Vol. XX 1 Notes and Ae-Ms. Q^ 



an expert collector. In 1896-97 he was employed by Mr. W. W. Price to 

 collect in Mexico. lie left San Francisco November 25, 1896, accompanied 

 bj his brother, for Mazatlan, Mexico, and the next ten months were spent 

 in collecting in the States of Sinaloa and Durango. The collection of 

 mammals was purchased by the British Museum, and gave such satis- 

 faction that Mr. Oldfield Thomas, the Curator of Mammals, soon engaged 

 Mr. Simons for a three years collecting trip to the Andean region of South 

 America. He was again accompanied by his brother. They left San 

 Francisco September 28, 1898, on the steamer 'City of Sidney.' Work 

 was begun at Guayaquil, Ecuador, and after collecting for some time at 

 various points near the coast, the brothers crossed the Andes by way of 

 Mount Chimborazo, and camped for some time at Riobamba. "From 

 Riobamba," to quote from Mr. Luther B. Simons's letter, "we went down 

 the Rio Chambo as far Rio Topo ; then returning to Riobama we traveled 

 southward, visiting Cuenca and Loja, two prominent cities in the high- 

 lands of Ecuador. Leaving Ecuador we entered Peru, traversed the 

 desert of Piura and Sechura, and passed on down the arid coast to 

 Lambayeque, and thence inland to Cajamarca. Here we were detained by 

 a revolution, and witnessed a big battle, but were not molested. 



"From Cajamarca to Lima we traveled partly in the high Andes and 

 partly along the desert coast, there being not a single trail through the 

 interior of Peru, the country is so broken by deep caiions. From Lima 

 we crossed the Andes by the Lima and Oroya Railroad and made a large 

 collection on the Rio Perene. We then returned to Lima and took passage 

 by steamer for Mollendo, the southern port of Peru. Here we made 

 small collections and then passed on to Arequipa, Puno, Lake Titicaca, 

 and Santo Domingo. After a month's stay at Santo Domingo we re- 

 turned to Puno and shipped what specimens we had, and then took pas- 

 sage on the steamer 'Coya' for La Paz, Bolivia. From this point we 

 went into the interior, to a place called Mapiri, on the upper Madra de 

 Dios River. 



" We had now^ been absent two years, which was longer than I had 

 agreed to remain with the expedition, and after making a thorough col- 

 lection at this point I bade my brother a sad farewell, returned with the" 

 specimens to La Paz, and then to Mollendo, sailing thence for San 

 Francisco. My brother had intended to hire some native assistants, but 

 later decided to travel alone. For a year longer he prosecuted his work 

 very successfully, collecting at manj' points in southern Bolivia and the 

 northern border of Chili. From Antofagasta he went by steamer to 

 Valparaiso, and then by rail to Mendoza, Argentina, collecting at various 

 points in Chili and Argentina. The last letter I received from him was 

 written at Mendoza, December 15, 1901. From information I have 

 received from the British Consul General at Valparaiso, he had dispatched 

 his collecting chest, tent, etc., froin a place called Puente del Luca to Val- 

 paraiso, and had attempted to cross the Andes on foot to Los Andes, 

 Chili, with a native guide, who, when near a place called Cuervas, Argen- 



