366 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA 



frigid paramos, have usually been overlooked. This is not 

 surprising when we find how seldom even the trained field- 

 naturalist of to-day finds it possible to lure the tiny, 

 feathered creature from its secure retreat among the mosses, 

 roots, and ferns to which its mouse-like habits confine it, 

 and how rarely he succeeds in recovering the inconspicuously 

 colored bird after it has been shot. Even after a long, pa- 

 tient search has revealed the specimen lodged somewhere 

 in the deep stratum of matted plants, it is by no means 

 sure of reaching the museum; I know of instances where 

 birds, slipping from the hunter's hands and dropping at 

 his feet, have been forever lost in the riot of vegetation 

 which everywhere carpets the ground. 



Our quest for this little creature was destined to extend 

 over a period of months, and to take us into many an out- 

 of-the-way place. We were eager to begin the search, so 

 took the first available train which left La Quiaca two days 

 after our arrival and started southward. 



Leaving the desolate settlement, the railroad winds up- 

 ward through a narrow, rocky gorge to the station Tres 

 Cruces, the altitude of which is twelve thousand four hun- 

 dred feet. There it descends at a steep grade so steep in 

 fact that a rack and pinion are used part of the way. The 

 rocky knobs flanking the gorge are old and weathered and 

 very picturesque. A small stream winds back and forth 

 across a boulder-strewn course; the water is clear and cold. 

 About mid-afternoon we encountered an abrupt change 

 in the type of country. The bare crags and narrow, rocky 

 floor of the gorge gave way to a wide expanse of brush- 

 covered land and green pasture. This change was first 

 noticeable at a small station called Leon (elevation five 

 thousand feet); the vegetation grew thicker and the land- 

 scape more inviting as we continued the journey. At dusk 

 we reached Jujuy, a city of some pretensions; the build- 

 ings are attractive, the streets are broad, and the people 

 appeared clean and intelligent. Following Jujuy were 

 numerous small towns and stations; also many truck-farms 



