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appeared to know of a guide with knowledge of the region. The 
meeting of Sefior Rafael Garcia-Rijo, who has large holdings in 
the region, resulted in suitable arrangements to get into these 
distant hills. He became greatly interested in my work, and 
introduced me to Mr. John B. Roosevelt, a retired American 
engineer, who had done considerable surveying in that region 
and was pleased to accompany me 
Accordingly we left Sancti Spiritus at daybreak on February 
27, with two good horses provided by Mr. Roosevelt, going 
southward through a series of pasture-lands, crossing several 
small rivers and low ridges of what appeared to be micaceous 
shist formation, the flora of which was examined from time to 
time and some collections made. The town of Banao consists 
of a very few cheap houses, and like many other rural towns of 
the island has seen better days, but it would probably make a 
tolerable base for a more complete examination of the hills. To 
the north and west the hills are principally of limestone formation. 
Eastward and northward toward Sancti Spiritus, the hills seem 
to be of serpentine and micaceous shist. Lomo Obispo is the 
most prominent and highest of these, but as it looked very dry 
and was said to be entirely under pasturage, I did not think it 
advisable to spend the time necessary to reach and ascend it. 
From Banao we passed around the southern side of the hills, 
crossing over some of the foot-hills covered almost exclusively 
by ‘‘corojo,” Acrocomia fusiformis (Swartz) Cook, intermingled 
with low spreading trees of ‘‘guao,’” Comocladia sp., the rough 
bark of which is a favorite habitat for a bright rose-colored 
orchid, probably a Broughtonia, which grew in considerable 
abundance and by its bright rose-colored flowers, added a 
brilliancy to portions of the otherwise dull landscape. A variety 
of small shrubs but scarcely any herbaceous plants were seen in 
this association. Passing northward, after having forded Rio 
Higuarojo, across an old and long-abandoned sugar plantation, 
La Seiba, through forests, most of it seemingly of second growth, 
we reached the home of Mr. William R. Harrison, on the banks 
of Rio Unimaza, just before dark, having, it was said, traveled 
sixty miles that day. Mr. Harrison, his father and a brother 
