22 C. U. C. P. ALUMNI JOURNAL February, 1918 



the owner. The amount of wood consumed on one of these steamers is aston- 

 ishingly large, so that several stops have to be made each day. These wood piles 

 are favorite lurking places for serpents, many of which are very poisonous, and 

 accidents during the taking on of fuel are of very common occurrence. Not 

 only snakes, but scorpions and centipedes have to be continuously watched for. 



The life of the passenger on one of these steamers is very far from comfort- 

 able, even when electric fans and ice supplies are furnished. The heat in this 

 river valley is extreme and of a kind that is very trying, especially to the northern 

 visitor. The natural heat of the sun is greatly increased by the fierce radiation 

 from the wood-burning furnaces, from which it is impossible to escape. Upon 

 the uppermost deck, upon the shady side, there would be comparative comfort, 

 but one cannot remain there, owing to the showers of hot cinders which are con- 

 tinually falling and which quickly burn holes in the clothing exposed to them. 

 Not understanding this difficulty, I had my suit of clothing completely destroyed 

 during my first day upon the river. The first stage of river travel, in making 

 the journey to Bogota, the capital, carries one about four hundred miles from 

 Barranquilla, to La Dorado, beyond which the steamer cannot pass, owing to the 

 rapids. This journey, under exceptional circumstances, can be made in six days, 

 but quite as often it requires nine or ten, if the boat is slow or if the river is low, 

 if there is much freight to be handled, or if the boat frequently runs aground 

 or remains grounded at one place for a considerable length of time. The river 

 follows a serpentine course. Upon the one side it will cut away the mud banks 

 so as to form a deep channel at that point. This mud is then carried downward 

 and outward to the other side of the river, forming, as it leaves, a mud bar with 

 very shallow water. Great experience and skill are required at such places to 

 know exactly where the transit can be most safely made. In the lower part of 

 the river, or when the water is high, the steamer sweeps along rapidly and with- 

 out danger, but at any time, the water is liable to fall so that the bottom of the 

 steamer will touch more or less strongly in passing the bars. On every trip it is 

 certain to be grounded a number of times. Usually a little manoeuvering, or 

 assistance from a passing vessel, enables it to be floated with but little delay, but 

 at times it becomes so firmly embedded that there is no escape until the river rises. 

 For this one rarely has to wait more than two or three days, at any season, 

 although occasionally boats have remained stranded for a week or two. Many 

 and strange are the devices that are employed for escaping from these mud banks. 

 The commonest method is to run a wire cable to the bank, attach it to a tree and 

 then wind up on the capstan. Sometimes the tree will be pulled out by the roots ; 

 at others the cable will snap. Upon one of our journeys both results occurred 

 a number of times, and at length an ingenious and tedious device was found nec- 

 essary. A strong tree trunk, like a short mast, carried for the purpose, was 

 planted in the mud by the side of the boat, its upper end overhanging the deck. 

 A cable was run through a pulley at its upper end and through another pulley 



