126 SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 



soon the entire room was in flames. Quick and judicious use of water 

 saved the building, and fortunately only a few specimens were 

 scorched. 



The Pichis trail ends at Puerto Yessup, on the Pichis River, and 

 from here we went by canoes to Cahuapanas. stopping four days en 

 route at Puerto Bermudez. In many ways this was the most interest- 

 ing part of the entire trip. The river is sufficiently narrow to permit a 

 good view of the plant and animal life on its banks. Noisy monkeys 

 swung from tree to tree ; alligators and giant turtles basked on the 

 muddy shores ; flocks of brilliant birds of the parrot type flew over the 

 tree tops. The river itself was a swift-flowing stream, with numerous 

 rapids and whirlpools. At shallow stretches we would disembark and 

 drag the canoe to deeper water. Once the current swept us close to the 

 shore, and an overhanging branch pulled one of our trunks and the 

 steersman into the water, but both were speedily rescued. At inter- 

 vals our Indian paddlers threw dynamite into the deep pools, then 

 dove for the stunned fish ; these fish, an occasional bird, and turtle-eggs 

 supplemented the canned provisions taken on the trip. 



From Cahuapanas, a mission on the lower Pichis River, we traveled 

 by motor canoe and steam launch to Masisea, on the Ucayali River, 

 just below the mouth of the Pachitea. We reached Masisea July 25, 

 27 days after leaving the Chanchamayo. Mr. Dennis arrived by air- 

 plane the same day. having made the trip in two and a half hours, 

 a good illustration of the difl^erence aviation is making in travel time 

 in the backwoods of South America, even making allowance for our 

 collecting on the way. 



Iquitos, which was to be our main headquarters for the remain- 

 der of the trip, is five days by steamer from Masisea, and is situated 

 on the Amazon, a short distance below the point where that river is 

 formed by the junction of the Ucayali and the Maraiion. It is a thor- 

 oughly progressive city of about 12,000 population, one of the most 

 charming cities I have visited in South America. It is a surprisingly 

 healthful place, almost entirely without malaria and other tropical dis- 

 eases that prospective travelers fear. It \v(juld serve as an ideal base 

 for biological exploration of the upj^er Amazon country, the great 

 Peruvian rivers, the Ucayali and the Huallaga, and the Ecuadorean 

 rivers, the Napo, Tigre, Pastaza, and Santiago, all entering the Ama- 

 zon (or the Maraiion as the upper Amazon is called) within easy reach 

 of Iquitos. 



A four-day trip to Yurimaguas, at the head of steamer navigation 

 on the Huallaga River, brought us into a difi^erent section of the 

 Amazonian jungle, its flora quite distinct from that of the Iquitos area. 



