54 



A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS. 



with great respect by the rest of the crew. There are no charts, 

 Hghthouses, or buoys, and the water to the inexperienced eye looks 

 the same in all parts of the river, yet the channel is continually 

 changing and the pilots can tell at a glance when to cross from one 



side to the other, 

 and when to keep 

 in the centre. The 

 boat stops three or 

 four times a day to 

 take on wood, which 

 is piled up along 

 the shore at conven- 

 ient places and sold 

 to the steamers by 

 the owners. There 

 are no wharves at 

 any place along the 

 river. The boat 

 simply runs up to 

 the shore, makes 

 fast to a convenient 

 tree, and puts out a 

 gang-plank. The 

 wood used for fuel 

 must be dry. It is 

 cut into leno'ths of 

 two feet, stacked in 

 regular piles divided by upright stakes into small units called 

 " burros," which I suppose means a donkey-load. The price paid 

 is about fifty cents paper per burro. The wood is loaded by the 

 crew, Avho bring it on board on their shoulders, using a rope fas- 

 tened around one wrist and held in the other hand to increase the 

 amount that they can embrace. They also usually wear a piece of 

 bagging over their head and shoulder as a protection against scor- 



CnCOA PALMS ALONG THE MAGDALENA. 



