until reaching the Paramillo, so that we went 
nearly two whole days without drinking. 
The second day’s march we had hoped 
would be over a gentler slope; but it was soon 
discovered that our ridge was composed of a 
succession of knolls rising from five hundred 
to one thousand feet above the mean level, 
and the forest grew denser constantly. We 
had to cut practically every foot of the way. 
In places we actually walked over the top of 
the masses of vegetation; the branches were a 
solid tangle of creepers, climbing bamboo, 
bromelias and mosses, and formed springy 
aérial bridges. More often it was easier to 
burrow through, and frequently ‘“‘tunnels”’ 
many yards long were cut, through which the 
carriers crawled on hands and knees. The 
tops of some of the hills were void of trees, 
their place being taken by a dense growth of 
grasslike bamboo, wild oleanders, thick-leaved 
shrubs, and thickets of a tall, coarse grass 
with leaves eight feet tall and six inches wide. 
Half-breed porters to carry the expedition’s equipment. It was the duty of one to goin advance 
and clear an opening through the forest with his machete. 
In some places every foot of the way had 
to be cut; in others the party actually walked over the tops of the vegetation, a solid tangle of creepers, 
climbing bamboo, bromelias and mosses, which formed springy aérial bridges 
369 
