30 BULLETIN: MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY. 
From Rio de Janeiro, again through the intermediation of Dr. 
Derby, I set out on October 12th for the planalto of Sao Paulo to- 
examine the tillite beds on the railway line between Itaicy 4nd Piraci-. 
caba. Dr. Cardoso, chief of the Sao Paulo Geographical and Geologi-- 
cal Commission detailed Dr. Pacheco of that bureau to accompany me. 
The excursion was made with a railway automobile, over the part of 
the line traversing the sediments. This afforded every opportunity 
for a rapid reconnaissance. On returning to Rio de Janeiro, I sailed 
from that port on October 24th bound to Laguna for the purpose of | 
examining the Permian section of the Tuberao Valley. Dr. Euzebio 
Oliveira joined me at Paranagua. On this and the return voyage the 
necessary delays in waiting for the small coasting steamers gave 
opportunity of making observations upon shore-line changes and the 
general features of the Serra do Mar at Sao Francisco, Itajahy, 
Florianopolis, and Laguna. 
While waiting for the steamer at Laguna a study was made of a 
sambaqui or shell-mound forming a small terrace on the flank of the 
granite hill at the south end of the town. The top of this deposit is 
about 100 feet above sea-level and has been dug into as a local source 
of lime. The deposit is composed principally of a small lamelli-. 
branch, in parts of the mass somewhat cemented together. In the 
upper part of the heap I found a stone-axe, fragments of a fine-grained 
rock evidently used for opening shells, fish-bones, mammalian bones, 
and part of a human skull, as well as portions of a large sea-urchin, all 
indicating by their leeched condition considerable antiquity. At a 
lower level a large Ostrea was abundant. The deposit has a rough 
stratified structure but nothing like that induced by deposition 
beneath moving and assorting currents of water. Neither in the 
topography nor in the structure were there characters seeming to 
demand other than surface accumulation for the origin of this shell- 
heap. The dead shells of a recent large snail, Bulimus, were rather 
abundant on the surface of the kitchen-midden, and the old shells. 
were sliding down to the present beach. Professor Dixon has kindly 
written a note on the collections I made at Laguno, (p. 132). 
Voyage from Rio de Janeiro to Talcahuana. November 25th, 1908.. 
The journey from Brazil through the straits of Magellan to southern 
Chile was begun today by sea on the steamship Oravia of the Pacific 
Navigation Company, with stops at Monte Video, Punta Arenas, 
and Coronel. 
November 29th— At Monte Video. Two partly dismasted barks. 
lay at anchor in the harbor, having fallen back to this port for repairs. 
