BIEDS OF ARGENTINA, PARAGUAY, URUGUAY, AND CHILE 3 



and eucalypts, that gave waj^ to muddy shores and rush or brush 

 grown marshes at the border of the Rio de la Plata. 



On the evening of July 3 I left Buenos Aires for the north by rail, 

 and arrived the following noon at Santa Fe, where I had oppor- 

 tunity for a trip afield in the afternoon in level country near an open 

 lagoon. As this was the hunting season many men were out in 

 pursuit of birds of all kinds, as was the case at Berazategui. That 

 same evening I continued north by rail to Resistencia, capital of the 

 Territory of Chaco, where I arrived the following night. At Resisten- 

 cia I was fortunate in meeting Seiior Enrique Lynch Arribalzaga, with 

 whom I was associated for several days. Field work was carried on 

 here in a limited area of marsh, small lagoons, brush-grown fields 

 and pastures, thickets, and small woodland near the Rio Negro, a 

 small stream north of town. On July 11 I continued to Barran- 

 queros, on the banks of the Rio Parana, 8 kilometers from Resisten- 

 cia, and crossed by steamer to Corrientes. The following morning 

 at daybreak I embarked on a small steamer for the port of Las 

 Palmas. Travel on the great inland river systems at this time was 

 uncertain, due to a strike among sailors who manned the steamers, 

 and most of the boats normally available were not running. Gov- 

 ernment police boats were pressed into service for transportation of 

 mails, and it was one of these that afforded communication at the 

 time between Corrientes and Formosa. The river at this point 

 varied from 200 to 400 meters in width, with its swift, turbid current 

 enclosed between cut banks 2 or 3 meters high. Above Corrientes the 

 shores were wooded or open by turns, with scant sign of habitation. 

 At one point a hill 10 meters high made a marked eminence in an 

 otherwise level landscape. 



The port for Las Palmas, Chaco, is located on the western bank of 

 the Rio Paraguay, a short distance above the confluence of that 

 stream with the Parana. The steamer cast anchor, swung in to the 

 shore, a plank was thrust out to the bank, and the few passengers 

 and luggage for this point disembarked. A small narrow-gauge 

 railroad led inland for 9 kilometers to the little village of Las 

 Palmas, headquarters for a large estancia that covered 60 leagues of 

 land. The manager, R. A. Young, to whom I presented a letter 

 from Seiior Enrique Caceres, governor of the Territory of Chaco, 

 received me here and granted permission to carry on work on the 

 lands under his charge. Quarters were obtained at a little fonda in 

 the village. A strike among workmen employed in the quebracho 

 and sugar mill was in progress, and at times the factory, guarded by 

 militia imported for the purpose from Buenos Aires, was virtually in 

 a state of siege. The Rio Quia, known familiarly as the " Riacho," 

 passed the northern border of town, with numerous small lagoons 



