16 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA 



paratus was so arranged that the animals could walk down- 

 hill as they pulled, adding greatly to their efficiency. It is 

 necessary to carry a complete stock of duplicate machinery 

 to use in case of an accident; otherwise the factory might 

 have to shut down a year or two while some badly needed 

 article was being secured from abroad. 



Nearly all machinery is ordered from London, as it can 

 be had more quickly and better packed than from the United 

 States. I heard this same statement in various parts of 

 South America. Although manufacturers were beginning 

 to realize that in order to do business successfully in South 

 America, they must first make a study of general condi- 

 tions, they have not done so in the past, with the natural 

 result that the bulk of Latin- American commerce has been 

 done with the Old World. It is frequently necessary to 

 ship merchandise on mule-back, or in small river-craft a 

 distance of many days after its arrival at a port and before 

 it reaches its destination; it is exposed to varying weather 

 conditions great heat and heavy rains; the treatment it 

 receives is of necessity very rough. All this means that 

 packing must have been done with great care and in a special 

 manner. The fact that we have not adopted the metric 

 system, and that there have been practically no American 

 banks to discount bills, have been further drawbacks to 

 the establishment of extensive trade relations between the 

 two peoples. 



Perhaps the most attractive thing of all about the Cauca 

 Valley is its climate. A record of the temperature kept at 

 La Manuelita during a period of ten years shows the greatest 

 uniformity. The difference in the average weekly tem- 

 perature is only 6 the year around. 



A belt of tall bamboo entirely surrounds the hacienda; 

 the giant stalks of steel-like toughness are armed with long, 

 murderous thorns and form an interlocking mass that is 

 absolutely impenetrable to man. Contrary to our expecta- 

 tions, birds were not plentiful in this land of tangled ver- 

 dure. A few nighthawks dozed on the ground in the deep 



