woodworth: geological expedition to brazil axd chile. 7 



III. ITIXERARY. 



"The usual bane of such expeditions is hurry; because men seldom allot 

 themselves half the time they should do: but, fixing on a day for their return, 

 post from place to place, rather as if they were on a journey that required 

 dispatch, than as philosophers investigating the works of nature." 



Gilbert White. TJie Natural History of Selhorne. Letter 



XXVI, December 8, 1769. London: 1789, p. 73. 



The first Shaler Memorial Expedition following a generation after 

 the Thayer Expedition to Brazil sailed from New York for Rio de 

 Janeiro on the 20th of June, 1908, on the Steamship Voltaire of the 

 Lamport and Holt Line. As previously stated the party consisted 

 of Professor Ward, Mr. W. P. Haynes, and the author in charge. The 

 ship touched at Bahia on July oth, and reached Rio de Janeiro on 

 the 8th of that month. 



On this lonesome tract straight out from the North American coast 

 at New York to Cape St. Roque the voyageur sights few vessels. 

 The minor changes of a June and enjoyable sea, the endless piles of 

 trade clouds, a solar annual eclipse — that of June 28th, — the first 

 view of the Southern Cross, the doldrums and their rains, the so- 

 called "green ray'' of the setting sun, — these were the events of the 

 voyage of the Voltaire for those members of the party who made their 

 first crossing of the equatorial line. 



At Rio de Janeiro we were met and taken care of by Dr. Orville 

 A. Derby, Director of the ^Nlineralogical and Geological Service of 

 Brazil, and under his tutelage began preparations for the journey to 

 the planalto of south Brazil. Our stay in the Capitol was some- 

 what lengthened by the necessity of awaiting the discharge of Mr. 

 Haynes from the English Hospital, to which institution he had been 

 obliged to go for the treatment of an infected bruise received on 

 shipboard. At this time and indeed through my stay in Brazil, the 

 Capitol suffered greatly from an epidemic of small-pox. According 

 to reports given out on leaving the country as many as 6,722 deaths 

 were caused by this disease in Rio de Janeiro between January 1st and 

 November 22nd, 1908. 



During this interval I visited Petropolis from which point under 

 the guidance of Dr. Miquel Arrojado Ribeiro Lisboa an excursion 

 was made to the valley of the Piabanha and the picturesque Valle do 

 Retiro (see Plate 1), a characteristic portion of the eroded coastal 



