

EASTERN COLOMBIA — CRIST AND GUHL 401 



are little planted or used. There is plenty of meat available, a little 

 milk, but practically no cheese. 



The son-in-law of the rancher, Mr. Diaz, was worried about the gen- 

 erally inadequate diet and its relationship to death-dealing diseases, 

 such as malaria, or paludismo (almost any fever goes under this 

 name) , and to tropical anemia, caused in large part by hookworm in- 

 festation. Mr. Diaz himself had had yellow fever and was very near 

 death's door, but had recovered — thanks, he felt, to the fact that he 

 had always had a fairly adequate diet. He hoped that some kind of 

 extension service, which would bring farmers advice on agriculture 

 and on diet and health, would be inaugurated by the federal govern- 

 ment. But he was not too hopeful. He did mention a case of the 

 unexpected consequences that can come from man's interference with 

 the natural environment. In the days of banana-patch plumbing, the 

 well-drained area of Montanita and vicinity was relatively free of 

 mosquitoes. However, the construction of privies has meant the crea- 

 tion of stagnant pools of water in which mosquitoes find an ideal 

 built-in breeding place. The result is a plague of those pests and a 

 high incidence of malaria. In spite of this hazard, however, everyone 

 seemed happy to be in this pleasant spot. "The climate in Huila may 

 be more salubrious, but here it is easier to make a living," commented 

 the head of the house. And those born and brought up in this part 

 of Colombia are in love with everything about it and have no desire 

 to go anywhere else. The oldest son had returned to Huila for his 

 bride, but he had no desire to stay there. All the women seem extraor- 

 dinarily fertile. The man of the house told me of the wonderful 

 remedies to be found in the forest, particularly for such indispositions 

 as a "touch of fever," or constipation, or a bilious attack (quina [wild 

 quinine], mochilita, and higueron, in that order). 



The influence of a highway is felt over a wide zone. For example, 

 the small village of Puerto Rico, northeast of Montanita, and San 

 Vicente del Caguan, a good day's horseback ride beyond, both formerly 

 shipped their products by mule train across the mountains to Algeciras 

 and Neiva. However, with the extension of the road from Florencia 

 to Montanita, the commercial activity of Puerto Rico is oriented in 

 the direction of the end of the truck route at Montanita. The produce 

 from San Vicente, however, still moves over the mountains by mule- 

 back to Algeciras. 



LARGE ESTATES AND SMALL CLEARINGS 



Southeast of Florencia, at the confluence of the Orteguaza and 

 Hacha Rivers, the extremely wealthy Lara family has bought an estate 

 of some 15,000 hectares of land, on which several thousand head of 

 steers graze. They got government land cheap, tied to a well-popu- 

 lated hinterland by a fairly good road. The investment is bound to 



