost just before sunset. I saAv a
partly fledged one at Mompos on June 25. Descourtilz, Orn.
BrtslL
156 A FLYING Tit IP TO THE TROPICS.
36. Ara MACAO (Linn.). Red and Yellow Macaw.
I saw in the market at Barranquilla an Indian with one of
these macaws, and was told that it had been caught a short dis-
tance up the river.
37. Ara chlovoptera {Gray)l Blue and Red Macaw.
I saw frequently along the river a large macaw, blue, green,
and scarlet, but without yelloAv on the wings. It may possibly be
of this species. The general name for macaw is " Guacamayo."
38. Ara severa (Linn.). Severe Macaw.
I saw but the two specimens which I shot on June 28.
Descourtilz, Orn. Bres'd.
39. CoNURUS ^RUGiNOSUS (LiNN.). Gray-faccd Parrakeet.
This parrakeet was extremely abundant around Barranquilla ;
but I did not see it higher up the river. Flocks flew over the
town in a steady stream about daybreak, and just before sunset.
40. Brotogerys jugularis (Deville). Orange-chinned Parrakeet.
I saw large flocks of this parrakeet all along the Magdalena
as high up as Honda.
41. PsiTTACULA CONSPICILLATA (Lafr.). Blue-rumped Parrakeet.
This little parrakeet I saw along the upper portion of the
Magdalena, in some cases associated with flocks of the preceding
species. They were common at Guaduas. They fly just like
English sparroAvs. PI. in this work.
42. PiONUS menstruus (Linn.). Blue-headed Parrot.
I saw this parrot only once, when Mr. Lindauer shot one out
of a small flock. This was not far below Yeguas.
43. Amazona jKmamensis (Cah.)? Common Green Parrot.
I saw everywhere at Barranquilla, Honda, and Guaduas in the
huts of the natives a green parrot with yellow forehead and
scarlet wing edgings. It was probably of this species, though,
as I obtained no specimen, I have marked it doubtful.
44. CrotojyJiaga sulcirostris (Swains.) ? Grooved-bill Ani.
I saw these birds in abundance at Barranquilla, Honda, and
Guaduas ; but though I shot several, they were all in poor plu-
RESULTS OF THE TBIP. 157
mage, so I brought back no specimens, and am now doubtful
Avhether they were of this species or C. ant. I saw them feeding
on the swarms of grasshoppers at Honda, and I had two of their
eoo's p'iven to me on June 28.
or? o
45. Ramphastos citkeol^mus (Gould). Citron-breasted Toucan.
The first one that I saw was killed by Mr. Lindauer on June
30, Along the river near this phice I saw several others. The
peacock-blue color of their eyes is peculiar. I saw at La Guayra
a species of cagique Avitli similarly colored eyes. Gould, Jlon.
of Iimiipliastidcv.
46. Ramphastos ambiguus (Swains.). Green-faced Toucan.
I saw a large flock of these toucans at Puerto Berrio, but our
steamer stopped there such a short time that I killed only one.
Gould, Mon. of Rfmrphastida'.
47. Pteroglossus torquatus (Gmel.). Collared Aragari.
I shot two of these and saw five or six others on the Mairda-
lena a short distance below Yeguas. Gould, Mon. of Ilmnph(i>i-
tida\
48. Bucco RUFicoLLis (Wagl.). Rufous-throated Puff Bird.
I saw a good many of these near Barranquilla, and a few
higher up the river. They sit quietly on a dead twig, and look
much like small kingfishers. Sclater, Mon. of Jacamars and
Pnff Birds, ]A. 29.
49. Bucco subtectus (Scl.). Narrow-banded Pulf Bird.
I saw but the one specimen that my brother shot on June 28
on the lower Magdalena. Sclater's Monofjrapli, pi. 27.
50. Galbula ruficauda (Cuv.). Rufous-tailed Jacamar.
I saw about a half dozen of these birds on the Magdalena.
They sit about quietly like kingfishers. My brother saw at
Consuelo a jacamar which he described as larger and brilliantly
colored, but we did not get a specimen. This was probably
Jdcaniarops (/randis. Sclater's Monot/raph, pi. 4.
51. Ceryle torquata (Linn.). Great Rufous-bellied Kingfisher.
52. Ceryle amazona (Lath.). Amazonian Green Kingfisher.
158 A FLYING TRIP TO THE TEOPICS.
53. Ceryle AMERICANA (Gmel.). Brazilian Green Kingfisher.
These three kino-fishers we found abundant from the mouth of
the Maofdalena until we left the river at Honda. The last was
not so common as the first two ; but we found it at Guaduas,
where we did not see the others. Sharpe, Man. of the AJcedi-
nidce, vol. 1.
54. Centurus terricolor (V. Berl.). Berlepsch's Woodpecker.
My brother shot a specimen at Guaduas, where I also saw sev-
eral. I saw one enter a hole in a dead tree, so it was probably
nesting'. At Barranquilla and at Honda I saw various wood-
peckers, but did not obtain specimens.
55. Stenopsis ruficervix (Scl.). Rufous-necked Goat-sucker.
We found a small flock of these among some stunted bushes
near Barranquilla, and obtained two females. PI. 14, P. Z. S.
186G.
56. Nyctidromus albicollis (Gmel.). " Parauque."
I saw but the one which I shot on the Magdalena on June 28.
At night, along the river, we often heard the cries of various
night-birds, some of them very like our " whip-poor-will."
57. Nyctibius grandis (Gmel.). Grand Potoo.
I saw but the one which my brother shot below Yeguas on
July 16.
58. Glaucis hirsuta (Gmel.).
I saw a good many of these humming-birds along the river.
They were in the heavy forests, and fed on the blossoms of a
species of canna which grew in the glades near the water. A
female that I shot on June 28 had white feathers scattered about
among the green of the back. On the same day I found one of
their nests, but it did not contain eggs. It was woven to the
swinging tip of a plantain leaf. Humming-birds. Gould's Mono-
(jrapli.
59. Ph^thornis superciliosus (Linn.).
I saw two or three in Guaduas, and shot one which was in
poor plumage.
RESULTS OF THE TRIP. 159
60. Lampornls nigricollis (Vieill.). Black-throated Hummino'-
bird.
We found this bird common in Gnaduas.
61. Hypuroptila buffoni (Less.). Bullon's Humming-bird.
We obtained four or live si)ecimens at Guaduas.
62. AcESTRURA MULSANTi (BouRc). Mulsant's Hummiug-bird.
63. AcESTRURA HELiODORi (BouRc). HeHodore's Humming-bird.
These two species were about equally common at Guaduas.
From their small size they were very difficult to find when they
fell in the underbrush.
64. Chrysolampis moschitus (Linn.). Ruby and Topaz Hum-
ming-bird.
We found this species abundant at Guaduas. The f ull-plumaged
male was the most beautiful humming-bird that we met.
65. Amazilia fuscicaudata (Fraser). Rieffer's Humming-bird.
I met with this species at two points on the Magdalena and at
Guaduas, getting four specimens.
QiOf. Amazilia cyanifrons (Bourc). Blue -fronted Humming-
bird.
My brother shot one at Guaduas.
67. Damophila JULIA (Bourc). Julia's Humming-bird.
We obtained a number of specimens at Guaduas.
68. POLYERATA AMABILIS (GoULD).
I saw but the one specimen which 1 shot at Puerto Berrio on
the river. It had a nest placed on top of a branch in the same
way that our ruby-throat builds.
69. Cyanophaia goudoti (Bourc). Goudot's Humming-bird.
I obtained four specimens at one place on the lower river.
70. Chlorostilbon angustipennis (Fraser). Narrow-winged
Humming-bird.
I obtained a specimen at Barranquilla, and found it abundant
at Guaduas.
Humming-birds were very abundant at Guaduas, l)ut rarely
until the bird was shot could I tell wdiat was the species. They
160 A FLYING TRIP TO THE TBOPICS.
could be seen buzzing about in the treetops, but at too great a
distance to recognize them, unless they were of peculiar shape
or size. My brother saw one at Guaduas which he described as
havinof a scarlet back.
71. MiLVULUs TYRANNUs (LiNN.). Fork-tailcd Flycatcher.
I saw a few at Guaduas and a good many at Honda. Their
flight was extremely graceful. And. Jj. of JY. A. vol. 1,
pi. 52.
72. Tyrannus melancholicus (Vieill.). Melancholy Flycatcher.
73. Myiozetetes cayennensis (Linn.). Cayenne Flycatcher.
These flycatchers were common all along from Barranquilla to
Honda, and around Guaduas.
71. Megarliynchus j^itangiia {Linn.) ? Pitangua Flycatcher.
The large-billed, rufous, and yellow flycatcher which we got at
Barranquilla was probably of this species ; but as I did not bring
back a specimen, I have marked it doubtful.
75. Fluvicola pica (Bodd.). Pied Flycatcher.
This conspicuous little bird was abundant in the marshes around
Barranquilla, and I saw others at points higher up the river.
76. Xanthosomus icterocephalus (Linn.). Yellow - headed
Blackbird.
I saw large flocks of this bird around Barranquilla.
77. Icterus icterus (Linn.). Troupial.
I saw troupials in confinement at many places along the Mag-
dalena and at Guaduas, but none in a state of freedom. And.
B. of JSr. A. vol. 7, pi. 499.
78. Icterus xanthornus (Gmel.). Yellow Oriole.
Common at Barranquilla.
79. Cassicus flavicrissus (Scl.). Yellow-vented Cagique.
80. OsTiNOPS DECUMANUS (Pall.). " Oro peudola."
81. Gymnostinops guatimozinus (Bonap.). " Oro pendola."
We got one specimen of each of the foregoing species on the
Magdalena on June 28. Higher up the river we saw many strug-
gling flocks of the two last. Fauna Biologla Centr. Amer.
RESULTS OF THE TRIP. 161
82. QuiscALUS ASSiMiLis (ScL.). Colombian Graclde.
This large grackle was abundant around Bairanquilla, and
often lit in the cocoa palms that grew in the hotel yard. They
may have had nests in these palms, but from seeing one with an
iniliedged young bird in its beak, I am inclined to think that
they were robbing the nests of smaller birds.
83. Sycalis COLUMBIANA (Cab.). Red-froutcd Finch.
I saw a few of these near Barranquilla. In our hotel there
was one caged Avhicli sang very well.
81. VOLATINIA SPLENDENS (BONAP.). BluC-black Fiucll.
I saw but the one specimen which I shot near Barranquilla.
85. Ramphocelus dimidiatus (Lafr.). Cardinal Tanager.
This tanager was abundant all along the Magdalena and at
Guaduas. The native name is " cardinal." Macj, de ZooJ.
1837, pi. SI.
86. Ramphocelus icteronotus (Bonap.). Yellow-rumped Tana-
I saw but the one wliich I shot at Puerto Berrio.
87. Taxagra can a (Swaixs.). Blue Tanager.
This tanager is common and I found it from Barranquilla to
Honda and at Guaduas. I observed a nest with eggs nearly
hatched at Barranquilla in June. The native name is " azulejo,"
bluebird.
88. Tachyphoxus melaleucus (Sparrm.). White-shouldered
Tanager.
I saw several at Guaduas, and my brother shot one.
89. EuPHONiA CRASSiROSTRis (ScL.) Tliick-biUed Euphonia.
I saw but the one specimen which my brother shot on the
Magdalena on June 28.
90. PiPRA AURiCAPiLLA (LiCHT.). Gold-lieaded Manikin.
I saw but the one specimen shot on the Magdalena by Mr.
Lindauer on June 29.
91. Tachi/ciiicta alhiventris {Bodcl.) ? White-winged Swallow.
The little swallow that I saw along the Magdalena may be of
162
A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
this species. I thought, however, that the body of the bird was
white and the wings black, and therefore I leave it doubtful.
The birds which I observed but did not identify would, I think,
exceed the above list. Among them were two terns, two ducks, two
or three herons, several sand snipe and plover, pigeons, many hawks,
an owl, jjarrots, a toucan, several woodpeckers, humming-birds,
many flycatchers, several orioles, finches, warblers, swallows,
thrushes, and many wrens.
The following is a list of the humming-birds sent to me from
Bogota by Mr. Child : —
1.
Glands hlrsnta.
20.
2.
Plisethornis einilise.
21.
3.
Phtetlioriils anthopliilus.
22.
4.
Campyloptei'iis lazulus.
23.
5.
Lafresnaya flavicaudata.
24.
6.
Hypuroptila buffoni.
25.
7.
Floiisuga mellivora.
26.
8.
Petaspliora anais.
27.
9.
Petasphora cyaiiotis.
28.
10.
Panoplites flaveseens.
29.
11.
Heliodoxa leadbeateri.
30.
12.
Pterophanes tenimincki.
31.
13.
Docimastes ensiferus.
32.
14.
Heliaiithea typica.
33.
15.
Bourcieria torquata.
34.
16.
Floricola longirostris.
35.
17.
Heliotryplia exortis.
36.
18.
Thalurania colunibica.
37.
19.
Acestrui-a mulsanti.
38.
Acestrura hellodori.
Lesbia gouldi.
Lesbia amaryllis.
Cyanthus forficatus.
Rliainphomicrou hetei'opogon.
Rhamphomici'on microrhyiiehum.
Metalkiva tyriauthina.
Chvysuronia aenone.
Adelomyia melanogenys.
Agljeactis cupripennis.
Eriocnemis alinse.
Eriocnemis cupriventris.
Eriocnemis vestita.
Uranoniitra francife.
Amazilia fuscicaudata.
Amazilia cyanifrons.
Hylocbavis sappbivina.
Cblovostilbon angustipennis.
Panychlora poortniani.
It will always be a source of regret to me that before starting
upon our trip I had not been able to obtain any information con-
cerning the island of Curacao other than that contained in the
Encyclopaedia and in the folder of the Red " D " Line. It is true
that I did not make any great effort to this end, as at the time I
expected that we would simply stop on the island between ships and
liESULTS OF THE TRIF. iGo
have no opportunity to collect any birds. When we finally arrived
and did have a chance to get some birds, we did not work them up
as thoroughly as we should have done, because I could but think
that an island so small, and inider such perfect civilization and
government for several hundred years, must be thoroughly explored
and known. However, at the same time of our visit, JNIr. Ernst
Flartert of England was engaged upon the ornith<jh)gy of the
three islands, Curagao, Aruba, and Bonaire, and he has subse-
quently published (" Ibis " for July, 1893) an article giving- the
results of his work. He announces several interesting discoveries,
and to his article I should refer all who may desire a complete
work upon the subject.
]\Iy observations make no definite additions to those of Mr.
Hartert, with this exception, that is, that I took a specimen of
the spotted sand snipe (Act'ttis iiincularhi) which he mentions as
having' observed, but not taken.
My field notes are as follows : —
BIRDS OBSERVED OX THE ISLAND OF CURAQAO.
1. Sterna sj). Large, dusky above, crown black.
2. Sterna sp. Medium size, apparently pure white.
3. Sterna sp. Very small.
4. Pelecanus fuscus (Linx). Brown Pelican.
I saw several Hocks flying over Santa Ana Harbor. And.
B. of X. A. vol. 7, ppl. 423, 424.
5. Fregata aquila (Linn.). Frigate Pelican.
I saw one individual flying over the harbor. The native name
is " tijereta," scissors, or scissor-tail. And. B. of X. A. vol. 7,
pi. 421.
6. Ardea virescens (Linn.) ? Green Heron.
I saw flying across the harbor several small herons Avliich I
took to be of this species. I saw others again in the mangrove
swamp to the northwest of the town. And. JJ. of JY. A. vol. 6,
pi. 367.
164 A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
7. AcTiTis MACULARiA (LiNN.). Spotted Sand Snipe.
I shot a specimen in the immature unspotted plumage on the
edge of a salt-pan north of the town. Along the southeast
edge of the Lagoon I saw in July several species of sand snipe,
but I did not have my gun with me and obtained no specimens.
Aud. B. of N. A. vol. 5, pi. 342.
8. EupsYCHORTYX CRiSTATUS (LiNN.). Crested Partridge.
I obtained but one specimen of this partridge, though I saw a
good many. Three was the greatest number that I saw together.
In June I saw half-grown young ones in captivity. Gould,
3Io)i. of Odonto2)hor'uice.
9. CoLUMBA GYMNOPTHALMA (Temm.). Wliitc-winged Pigeon.
I saw a young one in captivity in June, and in July I saw a
flock of perhaps a dozen individuals, from which I obtained one
specimen.
10. Zenaida sj).
I saw many doves of a medium size, but obtained no speci-
men. They Avere probably Z. vhiaceo-rufa (Ridgw.).
11. COLUMBIGALLINA PASSERINA (LiNN.). GrOUud DoVC.
I found this little dove very abundant. It was probably the
commonest bird on the island. Aud. Jj. of iV. A. vol. 5, pi. 283.
12. TiNNUNCULus sPARVERius BREViPENNis (V. Berl.). Curagao
Sparr o w-ha wk .
I saw a good many of these hawks. There is the same differ-
ence in color between the sexes as in our species. I was told that
they fed on lizards.
13. A large hawk that I saw several times at a distance may have
been Buteo alhlcaudatus colonas (V. Berl.).
14. CoNURUS PERTiNAX (LiNN.). Yellow-headed Parrakeet.
I saw many of these in captivity, some of them barely fledged,
and was told that they were caught on the island, but I saw no
others.
15. Chrysolampis moschitus (Linn.). Ruby and Topaz Huni-
ing-bird.
RESULTS OF THE TRIP. 1G5
I saw none of these in June, but in July the tamarind-trees
were in bloom, and there were swarms around every tree.
Nearly, all, however, were in poor plumage, as they were just
moulting. Gould's ^lonoyraph.
IG. Chlokostilbon atala (Less.). Atala Humming-bird.
I saw many of these in June and more in July, when they also
were feeding on the tamarind blossoms. Gould's Monograj:)]^
17. IcTp]Rus ICTERUS (LiNN.). Troupial.
All of the troupials that I saw were caged birds, but I was
told that the bird is found and breeds on the island. The
natives apply the name " troupial " or " turupial " to both this
and the following species, so that I cannot tell how much
weight to give to my information. And. B. of N. A. vol. 7,
pi. 499.
18. Icterus XANTHORNUS cuRASOENSis (RiDGW.). Curagao Oriole.
I saw a small flock of five or six in June, and in July I saw
three more. PI. in this work.
19. ZoxoTRiCHiA piLEATA (BoDD.). Pileated Sparrow.
This handsome sparrow I found quite common in a little valley
near the monastery. Descourtilz, Ornitlioloyie Uresillemie.
20. EuETHEiA BicoLOR (LiNN.). Grassquit.
We saw quantities of these wherever we went on the island.
On July 2G we found a nest with three eggs.
21. C(EREBA UROPYGiALis (V. Berl.). Cura^'ao Houey-crecper.
I saw but few in June, but in July they were abundant, and
were seen in the tamarind-trees with the humming-birds. They
have a feeble lisping song more like that of an insect than that
of a bird.
22. Dexdroica rufo-pileata (Ridgw.). Curagao Warbler.
These were abundant. Their sono- is much like that of our
yellow warbler.
23. MiMUS GiLVUS ROSTRATUS (RiDGW.). Curagao Mocking-bird.
These birds were abundant. I even saw some sinoin«- from
the housetops in the town. Both of my specimens were young.
166 A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
and had speckled breasts. The native name is " ruisenor," which
is the Spanish for nightingale.
The barn-owl mentioned by Captain Smith was doubtless Strix
flammea bar gel (Hartert).
For the benefit of those who may not have access to Mr. Har-
tert's article, I give here his list of the birds of the island of
Curagao : —
1. Larus atricilla (Linn.).
2. Sterna hirundo (Linn.).
3. Sterna maxima (Bodd.).
4. Phalacrocorax brasilianus (Gm.).
5. Fregata aqnila (Linn.).
6. Pelecanus fuscus (Linn.).
7. Hsematopus palliatus (Temm.).
8. Himantopus mexicanus (Miill.).
9. Totanus macularius (Linn.). Actitis macularia.
10. Bntorides (Ardea) virescens (Linn.).
11. Ardea candidissima ? (Gm.).
12. Ardea herodias (Linn.).
13. Enpsychortyx cristatus (Linn.).
14. Columbigallina passerina perpallida (Hartert). C. passerina.
15. Leptoptila verreanxi (Bp.).
16. Zenaida vinaceo-rufa (Ridgw.).
17. Columba gymnopthalma (Temm.).
18. Strix flammea bargei (Hartert).
19. Polyborus cheriway (Jacq.).
21. Tinnunculus sparverius brevipennis (V. Berl.).
21. Biiteo albicaudatus colonus (V. Berl.).
22. Conurus pertinax (Linn.).
23. Crotophaga sulcirostris (Sw.).
24. Stenopsis cayennensis (Gm.).
25. Chlorostilbon carib?eus (Lawr.). C. atala.
26. Chrysolampis mosquitus (Linn.).
liESULTS OF THE lEIF. 107
27. Tyrannus domiiiicensis (Giii.).
28. Subleg-atus glaber (Scl. «& Salv.).
29. Mjiarcluis bievipeniiis (Hartert).
30. Elainea martinica riisii (ScL).
»31. Iliriiiido erytliiogastra (Bodd.).
32. Icterus icterus (Linn.).
33. Icterus xantliornus curasoensis (Ridgw.).
34. Euetlieia sliarpei (Ilartert). E. bicolorc
35. Zonotricbia pileata (Bodd.).
30. Amniodramus savannarum (Gni.).
37. Certbiola uropygialis (V. Berl.).
38. Dendroica rufo-pileata (Ridg'w.).
39. Mimus gilvus rostratus (Ridg-w.),
CHAPTER IX.
A FEW SUGGESTIONS.
I THINK that I may say without egotism that I can sometimes
make a fair bird-skin, and the fact that others could do the same
was to me, at one time, nothing remarkable, but now I regard with
great respect the man who can go to the tropics and return with a
collection of o^ood skins.
Until we have experienced them ourselves, we do not realize the
difficulties that beset the collector in the tropics. Suppose that you
have come in at nightfall with ten or fifteen birds that you wish to
save. You have your supper, and then you begin to realize that
you are tired and sleepy, but still you start to work. You have a
wretched spluttering tallow-dip for light, and mosquitoes come in
clouds to harass you. However, you keep bravely on and finish
one good skin, then look at your watch. You have, if the bird is
a medium-sized one, been at work just twenty minutes; at this rate
you will be four or five hours longer. The prospect is too much for
you ; you make two or three more skins, then hang up the rest of
the birds in the coolest place that you can find, and say that you
will begin upon them at daybreak the next morning. When you
wake, you at once notice a peculiar smell ; you examine your birds ;
they are putrid, and must be thrown away at once. You still have
the skins left, and later you take a look at them. You find them
covered with thousands of little red ants, the skin of their feet and
their eyelids have already been eaten off, and many feathers have
been cut away, leaving unsightly bald patches. You take each skin,
blow and dust oft' the ants, clean them thoroughly, and replace them
A FEW SUGGESTIONS. 169
upon the drying" board, which you suspend by strings. In less than
an hour the ants have found them again. You clean them a second
time, and now anoint the strings with carbolic acid, tar, kerosene
oil, and camphor, any of which you think would turn back an
insect with the slightest self-respect, but your trouble is for naught.
Later you find that water is the only thing that will keep them back,
so you borrow cans and plates, fill them with water, and arrange
l^edestals ujjon which you think that your skins are safe. After a
while you hear a buzzing, you look at your skins, and see some
large green Hies upon them. You drive them away, but the next
day you find gindet-holes through the heads and beaks of your
birds. They were made by maggots hatched from eggS of the flies.
When at last your skins are dry, you go to pack them, and as you
lift them up, black beetles scurry out from under them. You find
that they have burrowed between the skin and bones of the tarsi
and wings of your skins, until they are mere shells ready to fall in
pieces at a touch. You collect up to the last day of your stay, and
have some green skins which you j^ack with the greatest care.
After two days on mule-back you arrive at your next station, and at
once proceed to air your skins. The green ones are dry enough
now ; but what horrible monstrosities ! — their necks twisted and bent,
their feathers lying the wrong way, their bodies distorted. Some of
your skins that you tliought Avere thoroughly dried were evidently
not so, as they are now covered with a fungous mould, their black
beaks a pale silvery color crumbling at the touch. You resolve to
do better at this place, and you put your drying skins out in the
sun. In a little while you hear a noise, and look out in time to see
a black vulture flying up to the roof with your best skin, one that
you have taken especial pains to preserve. You stand helplessly
looking on until it is torn in pieces and left in disgust. After that,
you keep your skins indoors, but that night the mice take a fancy
to examine them, and the next morning you find the floor strewn
with wings and tails. It is but poor consolation to think that the
arsenic may perhaps have poisoned the mice.
170
A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
All this may be tliouglit overdrawn, but everything that I have
related above occurred to me, and my object in writing this chapter
is to point out to others who may hereafter go on similar expedi-
tions how they may avoid my troubles.
First of all, I should advise you to collect, when possible, in the
early morning. Get up by daybreak, and take a cup of coffee and
a mouthful of food before S'oino- out. You will find all birds stir-
ring at this hour, whilst at noon you will see few if any. Come in
before eleven o'clock, then rest a little, have your breakfast, skin
your birds carefully, write up your notes, prepare your ammunition,
etc., for the next day, and go to bed early.
Now, in regard to your skins : once that a skin has been thor-
oughly dried in good shape it will stand packing and transportation
wdth a fair amount of safety, therefore your aim should be to shape
and dry them properly. You may travel with a large and sjiecially
prepared outfit, but small steamer trunks Avith several trays are very
well suited for packing and drying skins, being
lighter than chests, waterproof to some extent,
and furnished with good locks.
Skins, whilst drying, are undoubtedly safest
from molestation when they are suspended, and
are also more out of your way. A trunk-tray
is easily hung up to a rope, a rafter, or a branch
of a tree, your dried skins can be kept safely in
it, and those that are drying can be placed on a
board crosswise on the tray. The point comes
up about the ants. I suggest the following :
A couple of tin cups, through the bottoms of
which pass a bar with a ring at each end. The
tray is suspended from the lower ring, the cup in turn frt)m the
upper, and the cup being filled with water will effectually keep out
the ants. I would also recommend that a j^iece of gauze or mos-
quito net be spread over the tray wdien it is suspended. This will
not interfere with the drying, but will prevent the damage from
SECTION OF CUP.
A FEW SUGGESTIONS. 171
the green flies and beetles. Skins, when dry and packed away in
your trunk, nnist also be protected from ants, and the best way is
to carry along* three or four deep tin plates which will fit into one
another for convenience in packing'. Fill these with water, put a
stone in each, and place your trunk on these stones.
In regard to your skinning outfit : that will depend upon your
taste, but I reconnnend simplicity. I took a pair of small short-
bladed, sharp-pointed scissors, a pair of tweezers, a iDOcket-knife, and
a knitting-needle, and found this amply sufficient. A tool-handle,
containing gimlets, screw-driver, small chisel, etc., Avas also very
useful.
For materials : I was once in favor of plaster of paris in skinning,
but I now prefer Indian-corn meal. Take it tied np in shot-bags.
It is not heavy, will not spill out, and packs well in your trunk.
When you are skinning, spread out a sheet of paper, and when you
are through pour back the meal that is left. It can be used re-
peatedly.
Take cotton batting with you, the kind that is sold in our dry-
goods stores done up in tissue paper. You can roll it np in an old
towel, and by wrapping it tightly with a strong string can compress
it until its size is many times reduced, and it packs away well.
Cotton is found all over Colombia, and I thought that I was doing
something unnecessary wdien I carried some with me ; but in Gua-
duas my supply gave out, and Avhen I sent for some it was brought
to me in little wads about the size of a walnut, and I found that I
could no more stuff a bird with it than I could with a set of build-
ing blocks. However, it was owing to this that I became acquainted
with what I consider a splendid material for stuffing large and
medium-sized birds, — I refer to oakum as used for calking vessels.
This is inelastic and retains the shape given to it, and a bird's body
can be modeled exactly after the one of flesh just removed. Some
birds have wide projecting shoulders, with a deep depression be-
tween the furculum and the neck, and it is just this shape that is
difficult to stuff with cotton, but can be fitted like a glove with
172
A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
oakum. I obtained the oakum
on the river steamer. The Span-
ish name for it is " estopa." The
best preservative is dry arsenic,
which shouki be carried in a tight
can with a screw cap. The can
shouki be conspicuously marked
with both the English word " Poi-
son " and the Spanish word " Ve-
neno."
And now, to change the subject
abruptly, I would say a few words
about photography. The ability
to sketch rapidly and accurately
is much to be envied, yet for one
23erson with Mr. Catherwood's tal-
ent, there are ten thousand Avitli-
out ; and then, too, how rapidly a camera does its work ! I believe
a camera to be nowadays an essential part of every traveler's outfit ;
yet it has its limitations. In regard to choice of cameras, it is like
choice of shot guns ; every one thinks his own the best. I took
Avith me a " Hawk-eye," taking 4X5 plates, and used glass plates
entirely, which were developed upon my return. Many of the pre-
ceding illustrations are from my photographs. I purchased my cam-
era several years before for the purpose of taking pictures of objects
of natural history ; and it is of this class of Avork that I wish to
speak,
Considerino- birds first, althouoh I am aware that some students
have taken fine pictures of them, I have not met with success.
Those pictures that I have taken of birds in a state of freedom have
not turned out well, usually because of the smallness of the figure
and of the impossibility of selecting a suitable background. I have
had Avounded birds from time to time ; but it is very difficult to
RKD-TAILED HAWK (lIVINP, BIKD).
A FEW SUGGESTIONS. 173
get them in a g'ood position ; and the best pictnres are but poor.
When seriously woundetl, their listless and dejected look is not
what is wanted in a picture, and at the best the surroundings of
fences, cag-es, chains, or cords destroy the worth of the likeness.
A dead bird is a hopeless task, and photographs of stulfed and
mounted birds, with their dull, protuberant, and lifeless eyes are an
abomination. I will venture to say that not one photograph in a
hundred of mounted birds has the faintest life-like look about it.
Leaving birds and turning to fish, we find a class that, as a rule,
make elegant subjects for the pliotograi)her. With them I have
been quite successful. The best to work upon are scale fish of
moderate size; but I have made good ])ictures of sharks of five
feet in length and of small fish of barely three inches. I would
GKEEN JU.liuN (.MUfNTED SKIN).
recommend this work to lovers of photography, and will give a
brief explanation of my process. You will need a large sheet of
white blotting-paper, some small wire nails and pins, and a pair of
wire-cutting })liers. Select a moderate-sized fish, with uninjured
tail and fins, fasten your blotting-paper to a board, wipe the fish
dry, and lay it in the centre of the sheet of paper. Cut off the
heads of two of the wire nails, and drive them through the fish and
into the board, one near the head, and the other near the tail.
174
A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
Drive the nails until tliey are below the level of the skin, when the
scales will cover the
'^ ^'^ holes, and they will
not be seen. These
will support the
weight of the fish.
Now, with your pliers
cut off the heads of
a number of pins,
and use the points to
keej) spread the fish's
tail and fins. Put
the board on edge, and move your camera up until the fish nearly
covers the plate. Use a very slow plate, and give plenty of expos-
ure. When you have developed your plate, and come to print it,
vignette closely to the fish, by which means you can get an almost
dead white background. In case you do not use a white back-
ground, you may still print on aristotype paper, and then, with a
sharp eraser, scratch off all the print except the fish, thus getting a
pure white background. This sea bass, a male, with the dorsal
WHITE PERCH.
A FEW SUGGESTIONS.
175
hump, chciracteristic of the breetlino- season, printed well ; but its
tail Avas badly cut up in the net.
I believe this method would be useful to travelers who have not
with them the means of preserving specimens of strange fish that
they may see. It might enable them to identify these fish upon
!M,tjir^^ ^j«
SCULPIN.
(By I'crmission.)
176
A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS.
their return. The red snapper figured on j^age 148 is from a
photograph taken as described above. That this method is also
appHcable to fish Avithout scales, the figure of a sculpin will show,
and that the comparative value of the illustration can be judged, I
give also a wood-cut of a sculpin, from a popular work on natural
history.
Crustacea may be treated in the same manner as fish, and the
results are equally
as satisfactory.
The various crabs
found along our
coast are good sub-
jects ujjon which
to work.
Some insects
may be successfully
photographed ; but
LOBSTEK. here the question
of color is so diffi-
cult to deal with that one must be an expert before he can count
upon the result. The black and yellow butterflies especially are
disappointing to handle. What I have said of birds applies with
even more force to animals, and to a less degree to reptiles. The
colors of snakes and of terrapin are lost, and of the other reptiles,
it is indeed rarely that one can be gotten to take a good attitude,
and hold it long enough for a good picture.
-^5Y'**3I^''^' ^
APPENDIX.
LIST OF WORKS ON COLOMBIA.
A LIST of the works treating of any particular subject is always of great help to
the student who may care to investigate that subject, and therefore I have compiled
the following list of works on Colombia, exclusive of the literature of the Isthmus of
Panama. The nature of many of these works is indicated by their titles ; in others
this is not the case, and as I have not had access to many of them, nor time to read
others, I have been compelled to adopt a chronological arrangement. I have, how-
ever, collected the purely zoological writings and brought them together after the
general list.
It is to be borne in mind that in early days Colombia included at various times
more or less of Peru, Ecuador, and Venezuela, and was known by other names as
Tierx'a Firma, New Granada, etc. Examining the titles below, it will be seen that
the earlier writings were those of the Jesuits ; then came in historical and biograjjhi-
cal works. In the early twenties, during the struggles of Colombia in securing her
independence from Spain, many officers of foreign armies were attracted as adven-
turers, and later a number of them wrote of their experiences. Then followed a
period in which little appeared. Within the last fifteen years there has been a large
increase in the literature on Colombia, in which the Germans have had a prominent
part. In this compilation I have profited by Pereira's list (see No. 155). In
Bonnycastle's work, 1819, there is a list of 146 works on Spanish America, many of
Avhidi may have references to Colombia, but as I have not seen them I cannot
include them.
1. De insulis nuper inventis. Occeanea decas. Petrus ab Angleria Martir.
Legatio Babilonica. Poemata. Seville, 1511.
2. La cronica del Peru. Pedro Cieza de Leon. Amberes, 1554.
3. Elegias de varones ilustres de Indias. Juan de Castellanos. Madrid,
1589.
4. Historia de las Indias y Cronica de la Nueva Espana. Fi-ancisco Lopez
Gomara. Madrid. 1()()0.
5. Histoire naturelle et morale des Indes ; tant orientales qu'occidentales, par
178 APPENDIX.
le P. Joseph de Acosta ; traduite en fran^ois par R. Regnault Cauxols. Paris,
1600.
60 Grammatica en la lengua del nuevo reyno llamada Mosca. Bern, de Lugo.
Madrid, 1619.
7. Noticias historiales de las conquistas de Tierra Firme en las Indias Occiden-
tales. Fray Pedro Simon. Cuenca, 1627.
8. Varones ilustres del nuevo mundo, descubridores, conquistadores y pacifica-
dores del oijulento, dilatado y numeroso iniperio de las Indias Occidentales. Fer-
nando de Pizarro. Madrid, 1639.
9. L'Histoire du nouveau monde, ou Description des Indes Occidentales. Le
sieur Jean de Laet. Leyden, 1640.
10. Arte y vocabulario de la lengua de los Indios de la provincia de Cumana o
Nueva Andaleucia. Fr. de Tauste. Madrid, 1680.
11. Historia general de la conquista del nuevo reyno de Granada. Lucas Fer-
nandez de Piedrahita. Madi-id, 1688.
12. Historia general de los heclios de los Castellanos en las islas i tierra firme
del mar Occeano. Antonio de Herrera. Madrid, 1729.
13. El Orinoco ilustrado, liistoria natural, civil y geografica de este gran rio y de
sus caudalosas vertientes. Le P. Joseph Gumilla de la Compagnie de Jesus.
Madrid, 1741.
14. Historia de la Provincia de Santa Fe, de la compania de Jesus y vidas de
sus varones ilustres. Le P. Joseph Cassani. Madrid, 1741.
15. Journal du voyage fait par ordre du roi a I'Equateur. M. de la Condamine.
Paris, 1751.
16. Historia coro-graphica, natural y evangelica de la Nueva Andalucia. Pro-
vincias de Cumand,, Guayana y Vertientes del Rio Orinoco. Fr. Antonio Caulin.
Madrid, 1779. One quarto vol., pp. 482 + 13, engraved title, and three plates of
murders of priests by Lidians.
17. A philosophical and political history of the settlements and trade of the
Europeans in the East and West Indies, by the Abb^ Raynal, translated by J. O.
Justamond. London, 1783. Eight vols., many maps. (Santa Marta, Cartagena,
and Santa Fe de Bogotfi in 4th vol., pp. 58 to about 105 inch)
18. La perla de la America, provincia de Santa Marta. Antonio Julian. Ma-
drid, 1786.
19. Diccionario geographico-historico de las Indias Occidentales o America. Col.
Antonio de Alcedo. Madrid, 1786-88.
20. Historia del Nuevo Mundo. Juan Bautista Muiioz. Madrid, 1793.
21. Voyage a la partie orientale de la Terre-Ferme. Depons. Paris, 1806.
22. A voyage to South America : describing at large the Spanish cities, towns,
provinces, etc., on that extensive continent : undertaken by command of the king of
Spain. By Don George Juan, and Don Antonio de Ulloa. Translated from the
Spanish by John Adams. London, 1807. Two vols., pp. 28 + 479 and 4 + 419
and index ; many maps and plates. (Cartagena in first vol., pp. 19-84.)
APPENDIX. 179
23. Voyage clans rinterieur de rAmeiiniie dans les aiinees 1799 a 1804. Par
A. de Humboldt et A. 13oni)land. Paris, 1807-39. Six parts, 1494 plates (349
ooloretl), 5 ina})s.
There are many other editions of Hmnboldt's writings.
24. Si)anish America ; or a descriptive, historical, and geographical account of the
Dominions of Spain in the Western Hemisphere, continental and insular. R. H.
Bonnycastle. Philadelphia, 1819. One vol., pp. 482. (New Granada, pp. 159 to
240 inch Map.)
25. Barthelemi Casas, Eveque de Cliiapa : CEiivres prc'-cedees de sa vie. Paris,
1822.
26. Colombia : being a geographical, statistical, agricultural, commercial, and
jjolitical account of that country, adapted for the general reader, the merchant, and
the colonist. London, 1822. Two vols., 2)p. 124 + 707 and 782, two ])ortraits,
one large folding map. This is known as Walker's Colombia. There is also a
Spanish edition.
27. De Re})ul)liek Columbia, of Tafereel Van Derzelver Tegenwoor. digen
toestand en Betrekkingeii ; in Brieven, van daar aan zijne vrienden gesclireven,
door Carl Richard, Hanoversch officier. Benevens eene levensschets vaii Simon
Bolivar. President van Columbia. Amsterdam, 1822. One vol.. })p. 285.
28. The geograpliy, history, and statistics of America, and the West Indies ;
exhibiting a correct account of the discovery, settlement, and progress of the various
kingdoms, states, and provinces of the Western Hemisphere, to the year 1822. By
H. C. Carey and I. Lea. Philadel2)hia. With additions relative to the new states
of South America. London, 1823. One vol.. pp. 477, three folding maps. (Colom-
bia, i)p. 412 to 423 inch)
29. Letters written from Colombia, during a journey from Caracas to Bogotii,
and thence to Santa Martha, in 1823. London, 1824. One vol.. ])p. 16 + 208, one
large folding mu]).
30. Colombia : its present state, in respect of climate, soil, productions, population,
government, commerce, revenue, manufactures, arts, literature, manners, education,
and inducements to emigration : with an original map : and itineraries, partly from
Spanish surveys, jiartly from actual ol)servation. By Col. Francis Hall. London,
1824. One vol., pp. 6 + 154, one map.
31. Voyage dans la R^publique de Colombia, en 1823. G. MoUien. Paris,
1824. Two vols., pp. 4 + 308 and 316, seven colored jdates, and one large folding
map.
32. Travels in the Republic of Colombia, in the years 1822 and 1823. By G.
Mollien. (Translation of the above.) London, 1824. One vol., pp. 460, one
plate, one folding map.
33. Journal of a residence and travels in Colombia, during the years 1823 and
1824. By Cai)t. Charles Stuart Cochrane, R. N. London, 1825. Two vols., pp.
16 + 524 and 8 + 517, two colored plates, one large folding map.
180 APPENDIX.
34. Coleccion de los viajes y descubrirnientos que hicieron por mar los Espanoles
desde fines del siglo XV. Martin Fernandez de Navarrete. Madrid, 1825-29.
35. A visit to Colombia in the years 1822 and 1823, by Laguayra and Caracas,
over the cordillera to Bogota, and thence by the Magdalena to Cartagena. By Col.
"Wm. Duane. Philadelphia, 1826. One vol., pp. 632, two plates.
36. Histoire de la Colombie, par M. Lallement. Paris, 1826, second edition.
One vol., pp. 320, one folding map and i)lateSo
37. Notes on Colombia, taken in the years 1822-3, with an itinerary of the route
from Caracas to Bogotti ; and an appendix. Capt. Richard Bache, U. S. A. Phila-
delphia, 1827. One vol., pp. 303, two folding maps, one plate.
38. Travels through the interior provinces of Columbia. By Col. J. P. Hamil=
ton. London, 1827. Two vols., pp. 332 and 256, seven plates, one map. Con-
tains many references to birds and shooting,
39. Recollections of a service of three years during the a\ ar-of-extermination in
the republics of Venezuela and Colombia. By an officer of the Colombian navy.
London, 1828. Two vols., pp. 15 + 251 and 8 + 277.
40. Die Geschichte von Columbia, durch Dr. Ernst Munch, Dresden, 1828.
Two vols., pp. 113 and 111.
41. Colombia in 1826. By an Anglo-Colombian. Li the Pamphleteer, vol. 29,
London, 1828, pp. 485-505.
42. History of tlie life and voyages of Columbus. Washington Irving. 1828.
Three vols.
43. Tbe Modern Traveller : a popular description, geographical, historical, and
topographical, of the various countries of the globe. Colombia. Vol. viii. Boston
and Philadelphia, 1830. Pp. 336, three plates, one folding map.
44. Resa i Colombia, itren 1825 och 1826, af Carl August Gosselman Lieutenant
vid Kongl. Maj : ts flotta. Stockholm, 1830. Two vols., pp. 274 and 300, two
plates, one folding map.
45. The companions of Columbus. Washington L'ving. 1831.
46. Sur la cause qui produit la goitre dans les cordilleres de la Nouvelle-
Granada. Boussingault, in Annales de Chimie, vol. 48, 1831, p. 41 et seq.
47. Sur les salines iodiferes des Andes. Boussingault, in same, vol. 54, 1833, p.
163 et seq.
48. Comunicaciones entre el Senor Carlos Biddle, Coronel de los E. Unidos del
Norte I la Sociedad Amigos del Pais. Panamd. 1836. Pamphlet, pp. 22, and
one folding profile.
49. Antiguedades neo-granadinas. Ezequiel Uricoechea. Leipzig, 1837.
50. Voyages, relations et m^moires originaiix pour servir a I'histoire de la
d^couverte de I'Am^rique. Ternaux-Compans. Paris, 1837-1841.
51. History of the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic. W. H. Pres-
cott. Three vols., portraits, maps, etc. 1838.
52. Bogotd, in 1836-7, being a narrative of an expedition to the capital of New-
APPENDIX. 181
Grenada, and a residence there of eleven months. By J. Steuart. New York,
1838. One vol., pp. 312.
53. L'Univers. Histoire et Description de tons les peuples. Colonibie et
Guyanes, par M. C. Fanin. Paris, 1839. Pp. 32, one folding- ma}), and seven
plates.
54. Geografia historica, estadistica y local de la provincia de Cartagena. Gen-
eral Juan Jose Nieto. Cartagena, 1839.
55. Beitrjige zur geologie von Antidqnia ; and tjher die Salzquellen des nord-
liclien Theiles der Provinz Anti()(|iiia und die Gebirgs-Formationen der Umgebiing
von Medillin im Freistaate von Neii-Granada. C. Degenhardt, in Karsten's
Archiv. fiir niineralogie, xii., 1839, p. 1 et seq.
56. Resumen de la geografia de Venezuela. Augnstin Codazzi. Paris, 1841.
57. Resumen de la historia antigua de Venezuela. Baralt y Diaz. Paris,
1841.
58. Elssai sur I'ancien Cundinamarca. Ternaux-Compans. Paris, 1842.
59. History of the conquest of Mexico. W. H. Prescott. 1843. Three vols.,
three i)ortraits, two ma})s.
60. Vidas de los Espaiioles celebres. Maimel Jose de Quintana. Paris, 1845.
61. History of the conquest of Peru. W. H. Prescott. 1847. Two volumes,
portraits and map.
62. Compendio historico del descubrlmiento y colonizacion de la Nueva Granada
en el siglo dt'cimo sexto. Col. Joaquin Acosta. Paris, 1848. One vol., jjp. 460,
four plates.
63. Semanario de la Nueva Granada ; miscelanea de ciencias, litoratura, artes e
industria. Francisco Jose de Caldas. Edition of Col. Acosta. Paris, 1849.
64. Viajos cientificos d los Andes ecuatoriales. Boussingault. Paris, 1849.
Pp. 67.
Q)~). Coleccion de memorias sobres fisica, quimica e historia natural de la Nueva
Granada y Ecuador, escritas por M. Boussingault, actual ])residente de la Acadeniia
de Ciencias de Paris ; traducidas con anuencia del autor y precedidas de algunas
nociones de geologia. Col. Joaquin Acosta. Paris, 1849.
66. Observations diverses sur les environs de Santa Fe de Bogota. P. A.
Cornette, in Bulletin de la Societe geologi([He de France. Second series, vol. 7,
1849-50, p. 320.
67. Memorias para la historia de la Nueva Granada, desde su descubrimiento
hasta el 20 de Julio de 1810. Col. Jos(^ Antonio de Plaza. Bogota, 1850.
68. Acosta. Sur les niontagnes tracbytiques de Ruis. dans la Nonvelle Grenade.
In Bull, de la Soc. Geol, de France, Pai'is, 1850-51, pp. 489 to 496 inch, one plate
of maps, sections, etCo
69. Same. Sur la Sierra Nevada de Sainte-]Marthe, Form^e par le terrain
primitif. In same for 1851-52, pp. 396 to 399 inch, one folding plate of sections.
70. Extrait de differentes lettres sur la gdologie de la Nouvelle Grenade. P. A.
Cornette, in same for 1851-52, p. 509.
182 APPENDIX.
71. Geognostisclie Bemei'kungen liber die nord kiiste Neu-Granada's, insbe-
sondere txber die sogenannten vulkane von Turbaco und Zamba. H. Karsten, in
Zeitschrit't der Deutschen Geologiscben Gesellscbaft, 1852, p. 579.
72. Memoria sobre la geografia de la Nueva Granada. Mosquera. New York,
1852.
73. Memoir on the physical and political geograpliy of New Granada. General T.
C. de Mosqiiera. Translated from the Spanish by Theodore Dwight. New York,
1853. One vol., pp. 105, one large folding map. (Translation of the preceding.)
74. Peregrinacion de Alpha (M. Ancizar.) por las provincias del norte de la
Nueva Granada, en 1850 I 51. Bogotti, 1853. One vol., pp. 524, portrait.
75. Resumen histdrico de los acontecimientos que han tenido lugar en la repiib-
lica, extractado de los diarios y noticias que ha podido obtener el general gefe del
estado mayor general, T. C. de Mosquera. Bogotd, 1855. One vol., pp. 226 + 74.
76. Jeogratia fisica I jjolitica de las provincias de la Nueva Granada, por la
Comision Corografica. Provincias del Socorro, Velez, Tunja I Tundama. Bogota,
1856. One vol., pp. 363.
77. Ueber die geognostischen Verhaltnisse der Westl. Colombia. Karsten.
Vienna, 1856.
78. Physiognomie der Trop. Vegetation Slid Americas. Albert Berg. 1856.
Folio views of Colombian scenery.
79. History of the reign of the emperor Charles the Fifth. Wm. Robertson, W.
H. Prescott. 1857. Tiiree vols., porti'ait.
80. New Granada : Twenty months in the Andes. Isaac F. Holton, M. A.
New York. 1857. One vol., pp. 605, 33 woodcuts, two colored double-sheet maps.
81. Positions bestimmungen und Hohenmessungen in Slid Anierika. Von Liais
und Friesach. Sitzungsberichte der K. K. Akademie der wissenschaften, mathe-
mat., naturw. No. 19, pp. 285-328, No. 38, pp. 591-632, No. 93, i)p. 7-14 ; years
1857, '59, '60.
82. Historia de la revohicion de la Repriblica de Colombia en la America
Meridional, por Josd Manuel Restrepo. Besanzon, 1858. Four octavo vols.
First edition was in 1827.
83. Geografia de la Republica del Ecuador. Manuel Villavicencio. New York,
1858.
84. Beitrage zur geologic des Westl. Columbien. Karsten. Amtl. Bericht der
Wiener Naturforscherversammlung. 1858.
85. The AVest Indies and the Spanish Main. Anthony Trollope. London,
1859. One voh, pp. 395, map. (New Granada, pp. 242-255.)
86. Voyage aux Indes Occidentals. Anthony Trollope, 1858-59. Dessins
in^dits par M. A. de Berard. In Tour du Monde, vol. 2, pp. 49 to 64 inch, one
map, 8 cuts. (From preceding.)
87. Mapoteca Colombiana. Coleccion de los titulos de todos los niapas, pianos,
vistas, etc., relatives d, la America espaiiola, Brasil e islas adyacentes ; arreglada
APPENDIX. 183
ci'onologicaniente y precotlida cle una iutrodiiccion sobre la liistoria cartogrdlica de
America. Eze(j^uiel Urieoechea. London. 1860.
88. Antiquarian, ethnologioal, and other researches in New Granada, Ki^uador,
Peru, and Chile, with observations on the pre-incarial, incarial, and other monuments
of Peruvian nations ; with plates. AVilliam BoUaert. London, 1800.
89. Lieutenant Michler's report of his survey for an inter-oceanic ship canal
near the Isthmus of Darien. Atrato River survey. Senate Document. Feb.,
1861. 1st vol., pp. 457 ; annotated list of 144 species of birds by Cassin, pj). 220-
254. 2d vol. contains 17 large folding majjs and profiles.
90. Ensayo sobre las revoluciones politicales y la coiulicion de las republicas
Columbianas. Samper. Paris, 1861.
91. Dr. Moriz Wagner, in Petermann's INIittheilungen for 1861.
92. Same, in same for 1862. Eine Reise in das Innere der Landenge von San
Bias und der Cordillere von Chepo in der Provinz Panama, mit besonderer
Beriicksichtigung der hypsometrischen verhilltnisse und der Kanal frage, pp. 128-
141, colored map.
93. Jeografia fisica I politica de los Estados Unidos de Colombia. Feli2)e Perez.
Bogotii, 1862. Two vols., pp. 13 + 494 and 4 + 650. 8 plates.
94. Jeografia fisica I politica del Distrito Federal, Capital de los Estados Unidos
de Colombia. Felipe Perez. Bogotd, 1862. One vol., pp. 54.
95. Anales de la revolucion de 1861. Felipe Perez. Bogota, 1863.
96. New Granada ; its internal resources. Powles. London, 1863.
97. Yida del Lil)ertador Simon Bolivar. Felipe Larrazabal. New York,
1865-75.
98. Compendio de geografia de los Estados Unidos de Colombia. Mosquera.
London, 1866.
99. Autobiografia del General Jose Antonio Paez. New York, 1867.
100. Historia de la literatura en Nueva Granada. Vergara y Vergara. Bo-
gota, 1867.
101. Historia edesiastica y civil de la Nueva Granada. Jose Manuel Groot.
Bogot/i. 1868-71.
102. Relaciones de los A^ireyes del Nuevo Reino de Granada. Garcia y Garcia.
New York. 1869.
103. Deutsche Konsulatsberichte aus Bogotci im Preussischen Handelsarchiv,
1870-75.
104. Informe de los esploradores del Territorio de San Martin. Bogottl, 1871.
One vol., pp. 4 + 59.
105. Esploracion entre San Jose de Cucutd I el Rio Magdalena. Bogotd, 1871.
One vol.. pp. 18.
106. Alturas tomadas en la Republica de Colombia, en los anos de 1868 y 1869,
l)or W. Reiss y A. Stiibel. Quito, 1872. One vol., pp. 39, principally barometric
heights.
V3
18i APPENDIX.
107. Voyage a la Nouvelle Grenade, par M. le Docteur Saffray. 1869. In
Tour du Monde, vols. 24, 25, and 26, 1872-73, total pp. 160 and 110 cuts, one
double-page map.
108. Meniorias del General Joaquin Posada Gutierrez. Bogotd., 1872-80.
109. Hohenmessungen in Sud-America. In Zeitscli. der Gesell. fur Erdkunde
zu Berlin, 1874, pp. 440, 441.
110. Historia econdniica y estadistica de la Hacienda nacional. Anibal Galindo.
Bogota, 1874.
111. Genealogias del nuevo reino de Granada. Juan Florez de Ocariz. Ma-
drid, 1874.
112. Compendio de historia patria. Jos^ Maria Quijano Otero. Bogotd,
1874.
113. Biogi'afias militares. Josd Maria Baraya. Bogotd,, 1875.
114. Die Culturlander des alten Amerika. Prof. Bastian. Berlin, 1875-76.
2 starken banden, pj). 720-1005, 3 maps.
115. Memorias de un abanderado, 1810-1819. Jose Maria Espinosa. Bogota,
1876.
116. Dr. Reiss and Dr. Stiibel. Hohenmessungen in den Republiken Colombia
und Ecuador. Zus. aminengestellt von Prof. Meinicke. XII. Jaliresbericht des
Vereins fiir Erdk. zu Dresden, 1876.
117. Barometrische Hohenbestimmungen in Columbian von Eduard Steinheil, in
Petermann's Mitt, for 1876, No. 8, pp. 281-284, colored folding map.
118. Reisen in Columbien von Eduard Steinheil. in Petermann's Mitt., 1876,
No. 10, pp. 393-395, 1877, No. 4, pp. 184-188, No. 6, pp. 222-227.
119. Raise durch den Staat-Magdalena in Colombia, 1874. Tetens, in Mitt,
geogr. gesell., Hambourg, 1876-77, pp. 367-70.
120. My first trip up the Magdalena, and life in the heart of the Andes. J. A.
Bennett, late U. .S. Consul at Bogotji, in Journal of the Amer. Geog. Soc. of New
York, 1877. pp. 126-141.
121. L'Am^rique equinoxiale : Colombie, Equateur, Pdrou, par M. Ed. Andr^,
1875-76. In Tour du Monde for 1877. '78, '79, and '83, total pp. 384, 286 cuts,
16 maps.
122. L'Amerique du Sud ; voyage dans la Nouvelle Grenade. E. Andr^, in
L' Exploration, 1877, No. 20.
123. Reisen in nordvestlichen Snd-America. E. Andre, in Globus, 1878.
124. Anales diplomaticos de Colombia. Pedro Ignacio Cadena. Bogota, 1878.
125. Racuerdos histdricos 1819-1826. Coronel Manuel Antonio Lopez. Bo-
gota, 1878.
126. Reisen in Siid-America, 1868-1877. Reiss and Stiibel, in Petermann's
Mitt, for 1878, pp. 30-33.
127. Reiseerlebnisse in Columbien. W. Petersen, in Sitzungsber, naturforscher
gesell. in Dorpat, 1878, pp. 42-47.
APPENDIX. 185
128. Les Chibchas de la Colombie. E. Uricoechea. Coiigr. intern, de science
geogr. Paris. 1878, pp. olO-olo.
129. Annotations sur les quinquinas des Etats-Unis do Colonibie. D. E. Coro-
nado. Paris, 1878, pp. 55.
130. Die Kulturlander des alten Amerilui. A. Bastian. Jierlin, 1878.
131. tjber entdeckungen in Sikl-Anicrika. Bastian, in Verliandl. Ges. f. Erdk.
Berlin, 1878, pp. 144-147.
132. Die Zeichen-Felsen Columbiens. Bastian. in Zeits. Ges. f. Erdk. Berlin,
1878, pp. 1-23.
133. Travels in C()lunil)ia in 1875-7G. Ed. Andre, in Bull, de la Soc. de Geog.
de Paris, 1879.
134. P^delmetall produktion und wertliverlialtnlsse zwisclien gold und silber, seit
der entdeckung Amerika's vis zur gegenwart. Dr. Adolph Loetbeer, in Peter-
mann's Mitt. Ergiliizungslieft, No. 57, 1879. (Neu-Granada, pp. 60-64.)
135. Conipendio de historia de Hispano-America. Cesar C. Guzman. Paris,
1879.
136. Diccionario biognlfico de los campeones de la lil)ertad de Nueva Granada,
Venezuela, Px-uador y Peru. Leonidas Scarpetta, Saturnino Vergara. Bogotd,
1879.
137. Galeria nacional de hombres ilustres o notables. Jose Maria Samper.
Bogotci, 1879.
138. Diccionario Jeografico de los Estados Unldos de Colombia, por Joaquin
Esguerra Ortiz. Bogot;!, 1879. One vol., pp. 284.
139. Notes on the topography of the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta, U. S. of
Colombia, by F. A. A. Simons, in P. R. G. S. of London for Nov., 1879, \^\^.
689-694, one folding map.
140. Memorias del General Daniel Florencio 0"Leary. Caracas, 1879-81.
16 vols.
141. Bosqnejo estadistico de la region oriental de Colombia. Joaquin Diaz
Escobar. 1880.
142. Historia de Colombia, contada a los Ninos. Jos^ Joaquin Borda. Zipa-
quira, 1880.
143. Explorations aux Isthmes de Panama et de Darien en 1876-77-78, par
M. A. Re'clus. In Tour du Monde for 1880, pp. 321-400. 68 cuts, 2 maps.
144. Reisen in Antirfipiia. Friederich von Schenck, in Petermann's Mitt, for
1880, pp. 41-47, large folding map.
145. Colombia e Peru, I'imperio degli Inca. G. B. Lemoyne. Turin, 1880.
146. Quelques mots sur la geologic de I'Etat d'Anticlcpiia. Petitbois, in Annal.
Soc. G^olog. de Belgique, 1880, pp. 159-163.
147. Voyage k la Sierra-Nevada de Sainte-Marthe. Elis^e Re'clus. Paris, 1881.
One vol., pp. 6 + 337. 21 cuts, one folding map. The first edition was in 1861.
148. Los communeros : historia de la insurreccion de 1781. Manuel Briccno.
Bogota, 1881.
186 APPENDIX.
149. La mission de la Goajira, Nouvelle Grenade. Jannsen, in Les missions
catholiques, 1881. No. 627.
150. Voyage sur le Rio Magdalena a travers les Andes et snr TOrenoque. J.
Crdvaux, in Bull. Soc. Gdogr. de Paris, July, 1881, pp. 7-25, with map.
151. On the Sieri'a Nevada of Santa Marta and its watershed. (State of Mag-
dalena, U. S. of Colombia.) F. A. A. Simons, in P. R. G. S. of London for Dec,
1881, pp. 702-723, one folding map.
152. tJber Francisco de Caldas, den Neu-Granadinisclien naturforscher nnd
geographer. A. Schumacher, in Verhandl. d. Gesell. f. Erdk. zn Berlin, 1881.
153. Voyage d'exploration a travers la Nouvelle Grenade et le Venezuela (Rios
Magdalena, de Lesseps on Guaviare, Orinoco). J. Crevaux et E. Lejanne. 1881.
In Tour du Monde for 1882, pp. 225-320, 68 cuts, 2 maps.
154. El Dorado. Illustrated periodical, Liborio Zerda. Bogota, 1882.
155. Les Etats-Unis de Colombie ; precis d'histoire et de geographie physique,
politique et commerciale, etc., etc., etc. R. S. Pereira. Paris, 1883. One vol., 2)p.
8 + 311, 10 double-page maps, one folding.
156. Geografia general de los Estados Unidos de Colombia. Bogota, 1883.
Pp. 456.
157. Voyage a la Nouvelle Grenade. Lejanne, in Bull. Soc. G^ogr. Brest,
1883.
158. Ferrocarril de Antidquia : Informe de una comision. Medillin, 1883.
Pp. 33.
159. Reiseskizzen aus Columbia. Hettner, in Kolnische Zeitung, 1883.
160. Notes on the central provinces of Colombia. Robert Blake White, in P. R.
G. S. of London for May, 1883. pp. 249-267, one folding map.
161. Reisen in Antidcpiia im jahre 1880 von Fr. von Schenck.
162. Reisen in Antioquia und im Cauca im jahre 1880 und 1881. Fr. von
Schenck.
163. F. V. Schenck's Hohenmessungen in Kolumbien, von Professor K. Zop-
pritz.
164. Hohen. in Antidquia nach White. All in Petermann's Mitt., 1883. Fold-
ing n)aps.
165. Voyages et d^couvertes de J. Crdvaux. G. Franck. Paris, 1884. Pp.88,
maps.
166. Mapa para servir de estudio de la frontera entire Venezuela y Colombia.
Rivadeneyra. Madrid, 1884. 5 maps.
167. Die Republik der Vereinigten Staaten von Kolumbien. W. Roth, in Das
Ausland, 1884.
168. Sjjanish and Portuguese South America during the Colonial Period. R. G.
Watson. London, 1884. Two vols., pp. 620.
169. Siidamerikanische studien, drie Lebens und Kulturbilder. Miitis, C.ildas,
Codazzi. H. A. Schumacher. Berlin, 1884. Pp. 559.
APPENDIX. 187
170. Plstiidio sobre las niiiias de oro y plata de Colombia. Vicente Restrepo, in
An. de la instniceion publica, 1884.
171. Geoyrafia general y conipendio historico del Estado de Anti()([uia en Colom-
bia. Manuel Ui'ibe Angel. Paris, 1885. One vol., pp. 15 + 78o, frontispiece,
33 cuts of antiquities, two folding maps.
172. Les anciennes populations de la Colombie. Nadaillae. Paris, 1885. Pp. 13.
173. Notes etlinograpliicpies sur les Etats Unis de la Colombie. W. Boye, in
Rev. Soc. Geogr. Tours, J 885.
174. Die Sierra Nevada von Santa Marta. Hettner, in Petermann's INIitt. for
1885, pp. 92-97.
175. The Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta. Sievers, in Proc. Geog. Soc. of Uerlin,
1885.
17(). Die barometrisclien hohenmessungeu des Herrn Dr. Sievers in Coluniliia
und Venezuela. M. Frohberg, in Mitt. Geogr. Ges. Hand)urg. 1885-80.
177. An exploration of the Goajira Peninsula, U. S. of Colombia. F. A. A.
Simons, in P. R. G. S. of London for Dec, 1885, pp. 781-796, one folding map.
178. Reise nach Bogotii : Haupstadt der siidamerikanischen Republik Colombia.
E. Rothlisberger, in Jahresber. d. Geogr. Ges. Bern, 1885-87.
179. Stati Uniti di Colombia. Segre. Rome, 188(5.
18U. Costa Rica y Colombia de 157o a 1881 : su jurisdieeion y sus limites ter-
ritoriales. De Peralta. Madrid y Paris, 1886.
181. Geologie de I'ancienne Colombie Bolivarienne ; Vdndzuela, Nouvelle-Gre-
nade et Ecuador. Karsten. Berlin, 1886. Mai)s and ppl.
182. A study of the gold and silver mines of Columbia. V. Restrepo. Trans-
lated by C. W. Fisher. New York. 1886.
183. Die Avirtscbaftlichen verhaltnisse der Vereinigten Staaten von Kolumbien.
Hettner, in Dtsch. Kolonialzeitung, 1886.
184. Die Bogotaner. Hettner, in Globus, 1886.
185. Cartagena y sus cercanias : guia descriptiva. J. P. Urueta. Cartagena,
1886.
186. Die Arhuaco Indianer in der Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Sievers, in
Zeits. Ges. f. Erdk. Berlin, 1886.
187. Reise in der Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Sievers, in same. 3886.
188. Tiber ein Skelett und scbiidel von Goajiros. Virchow, in Ges. f. Anthropol.,
etc. Berlin, 1886.
189. Historia del Nuevo Reino de Granada. Juan de Castellauos. Madrid,
1886-87.
190. Historia de Colombia. Carlos Benedetti. Lima, 1887. One vol., pp. 961.
191. Nouvelle-Grenade : Apereu general sur la Colombie et recits de voyages en
Amerique. C. P. J^tienne. Geneva, 1887. Pp. 144. Hai. croft Libmy
192. Descripcion histdrica. geogrjlfica y politica de la Repiiblica de Colombia.
Bogota, 1887. Pp. 23.
188 APPENDIX.
193. Compendio de geografia de la Republica de Colombia. A. M. D. Lemos.
Medellin, 1887.
194. The U. S. of Colombia and the Isthmus of Panamji. J. Xantus, in Bull.
Soc. HongT. de Geogv., 1887.
195. The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. J. T. Bealby, in Scottish Geogr.
Mag., 1887.
196. Reise in der Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Sievers. Leipzig, 1887. Pp.
10 + 290.
197. The Goajira Peninsula ; trade, etc. E. H. Plumacher, in Reports U. S.
Consuls, 1887.
198. Ethnogr. stellung der Guajiro Indianer. A. Ernst, in Zeits. f. Ethnologie,
1887.
199. Briefe aus Kolumbien. F. C Lehman, in Export, 1887.
200. The agricultural condition of Columbia. Wheeler, in Diplom. and Con-
sular Reports. London, 1887.
201. Circulaire du ministre des affaires etrangeres sur les mines d'or et d'argent
de la R<?publique de Colombie, 1887.
202. The capitals of Spanish America. Wm. E. Curtis. New York, 1888.
(Bogotil, pp. 225-257, 18 cuts.)
203. Reisen in den Columbianischen Anden. Dr. Alfred Hettner. Leipzig,
1888. One vol., pp. 10 + 389, one folding map.
204. Kartographische ergebnisse einer Reise in den Columbianischen Anden.
Hettner, in Petermann's Mitt, for 1888, pp. 104-112. Large folding map, plan of
Bogota, etc.
205. Beitriige zur geologie und petrographie der Kolumbianischen Anden.
Hettner and Link, in Ztsolir. Deutsch. Geol. Gesell., 1888.
206. Beitrage zur Petrographie der Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta und der
Sierra de Perija in der Repnblik Colombia in Sudamerika. W. Bei'gt, in Mineral
und Petrograph. Mitt, for 1889.
207. Die Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta und die Sierra de Perija. Dr. W.
Sievers, in Zeitschr. der Gesell. filr Erdk. zu Berlin, 1888. Pji. 158, maps.
208. Erlauterungen zur geognostischen Karte der Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.
Sievers, in same for 1888. Map.
209. Die Kordillere von Mdrida nebst Bemerkungen liber das Karibische Ge-
birge, mit einer geologischen Karte und 15 profilen. Sievers. Vienna and Olmutz,
1888.
210. Der verfall des Staates Magdalena. Sievers. in Globus, 1888.
211. Die Floresta de la Santa Iglesia Catedral de la cindad de Santa Marta.
Sievers, in Globus for 1888.
212. Goajiro Halbinsel. J. Chaffanjon, in La Geographie for 1888.
213. Les mines d'or et d'argent de la Colombie. P. de Bruycker, in Bull. Soc.
R. G^ogr. Antwerp, 1888.
APPENDIX. 189
214. Le Sinou. Colombie. E. Patronilleau, in Bull. Soc. G^ogr. Couuu. Bor-
deaux, 1888.
215. Atlas geografico e liistdvico de la Rei)iibliea de Colombia. MM. Paz and
F. Perez. Paris, 1889. 20 maps, plans, views, etc.
216. Colombia : its past, present, and future, llejjorts from the Consuls of the
U. S., 1889, pp. 98-112.
217. Reiseskizzen aus Kohunbien und Venezuela. Fr. Buchner. INIunich, 1889.
218. Las estatuas del valle de San Augustin en la Repiiblica de Colombia. J.
Gutierrez de Alba, in Bol. Soc. Geogr. Madrid, 1889.
219. Die Goajiris Indianer. A. Sartori, in Mitt. Geogr. Gesell. Lubeck, 1889.
220. Reports and Recommendations of the International American Conference.
AVashington, 1890. (Colombia, pp. 122-127. Maps.)
221. Around and About South America ; Twenty months of quest and cpierj'.
Frank Vincent. New York, 1890. (Colombia, pp. 426-463.)
222. Notas de viaje ; Colombia y Estados Unldos de America. S. Camacho
Roldiiu. Bogotit, 1890. Pp. 6 + 900.
223. Avventure di una spedizione alia Colombia, per cura di M. Viglietti.
Turin, 1890. Pp. 200.
224. Le niiuiere della Republica di Colombia. R. Ragnini, in Boll. Soc. Geogr.
Ital., 1890, i)p. 309-332.
225. La Republique de Colombie. H. Lennon, in Bull. Soc. Geogr., Antwerp,
1890, pp. 103-122.
226. Travels and Adventures of an Orchid Hunter : an account of Canoe and
Camp Life in Colombia, while collecting Orchids in the Northern Andes. Albert
Millican. London, 1891. One vol., pp. 15 + 222, 73 cuts, one colored plate.
227. Monumenti preistorici della Colombia ; viaggio di G. M. Gutierrez de Alba
nella valle di S. Agostino. C. G. Toni, in L'Esjjlor. commerc, 1891, pp. 1-15.
228. Telegraphic determination of longitudes in INIexico, Central America, the
West Indies, and on the north coast of South America. Norris and Laird. Bureau
of Navigation, Washington, 1891.
229. Compagnie franco-beige des chemins de fer colombiens. R. Le Brun.
Paris, 1891. Pp. 232.
230. Colombia. Bulletin No. 33, Bureau of the American Republics. Wash-
ington, January. 1892. One vol., pp. 138. 22 cuts, one map.
231. Nueva Geografia de Colombia. T. I. el territorio, el medio y la raya, Ver-
gara. Bogota, 1892.
232. Cartes Commerciales. 6me s^rie. No. 10. Colombie et Equateur. F.
Bianconi and E. Broc. Paris. 1892. Pj). 36, folding maj).
233. Die Kordillere von Bogotil. Hettner, in Petermann's Mitt. P^i-gangzungs-
heft, 1892. Pp. 131, large map.
234. The Cordillera of Bogota. Review of the above in P. R. G. S. of Lon-
don for Dec, 1892, i)p. 850-854.
190 APPENDIX.
235. La R^publique cle Colombie, g^ographie, histoire, etc. R. Nuiiez and H.
Jalhay. Brussels, 1893. Pp. 259. niajD.
236. Die Anden des Westlichen Columbiens ; eine orographische skizze. Hettner,
in Peteimann's Mitt, for 1893, pp. 129-136.
237. Reisen in Siidamerika. Geologische studien in der Republik Colombia.
III. Astronomiscbe ortsbestimmungen, beai'beitet von Bruno Peter. Reiss and
Stlibel. Berlin, 1893. Pp. 327.
238. Rio Hacha et les Indiens Goajires. H. Candelier. Paris, 1893. Pp. 277,
41 cuts.
239. Coal and Petroleum in Colombia. Commercial information bulletin. Bureau
of tbe American Republics. Washington, 1893.
240. Encyclopaedia Britannica, vol. vi., pp. 137-141.
There are articles upon Colombia in nearly all encyclopaedias, and many short
references in magazines and periodicals ; in particular, Das Ausland, Globus, etc.,
and in proceedings of the various geographical societies.
MAPS.
1. Atlas de los Estados Unidos de Colombia. Codazzi.
2. Mapa de la provincia de Antidquia en la rejiublica de Nueva Granada. C S.
de Greiff. Paris, 1857.
3. Large Avall map of Colombia. Thierry Brothers. Paris, 1864.
4. Savanilla Harbor, Colombia. 1/36500, No. 925, "Washington, 1885.
5. Cartagena Harbor. 1/36500, No. 978, Washington, 1886.
6. Colombie. Carte g^ndrale des chemins de fer proj^tds. 1/675000, Paris. 1886.
7. West Coast, Porto Bello. 1/36500, No. 958, Washington, 1887.
8. Parida and Palmque Anchorages. 1/73000, No. 1038.
9. Port Nuevo. 1/36500, No. 1039.
10. Bahia Honda. 1/36500, No. 1040, all Washington, 1887.
11. Map of River Sinii. F. A. A. Simons, London, 1887.
12. Panama to Cape San Francisco. 1/975000. No. 1176, Washington, 1889.
13. Colombie. Port et mouillages. Port de Cispata, Port Careto, etc. No. 4633.
Paris, Serv. Hydrogr.. 1892.
14. Old Providence Island. 1/73000, No. 1372.
15. Santa Catalina Harbor. 1/18250, No. 1371.
16. Santa Marta Bay. 1/12150, No. 1378.
17. Gulf of Darien, Columbia Bay. 1/36500, No. 1405.
18. Gulf of San Bias, Mandinga Harbor. 1/36500, No. 1406.
19. Serrana Bank, South Cay Channel. No. 1374.
20. San Miguel and Darien Harbor. 1/146000, No. 1410.
21. Chiri Chiri Bay. 1/18250, No. 1407, all Washington, 1893.
APPENDIX. 191
COLOMBIAN ZOOLOGY.
1. Tlie followiiii^- is a partial list of the more extensive articles on the zooloji^y of
Colombia. It would require many pages to contain a comjolete list. Throughout
the " R^vue Zoologique," the '• Magasin de Zoologie," the "Ibis," the Proceed-
ings of the Zoological Society of London, and other similar jjublications are found
many references to Colondjian fauna. In the first two esj)ecially are found many
descn-iptions of the discoveries of the naturalists Goudot and Delattre. The litera-
ture of Colombian humming-birds alone is voluminous : —
1. Fanna Cuiulinamarfpiesa. D. Jorge Tadeo Lozano. Mentioned l)y Pereira,
but no (hite or locality given.
2. Notice sur quelques oiseaux de Carthagene, etc. Lafresnaye and D'Orbigny,
in Rev. Zool.. 1838, pp. 1G4-1()(),
3. Nouvelles especes d'oiseaux mouches de Santa F^ de Bogotii. Boissonneau. in
same, 1839, pp. 354-356.
4. Oiseaux nouveaux ou peu connus de Santa F^ de Bogotd. Boissonneau, in
same, for 1840, pp. 2-8 and 66-71.
5. Coleopteres de Colombie, demerits i)ar M. L. Reiche in same for 1842-43,
total pp. 42.
6. Description de (pielques oiseaux nouveaux de Colombie. Lafresnaye, in sanie
for 1842, pp. 301, 302, and 333-336.
7. Insectes nouveaux ol)serves sur les i)lateaux des Cordilleres et dans les valines
chaudes de la Nouvelle-Grenade. Meneville and Goudot, in same for 1843, pp,
12-22.
8. Quelques oiseaux nouveaux ou pen connus de Colombie. Lafresnaye, in same
for 1843, pp. 68-70 and 290-292.
9. Description de quelques coleopteres de la Nouvelle-Grenade. Meneville, in
same for 1844, pp. 8-19.
10. Nouvelles especes d'oiseaux de Colombie. Lafresnaye, in same for 1844,
pp. 80-83.
11. Coup d'ceil sur I'ornithologie de la Colombie. Lafresnaye, in same for 1845,
pp. 113-119.
12. Description de quelques mammiferes Am^ricains. Pucheran, in same for
1845, J)}). 335-337.
13. Sur quehjues nouvelles especes d'oiseaux de Colombie. Lafresnaye, in same
for 1846, pp. 206-209.
14. Description de quinze especes nouvelles de trochilid^es. Delattre and Bour-
cier, in same for 1846, pp. 305-312.
15. Description de vingt especes d'oiseaux mouches. Bourcier, in Annal. de la
Soc. Royal d'agricult., etc., de Lyons for 1846.
16. Sur le rampliocelus icteronotus du Prince Bonaparte. Lafresnaye, in Rev.
Zool. for 1846, pp. 365-370.
192 APPENDIX.
17. Quelques oiseaux nouveaux de Bolivie et de Nouvelle-Grenade. Lafresnaye,
in same for 1847, pp. 65-79.
18. Sur I'espece de rhamphocele a plumage variable rapporte de la Nouvelle-
Grenade, etc. La Fresnaye, in same for 1847, pp. 215-219.
19. On the birds received in collections from Santa Fe di Bogota. Sclater, in
P. Z. S. for July, 1855. Pjj. 36. 435 species enumerated. This was also published
as a separate paper.
20. On some additional species of birds received in collections from Bogotd.
Sclater, in same for 1856, pp. 25-31. 4 colored plates.
21. Further additions to the list of birds received in collections from Bogota.
Sclater, in same for 1857, pp. 15-20. 52 species.
22. Catalogue of birds collected during a survey of a route for a ship canal
across the Isthmus of Darien. etc. Cassin, in Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. of Phil, for 1860,
pp. 132-144 and 188-197. 144 species.
23. Note sur les trochilid^es de la Nouvelle Grenade. De Geofroy. Bogota and
London, 1861.
24. Catalogue of a collection of birds made in New Grenada, etc. G. N. Law-
rence, in Annals Lye. Nat. Hist. N. Y. for 1861, 62, 63. 4 jjarts, total pp. 67.
25. Descriptions of six new species of birds from the Isthnuis of Panama. Law-
rence, in the Ibis for 1862, pp. 10-13.
26. Descriptions of eight new species of birds from the Isthmus of Panama.
Lawrence, in same for 1863, pp. 181-184.
27. Notes on a collection of birds from the Isthmus of Panama. Sclater and
Salvin, in P. Z. S. for 1864, pp. 342-373. One colored pi.
28. Description of eight new species of birds from Veragua. Salvin, in same
for 1866, pp. 67-76. Two colored plates.
29. On some collections of birds from Veragua. Salvin, in same for 1867, pp.
129-161. Colored plate.
30. On some collections of birds from Veragua. Salvin, in same for 1870, pp.
175-219. Map.
31. Notes on some birds of the United States of Columbia. C. W. Wyatt, in
same for 1871, pp. 113-131, 319-335, 373-384. Map.
32. On a collection of birds from the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta, Columbia.
Salvin, in same for 1879, pp. 196-206.
33. On the birds collected by the late Mr. T. K. Salmon in the state of Antid-
quia. United States of Colombia. Sclater and Salvin, in P. Z. S. for 1879, pp. 486-
550. Map and three colored plates.
34. On the birds of the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta, Columbia. Salvin and
Godman, in Ibis for 1880, pp. 114-125, 169-178. 3 plates.
35. Untersuchungen iiber die Vijgel der Umgegend von Bucaramanga in Neu
Granada. Von Berlepsch, in Journal fiir Ornitliologie for 1884, pp. 273-320.
36. On some interesting additions to the avifauna of Bucaramanga, U. S. of
Colombia. Von Berlepsch, in Ibis for 1886, pp. 53-57. Plate.
APPENDIX. 193
WORKS ON CURACAO.
1. See No. 17 in list of works on Colombia. Curacao (Ciirassou) is in fifth vol.
p. 425 et seq.
2. Description of a new sjiecies of humming-bird from the islund of Curacao.
Lawrence, in Annals Lye. Nat. Hist. N. Y., p. 13.
3. Eenige West Indischen Kolonien na de emancipatie. Fraissinet. Amsterdam,
1879. Pp. 43.
4. Curasao. J. Kuyper, in Tijdschr. aardrijksk. gcnootscli. 1882.
T). The Aruba and the Papiamento Jargon. Gatchet. American Phil. Soc.
Philadelphia, 1884.
6. On a collection of birds made by Messrs. Benedict and Nye. etc.. Island of
Curacao, Venezuela [.svV]. Ridgway, in Proc. U. S. Nat. Museum for 1884, pp. 173-
177. '
7. Die Niederlandische Expedition nach den Westindischen Inseln und Surinam,
1884-85. Martin, in Tijd. aard. genoot. Amsterdam, 1885.
8. Reise nach den Niederlilndisch Westindischen Besitzungen. K. Martin, in
Rev. Colon. Internat. 1885.
9. Nederl. Westindisehe Expeditie. W. F. R. Suringar, in Tijd. Nederl. aard.
genoot. Amsterdam, 1886.
10. Overhet geolog. verband tussclien de Westindisehe eilanden. Dr. Molengratt".
in same for 1887.
11. Geolog. Kaarten van Curaeao, Aruba en Bonaire. C. M. Kan, in same for
1887. Three maps.
12. Note sur la latitude de Curaeao et sur les longitudes de Laguayra, Puerto
Cabello, Curasao et Sainte Marthe. M. Aubry, in Annales Hydrogr. Paris, 1887.
13. Bericht liber eine Reise nach Niederlilndisch Westindien und darauf ge-
griindete vStudien I. Land und Leute. Martin. Leiden, 1887.
14. West-indische Skizzen. Martin. Leiden, 1887. Map, pp. 186.
15. Beitrage zur Geologie von Niederlilndisch Westindien. jMartin. Leiden.
1887-89.
16. Les possessions n(ierlandaises dans les Antilles. T. C. L. Wijinnalen. Am-
sterdam, 1888.
17. Statistisch overzieht van Ned. West Indie. Same in Bijdr. Stat. Inst. 1888.
18. Geologische Studien liber Niederlilndische- Westindien. Martin. Leiden,
1888.
19. Die Vogel der Insel Curaeao nach einer von Herrn Cand. Theol. Ernst
Peters daselbst angelegten sammlung. Von Berlepsch, in Journ. fiir Ornithol.. Jan.
1892. Pp. 62.
20. Under the Southern Cross : a guide to the sanitariums and other charming
places in the West Indies and S])anish Main. W. F. Hutchinson. Providence, 1892.
21. Ernst Hartert. Remarks on some birds from Curasao, in Bull. Brit. Orni-
thol. Club. Ibis. .Tan.. 1893.
194 APPENDIX.
22. On the birds of the Islands of Aruba. Curacao, and Bonaire. Hartert, in
Ibis for July, 1893. Pp. 50. map, colored plate.
23. L'ile de Curacao. G. Yerschuur. in Tour du Monde for 1893, pp. 81-96.
12 cuts. map.
24. Encyclopsedia Britannica, vol. vi. p. 626.
25. Kaart von het Eiland Curacao, etc. Amsterdam. 1886. 20 by 24 ins.
26. Santa Ana Harbor. No. 1049, 16 by 19 ins. Washington. 1890.
27. Spanish Water. Spanish Haven, and Caracas Bay. No. 1245. Washington,
1891.
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