125 
At the time of crossing the wind, as always when I have been 
on this divide, was strongly from the east, and on it was driving 
the coldest of rains. 
he road-like camino descends through Chipaque to Caqueza, 
thence aan its course is cut on the face of steep mountain- 
slopes above the Rio Negro. These slopes are high; the river 
Only toward Villavicencio does the trail leave the Rio Negro to 
climb over the last easterly ridge of the Andes 
winds seem to bring to the eastern Orinocan slope a warmer 
seem ‘impossible from steepness to till the soil. This is the primi- 
tive land of maize, and here, in huts beside their etn fields, 
live the Chibcha Indians. I was surprized to find maize planted 
so high upon the Cordillera, the fields of this pushing well up 
onto the shrub-lands. 
As upon the Magdalena slope, but here extending to a higher 
altitude, likely to about 2,000 meters, is encountered next a 
zone of open grassy slopes. Cornfields, and practically all sign 
of cultivation or settled life, disappear. hat induces open 
land upon this side of the cordillera can hardly be aridity e 
soil did not seem eee thin, nor of a poo easly. Dee 
valleys of eae were woo ieee These amount ain slop were 
surmounted by ly I 
but - was so far above the trail that I could reach i it at but one 
pees flora of th Jopes delighted me. as 
a large deep-pink terrestrial orchid—its flowers like a ee 
which in large colonies overhung the c ith it were 
other pink and white orchids. Crotolaria, “Lobelia, scarlet Scutel- 
laria, Meibomia, paren Hyptis, Eryngium, Rubus, Com- 
