of an Orchid Hunter. 39 



the stoke-hole of the engine, prepared to wait the 

 three mortal hours which would elapse between 

 leaving the Phantom and arriving at the station. I 

 will endeavour to describe the whole of the journey 

 from here to the town of Barranquilla, so that 

 whoever may be disposed to follow me in this part of 

 the coast of South America may not run away with 

 the delusion that he is going to disembark at Cannes 

 or Brighton. On arriving at the station we drew 

 up to the side of what appeared to be the companion 

 ship of the Fitnza ; across this we passed with 

 our baofea^e into a shed, consisting of a roof and 

 four posts, where all the luggage is weighed. After 

 this the boxes are seized by a crowd of coppery- 

 coloured Indians and carried off, if you like to 

 pay them, to where the train is standing. Here all 

 those useful adjuncts which a European finds so 

 necessary and convenient in a station, such as 

 booking-office, refreshment-rooms, stationmaster's and 

 porters' offices, are deemed superfluous, and the 

 train is moored on the bare open ground. This 

 station is called Salgar. More recently a new port 

 has been made, called Puerto Colombia, and, although 

 still only a very temporary landing-stage, it can boast 

 of many more conveniences than Salgar. 



The whole of the town of Salgar is composed 

 of six or seven of the worst mud-huts I have ever 



