ARCH/€OLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS ON THE 

 ISLAND OF LA PLATA, ECUADOR. 



THE JOURNEY TO THE ISLAND. 



Having taken supplies to last for a period of two weeks, we left 

 Guayaquil on the morning of July 17, 1892, and after an interval of 

 three hours we had arrived at the mouth of the Guayaquil river, 

 where we turned abruptly to the north and skirted the coast during 

 the entire day, arriving at the island late in the evening. A small 

 natural bay is to be found on the shore side of the island where we 

 dropped anchor and remained for sixteen days. During this time we 

 ate and slept on board the boat, making two trips ashore each day in 

 a small rowboat. Owing to the innumerable varieties of water fowl 

 which invaded the island, and the great number of fish which were to 

 be found on every side of us, we were never at a loss for sources of 

 amusement, and in many ways the visit was one of the most delight- 

 ful of my sojourn in South America. 



GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION AND PHYSICAL CHARACTER 

 OF THE ISLAND. 



The island lies about thirty miles from the coast of Ecuador and 

 is just south of the equator. It is about one mile and one-fourth in 

 length and about three-fourths of a mile wide, having a general 

 rectangular shape. As has been noted, there is a well defined bay on 

 the east side of the island (see Fig. 37). Nearly the entire remain- 

 ing shore line is steep and precipitous, and on the entire southern 

 extremity rocky. The general surface of the island is that of an un- 

 dulating plateau rising about one thousand feet above the level of the 

 sea. The vegetation, owing to the scanty rainfall, is entirely con- 

 fined to thick, scrubby underbrush and numerous varieties of large 

 cacti. The island is infested with innumerable rats, while snakes of 

 considerable size are not uncommon. A herd of some thirty or forty 

 wild cattle exists on the island and was seen two or three times by 

 my assistant, but although I made numerous excursions from one end 

 of the island to the other I was unable to see them. The extreme 



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