1 68 NOTES OF A BOTANIST 



the banks ; the day was stormy, but the second 

 night it did not rain, and he saw with joy on the 

 morning of the third day that the water had de- 

 creased. He made then no delay in having the 

 four bridges thrown across, and took care to make 

 them very solid, lashed together so as to make one 

 single continuous bridge, hoping to find it there on 

 his return. But although he remained only three 

 nights on the other side of the Topo, on returning 

 to the banks on the fourth day, towards sunset, the 

 bridge was there no longer, having been carried 

 away the previous night by terrible storms which 

 had lasted for twelve hours, inundating the tra- 

 vellers' rancho and putting out their fire, so that 

 at daybreak they found themselves soaked with 

 wet, sitting upon their baggage, and with their 

 feet in water. Fortunately, during the day, the 

 Topo had sufficiently abated for them to discover 

 the tops of the rocks ; so the bamboos were felled 

 and arranged upon the rocks, and they were able 

 to cross in the last rays of twilight. He learnt 

 when too late that it was only during the months 

 of December, January, and February that one 

 might hope to find the rivers of the forest of 

 Canelos low enough to be crossed easily and with- 

 out danger. But he was content to have been able 

 to devote an entire day to Mount Abitagua, besides 

 collecting interesting plants all along the road ; and 

 he returned to Barios, having enriched his collec- 

 tion with a considerable number of very beautiful 

 specimens. 



[Returning to the Journal, the following short 

 note on the few plants observed during his journey 

 may appropriately be given here :- 



