of an Orchid Hunter, i 8 1 



in the forest. I may say, for the encouragement of 

 anyone who may choose to explore these mountains, 

 whether in search of gold, or plants, or whatever it 

 may be, that the natives here are the most trustworthy 

 and the most enduring of fatigue of any I have met 

 with. Those who went with me carried a heavy pack 

 all day, climbing over the most inaccessible tracks, 

 and at night preparing our camp, often under the 

 greatest difficulty, the forest,, as a rule, being dripping 

 wet and the w r ood saturated. Our bread was procured 

 by taking a bag of maize-meal with us, and every 

 night one of the men made excellent cakes, enough to 

 serve for next day's consumption. We had only one 

 pot of any size, and it was a terrible blow to the 

 community when the man who carried it fell down 

 a precipice, his pack landing at the bottom first, and 

 smashed our only means of making broth. 



Everyone in the vicinity was loud in his praise 

 of a part of the Magdalena adjoining w r hat is known 

 as the Santo Domingo river, so I determined to pay a 

 visit to this district, and I can assure anyone coming 

 after me that I was not disappointed. In Simiti the 

 canoe is as indispensable to everyone as a horse is to 

 the Gaucho, and the journey to the Santo Domingo, 

 about fifty miles, is made by winding about amongst 

 the various channels and small streams which cut up 

 the immense savannas on the west bank of the 



M* 



