Dec. 28, 1916. FisHes OF PANAMA— MEEK AND HILDEBRAND. 225 
ber of specimens of Joturus pichardi were obtained with a discharge of 
dynamite. ; 
The regions through which the upper courses of these streams flow 
are entirely uninhabited. A traveler in this region is obliged to provide 
himself with provisions, for nothing can be obtained except fish and 
game. Large fishes belonging to the genus Brycon are plentiful, and 
there is doubtless also an abundance of game, although no effort was 
made by us to obtain it. The region is densely wooded and no head- 
way can be made into the jungle without cutting a trail. Large croco- 
diles and caimens abound, and several species of monkeys may from 
time to time be seen leaping from tree to tree. On several occasions 
numbers of monkeys made early morning visits to our camps, chatter- 
ing profusely in the trees overhead, but upon the first movement or 
sound from the occupants of the camp the chattering ceased and a 
grand rush was made for the jungle. 
We made the trip up these streams in a wooden dug-out, “poled” 
by two natives. As it is impossible to paddle a canoe against the strong 
current in most places, the natives use a pole with an iron shoe at the 
base. One man stands in the stern of the boat to guide and to push and 
the other occupies the bow, walking forward, securing a hold and then 
running back as the boat is pushed along. Even during our expedition, 
when the streams were at a very low stage it was necessary for us to 
land and walk past several rapids while our boatmen by means of a 
rope pulled the boat across them. In coming down stream and crossing 
rapids considerable skill is required. Our boatmen were very careful 
either to go faster than the current or slower in order to retain control 
of the boat. It is then obvious that an expedition on the Upper Chagres 
and its tributaries should not be undertaken without skillful boatmen 
_who are familiar with the streams. 
The waters of the lower Chagres are constantly turbid, but those of 
its upper tributaries were clear and cool at the time of our expedition. 
The beds of all of the upper tributaries are pebbly or rocky. Large 
boulders usually occur at the rapids, making traveling all the more 
difficult. 
The stages of the river often change rapidly owing to freshets in the 
mountains, the highest water usually occurring during November and 
December, at the close of the rainy season, and the lowest water during 
February and March. The rapidity with which the stream at times 
rises may be seen from the following figures obtained from the records 
kept by the Isthmian Canal Commission at its hydrographic station at 
Alhajuela: On December 26, 1909, the river had an elevation of 96.6 feet 
at 7:00 A. M.; at 7:00 P. M. the elevation was 121 feet. On December 26, 
