Last Days in Argentina 293 



charge of water passes away through a gorge about 

 four hundred feet wide, to which the Indians have given 

 the name El Golfo del Diabolo, in comparison with which 

 it is said that the Whirlpool Rapids below Niagara are 

 a very tame little affair. Between low water in the dry 

 season and high water in the rainy season there is a 

 difference of one hundred and forty feet in the depth 

 of the stream passing through the Devil's Gulf. The 

 thunder of the cataract is heard for miles ; the cloud of 

 mist which rises above it is a landmark visible for many 

 leagues. 



Access to the spot is now obtained by going either by 

 boat or rail to Corrientes, thence by steamer up the 

 Alta Parana to the junction of the Rio Iguassu with the 

 former river. At this point the tourist must complete 

 the remainder of his journey either on foot or mule- 

 back. The journey in going consumes from twelve to 

 fifteen days, and in returning somewhat less. There is 

 as yet no hotel at the falls for the accommodation of 

 travelers, and those who visit the spot must make 

 arrangements to camp out during their stay. The 

 forests in the neighborhood of the falls are dense, 

 luxuriantly tropical, and the place is said to abound 

 not only with gorgeous butterflies, such as the splendid 

 Morphos, and various species of the genera Agrias and 

 Callithea (Frontispiece, figs, i, 6, and 9), but with 

 other insects not so charming to the eye, which make a 

 visit to the falls somewhat of a trial to the "faith and 

 patience of the saints. ' When discussing the possibil- 

 ity of going to the cataract of the Iguassu, one of my 

 friends, who had been there, said to me: 'Don't go. 

 You will be eaten up by bichos. ' The word bicho is 

 used in South America very much as the word bug is 

 used in English, to designate all sorts of insect-pests 



