FIFTEEN HUNDRED MILES ON THE ORINOCO 143 



our headquarters, there lived in perfect harmony several 

 large tortoises, a deer, two sheep, about a dozen tree-ducks, 

 turkeys, chickens, guinea-fowl, and several pigs; fifteen 

 species of birds, including parrots, orioles, and finches oc- 

 cupied cages hanging on the walls. The desire to keep caged 

 animals is an inherent trait of the South American. Back 

 of the city lies an extensive swamp from which, at least 

 during the month of December, came great numbers of 

 mosquitoes. As may have been inferred, the heat was very 

 great; but regularly at nightfall the strong wind came up 

 the river, causing a drop of several degrees in the tempera- 

 ture; then the town cast off its torpor, lights twinkled, the 

 band played on the water-front, gayly dressed and painted 

 women peered from behind the heavily barred windows, 

 the streets were filled with a roving crowd of men and boys, 

 and Ciudad Bolivar presented a wide-awake appearance. 



On the opposite side of the Orinoco is the small town of 

 Soledad; this village supplies a large portion of the sailors 

 who man the boats plying on the river. 



Our first care was to try to find a way of proceeding on 

 our voyage. On account of the low stage of the water from 

 the months of January to March, steamers do not ascend 

 beyond Ciudad Bolivar regularly, and at best they go only 

 as far as the Apure. It was, therefore, decided to charter 

 a sailboat of shallow draft which would take us to the first 

 great barrier to navigation, the cataracts of Atures. To 

 secure such a craft was not an easy matter. We visited 

 several of the large export houses, mostly German, but 

 none of them had vessels at their disposal. Finally, we 

 heard of a man named Guillermo Montez; he was a type 

 frequently met with in South America; owning a small store 

 which contained chiefly long ropes of garlic festooned on 

 the walls, living in a mud hovel, and apparently poverty- 

 stricken, he nevertheless possessed great wealth and knew 

 how to handle his fellow countrymen. This "handling" 

 consisted of keeping them constantly in debt to himself, 

 so that he owned them virtually body and soul. Montez 



