ACROSS THE ANTIOQUIAN GOLD-FIELDS 109 



from the Magdalena Valley and, during August and Sep- 

 tember, many thousands of bags are shipped down the 

 river to Barranquilla. Wild life, however, was compara- 

 tively scarce in the forest proper, with the single exception 

 of mosquitoes, which were present in unlimited swarms, 

 even in the daytime; and small troops of brown marmosets 

 that showed themselves at rare intervals. 



While crossing the clearing one day a flock of blue and 

 yellow macaws passed overhead; we needed a pair for the 

 collection, so I took a quick shot at the birds as they flew 

 by; however, I succeeded only in wounding one of their 

 number, which flew to the ground in a long slant and 

 alighted so far away that it was useless to try to follow. 

 On reaching home at noon, I w r as greatly surprised to find 

 the bird perched on a ladder in the very house we were 

 occupying. It had dropped in the yard, and having been 

 seen by some children, they tried to catch it, whereupon 

 it took refuge indoors and kept them at bay with its angry 

 screams and attempts to bite. 



The evenings at Malena w r ere fully as profitable as the 

 mornings. We always spent a pleasant hour or two at 

 dusk, walking along the railroad. Pools of water had col- 

 lected in the hollows where earth for the road-bed had been 

 excavated, and many water-birds came there nightly to 

 fish or catch frogs. Great blue herons, bitterns, and occa- 

 sionally a cormorant or anhinga were surprised at their 

 nocturnal feasts. 'When we returned after dark we started 

 numerous goatsuckers, which had settled in the open lane 

 to catch insects and to sing; this habit of resorting to open 

 places, especially trails and roadways, has earned for them 

 the name guardacamino (road-guard) among the natives. 



Malena was such an unusually interesting place that we 

 expected to remain there several weeks; but, unfortunately, 

 an epidemic of dysentery had invaded the Magdalena Val- 

 ley, and the village was soon writhing in the throes of this 

 fatal disease. Sickness and death in the family of our hosts 

 made it necessary for us to continue on our way. 



