of an Orchid Hunter. i 49 



emerald mine. Mere, at an altitude of about 8,500 

 feet above the sea-level, I found an abundance of 

 plants, their magnificent spikes of flower looking 

 doubly beautiful hanging from the branches of the 

 trees, some high up out of reach of the native 

 climbers, and others so low as to be easily pulled off 

 by hand. My next consideration was to muster a 

 company of natives sufficient to enable me to secure 

 a quantity of the mountain treasures I had come 

 so far to seek. These natives I encr c or e d, to the 

 number of about thirty, in the nearest village, called 

 Maripi. Here, also, we found sufficient provisions for 

 about a week ; these were taken on the backs of mules 

 to the edge of the forest, and then each man was 

 supplied with his pack to carry through the forest 

 to where we intended to make our camp, away on 

 the edge of a mountain stream. The journey with 

 the provisions took us two days, and on arriving at 

 the site of our proposed camp we lost no time in 

 constructing a rude hut, which served to shelter 

 us for the first night, and which we eventually im- 

 proved sufficiently to afford us protection for about a 

 month. In those immense forests, where a few acres 

 of clearing is considered a great benefit, and where 

 clearinos made, if not attended to, become forests 

 again in three years, cutting down a few thousands 

 of trees is no serious injury; so I provided my 



