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MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 85 
the right hand. By this crude method the pile is held se- 
cure while the peon runs down the gang plank to the boat. 
With one heave the pile is thrown on the floor, where it is 
stacked by another man. On an average two hours is taken 
up in this manner when the boat stops for fuel. 
‘“‘Just prior to reaching the town of Magangue the boat 
again pulled in shore to receive 200 head of cattle. These 
were placed on the four freight barges, attached to both 
sides of the steamer. These cattle were on the boat for four 
days, during which time they were only given water. 
‘“‘The vegetation on each side of the river for the first two 
or three days was very disappointing and uninteresting, be- 
cause of the lack of rain in this part of the country. What 
vegetation was present presented a yellow appearance. 
“‘The next port of interest was La Gloria. Here one was 
gratified in having sufficient time to view the native houses. 
These resemble stucco but Black informed me that the skele- 
ton is made of bamboo and the stucco made from river sand 
mixed with cow manure. From here on the vegetation began 
to be of interest, the mahogany delta appearing. About the 
only amusement one finds throughout the day is watching the 
alligators, which vary from three to fifteen feet long, bask- 
ing in the sun, and which form targets for those possessing 
revolvers or guns. After leaving the town of Gamarra we 
began to view some very picturesque scenery, with the west- 
ern Cordilleras appearing. The next important town was 
Bodega Central, the river port for exporting cargo from the 
prosperous town of Bucaramanga, the latter shipping 250,000 
bags of coffee to the United States annually. From Bucara- 
manga to the river port is a four-day mule-back trip. 
““The next town was Puerto Wilches, a river port for the 
exporting and importing of both cargo and passengers to and 
from Bucaramanga. It possesses a railroad of seventeen miles 
which was intended when begun to connect with Bucaramanga, 
but the remaining 120 miles is by mule-back. During the 
rainy season the Bodega Central route is used, combined with 
freighting over the river Lebrija. : 
‘‘The vegetation here becomes very interesting, presenting 
a darker green appearance than lower down the river. Lots 
of trees, including the native cedar, bombax, lignum-vitae, 
and, closer to the river, the giant bamboo. Here we passed 
the river Lebrija where we unloaded some American machin- 
