BUENAVENTURA TO CALI 7 



a few hundred only, when it is really several thousand. At 

 this time (April, 1911) Caldas was an attractive spot, as 

 its elevation is two thousand feet, and the country imme- 

 diately surrounding it is open ; but in recent years sufferers 

 from malaria, yellow fever, and other diseases have gone 

 there from Buenaventura to recuperate, and have left the 

 several maladies firmly implanted in the entire region, mak- 

 ing it most unhealthful. 



A small tent-show was playing at Caldas, and as this 

 was a most unusual occurrence it created a certain amount 

 of furor among the people. It rained heavily the greater 

 part of the afternoon, but darkness had scarcely crept up 

 from the lowland when troops of people, each one carrying 

 a chair or box to sit on, came tramping from all directions, 

 their bare feet making swishing and gurgling sounds as they 

 plodded through mud and water. The elite — even Caldas 

 boasts of a high-class social set — arrived later and stood 

 during practically the entire performance in order to be 

 the better seen and admired by the "common" people. 



So far, Richardson had acted as cashier for the party, 

 and it was rather startling to see entries in his journal such 

 as "lunch, $200.00; railroad-tickets, $2,000.00; oranges, 

 $15.00." The Colombian dollar, or peso, had depreciated in 

 value until it was worth exactly one cent in United States 

 currency. Practically all the money in circulation was in 

 bills of from one to one hundred pesos, the former predom- 

 inating. If one had only a hundred one-peso notes, equal- 

 ling an American dollar, they made quite a bulky parcel; for 

 this reason all the men carry large leather pocketbooks at- 

 tached to a strap slung across the shoulder, and quite in- 

 cidentally these containers also hold cigars, matches, and 

 various other little articles dear to the hearts of their 

 owners. 



Richardson had arranged for arrieros and a caravan of 

 pack-mules to meet us early the following morning, but 

 it was almost noon when they appeared. We were in the 

 land of mahana, but had not as yet learned to curb our im- 



