For December, 1923 



305 



was in the hands of Norman Black. From the warehouse 

 to the boat bv pack-mule again, by steamer to Beltran. by 

 train from Beltran to La Dorada where they were again 

 unpacked and taken to a steamer on the Lower Magdalena 

 River to continue their five or six hundred-mile trip to the 

 coastal town of Barranquilla. I-'rom there they were sent 

 bv train tn Puerto Colombia : from there by ocean steamer 

 to Panama, where they waited to be transferred to a New 

 Orleans steamer. At Xew Orleans they were taken in 

 charge by our agents and shipped to East St. Louis b\' 

 fast freight. To hasten delivery at the Garden, automu- 



Crossina tlw Rio I icja 



liile trucks brought them to the Garden without awaiting 

 transfer across the river by the Terminal Railroad. This 

 itinerary of the orchids from their native environment to 

 their new home emphasizes the fact that the biggest fac- 

 tor of expense is transportation ami not the original cost 

 of the orchids. 



"After successfully getting the plants which 1 had been 

 sent for, my thoughts now turned towards home. L'n- 

 fortunately, most of the Magdalena ports were under 

 quarantine for yellow fever which was prevalent in the 

 Bucaramanga region, so I was advised to go bv mule 

 back over the mountains to the Pacific port of Buenaven- 

 tura. 



"Before leaving Girardot we bought medical supplies, 

 etc. We went from here to Flanders and here caught a 

 train to Ibague, the capital of the Departmento de Tolima. 

 After locating the agent who furnishes mules for such 

 trips we were informed that it would take nine mules 

 and four horses to carry ourselves and freight, which 

 included our trunks, two cases of orchids, an herbarium 

 press, etc. To make the packs waterproof, everything 

 had to be wrapped in American tar-paper and roped on 

 the outside, ^\'e left Ibague at daybreak. My Spanish 

 friend and myself were not expert horsemen. However, 

 the Ecuadorean, who was brought up in the mountains 

 of Ecuador, was qualified for the trip, and the \'irginian 

 had previously belonged to the I'nited States cavalrv, 

 so he was likewise an experienced horseman. We had 

 three expert guides, each carrying his famous machete 

 about two feet long. 



"Our first objective after leaving Ibague was Caja- 

 ]\Iarca, where we arrived at dusk and managed to secure 

 a shelter for the night. The next morning" we were up 

 again before daylight, our guides informing us that to- 

 day's trip was the most dangerous of the four days, inas- 



much as we would have to climb to an altitude of 10,000 

 nr 11,000 feet by the Quindeo Pass. We were advised to 

 ride mules for the day as they are very much surer-footed, 

 this being essential in view of the narrowness of most 

 of the trails. We rode mules for the first three hours 

 and then changed to our horses, deciding that we would 

 sooner take the chance than go further on mule back. 



"The second day we were to make the town of Armenia, 

 which was a hard day's ride, before dark. We eventually 

 climbed to and were safely crossing the Quindeo Pass. 

 The scenery throughout the day was indescribably beau- 

 tiful. Crossing the Pass I noticed a large red fruit that 

 looked like a strawberry. Stopping my mule, after a 

 short climb, I found it to be a raspberry larger than the 

 largest strawberry I had ever seen. ]\Iy friends, who had 

 not been so much interested in my orchid material, be- 

 came alert at sight of this edible fruit. I found three ripe 

 fruits and exclaimed 'This is the best find I have had 

 yet ; I will take the fruit home and try to introduce this 

 large variety.' ]\Iy friends replied: 'That sounds very 

 nice, but we have allowed you to stop frequently for your 

 blamed orchids and now that you have found something 

 decent to eat you even want to take that away.' Three 

 against one was too much for me, so the large-fruited 

 raspberries were lost to science. I afterwards found that 

 the natives called these 'moras.' 



"After finishing our costly (to me) dessert we started 

 to descend to Armenia which we could see in the distance 

 but alas a few hours' hard ride away. The progress 

 seemed to be somewhat slow so we spurred our horses 

 ahead ; otherwise we would have had to stay in the moun- 

 tains for the night. Just before dusk, with the town in 

 the distance, our leader said we would have to speed on 

 to make the town. Aly horse evidently had usuallv led 

 the pack-trains because he made speed only when in the 

 lead, so we were placed at the head, ^^'e started down 

 grade im a half-way decent road at full speed. The 

 X'irginian, who was bringing up the rear, and who carried 

 a revolver, decided to pull off a little Wild West show by 



0)1 till' Trail To'ci'ard La Maria 



the aid of his gun. The horses, evidently not used to such 

 demonstrations, became somewhat frightened and in- 

 creased their speed. This would have been to our liking 

 had not my horse suddenly collapsed after one of these 

 spiu"ts. The only things I remember were flying hoofs 

 and having the presence of mind to turn out of the way 

 of the mule which was following. Before my friends 

 could dismount I was up and helping the horse. The 



