152 
the way. This proved rather more of an undertaking than I 
had counted on, having had almost nothing to eat since the day 
before at noon. There was no food or water to be had on the 
way and having stopped here and there along the road to collect, 
I reached the town seven hours later, dry and hungry, with a 
wel -filled press. 
is situated at the upper side of a rather level savanna 
at the foot of hills that reach down from low, more or less timber- 
covered mountains beyond. The place is only a hundred feet or 
two above sea level, with the nearer hills some six or eight 
hundred feet higher. It proved to be a town of some impor- 
tance, being the capital of the province, and consisted of several 
hundred native inhabitants, quite a number of Spaniards, some 
Frenchmen, and at least one American and one German. The 
streets, though narrow, seemed quite clean, and the connected 
houses, which were built in long narrow blocks, were mostly 
entirely without yards and with doors opening directly to the 
streets on either side. 
Many of the trees about town seemed to be cultivated, among 
them the cocoanut and oil-nut palm. <A species of Anacardium, 
called Maranyon, was common, and ca an edible fruit, or 
rather an edible pedicel to the flat, stony fruits that were used by 
the children ina game somewhat like marbles. A species closely 
related to this was indigenous along the river near by, and proved 
to be one of the largest and commonest trees of the region. Of 
the plant families, the Papilionaceae were best represented. Species 
of the Melastomaceae were also abundant, while climbing shrubs 
and small trees belonging to the Polygalaceae were in sight al- 
most everywhere, with handsome clusters of pink and purple 
owers. Orchids were fairly common in favorable localities but 
only two or three particularly noticeable species were found. 
Among other genera of this family two species of vanilla were 
obtained. 
I lived during my residence in the town with Mr. Hugo Henne, 
the proprietor of a hotel for travelers, and he not only gave me 
excellent board, but every assistance possible to make my stay 
profitable. I remained there from February 23 to March 23, 
