6 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA 



torrents poured their crystal streams from openings in over- 

 grown crevices and were dashed to spray on the rocks be- 

 low. Hundreds of feet lower down, the Dagua raged within 

 the narrow confines of a rock-bound gorge. Thick jungles, 

 dark and impenetrable, cover the slopes. We were conscious 

 of the perfume of flowers concealed amid the forbidding 

 masses of deepest green. An iguana, fully four feet long 

 and of a bright green color dashed across the track a few 

 feet ahead of the puffing engine; a moment later and the 

 beautiful creature would have been crushed to death. Over- 

 head, flocks of parrots screamed defiance at the lowly, 

 wheezing thing that laboriously made its way farther and 

 farther into their time-hallowed abode; and toucans, clat- 

 tering their long bills and yelping, performed queer acro- 

 batics in a lofty tree-top. A violent lunge recalled us to 

 earth; the train had stopped for more fuel so the passengers 

 got out and amused themselves touching the sensitive-plants 

 that grew abundantly along the road-bed. 



Not long afterward we emerged suddenly into a peculiar 

 region. There was an abrupt end to the gloomy forest, 

 and in its place grew straggling clumps of giant cacti. The 

 dividing-line is as sharp as if cut with a knife. The fauna 

 also is different; instead of brilliantly hued tanagers, tro- 

 gons and toucans, there are wrens, finches, and other birds 

 of sombre color. This desert-like belt continued for a dis- 

 tance of some miles, and then forest again appeared, on 

 the top only of the ridges, at first, but gradually extending 

 downward until the slopes were entirely covered. 



Caldas, the terminus of the railroad, was reached at noon 

 and, after a good deal of bargaining, the proprietor of the 

 Hotel del Valle provided us with a room containing four 

 bare, wooden beds; but fortunately our blanket-bags had 

 come with us, so we rather rejoiced that no bedding was 

 provided by the innkeeper. The buildings comprising the 

 town are scattered here and there in small groups, making 

 it difficult to get a comprehensive idea of their number. 

 The first impression suggests that there is a population of 



