138 



THE OOLOGIST 



vegetation covers the lower area. I 

 found several foot paths made by the 

 native wood cutters, splendidly built 

 black men who spend their lives 

 gathering wood to supply the passing 

 steamers. These paths were alive 

 with brown lizards striped along the 

 back with yellow and black. Many 

 Iguanas were also seen, some of them 

 two feet in length. 



I secured a new woodpecker in the 

 deep forest and a fine large squirrel, 

 much darker than the one taken by 

 O'Connell. Also found a hanging nest 

 of some small bird, some thirty feet 

 up, but did not have time to go after 

 it. Late in the afternoon while al 

 were busy making skins on deck, w^t 

 passed a bar on which many terns 

 and skimmers were breeding. 



The steamer which we are on, is a 

 flat bottom scow, built up with un- 

 gainly cabins which make it appear 

 top-heavy. On the lower deck, which 

 is open, the engines are situated, to- 

 gether with the boilers, and kitchen 

 which is a square cage of wire. Dirt 

 of every description reaches the food, 

 which is cooked in open pots and 

 freely handled by negro cooks. It is 

 not uncommon to find cinders and 

 dirt in the food and occasionally the 

 maggots of blow flies. Meals consist 

 of various native dishes; quantities 

 of rice, cocoa, coffee, coarse bread 

 and brown sugar. Meat is served 

 daily, but is stringy and tough owing 

 to the fact that it is slaughtered on 

 deck in the morning and cooked be- 

 fore the animal heat has had time to 

 leave it. 



The second deck consists of an 

 open space at either end; eight cabins 

 amidship with a dining hall between 

 them, open at each end, and a covered 

 shower bath which supplies tepid 

 river water to the would-be bather. 

 There is a third deck, which is en- 

 tirely open, except for the captain's 



cabin and wheel house, and upon this 

 deck we often slept when the cabin 

 below became unbearable. With an 

 air-mattress and mosquito net, one 

 could sleep here in peace, providing 

 that the wind did not shift, bringing 

 with it a shower of glowing chidero 

 from the roaring funnel. This did not 

 often happen, however, and aJl 

 soon became accustomed to sleep- 

 ing and eating as heartily as though 

 we were at home. 



January 27th. This mornmg the 

 steamer struck on a sand bar. We 

 lost five hours, and a chance to go 

 collecting, before the sand shifted 

 enough for us to proceed. The next 

 morning we stopped at Apon. Here 

 in the heavy jungle I succeeded in 

 taking ten good birds. The most in- 

 teresting one in the lot was an 

 Acadian flycatcher which was in com- 

 pany with two others of the same 

 species. Ring and O'Connel came in 

 with two large casiques, and a pair 

 of yellow and blue trogons. 



January 28th. Stopped abouc i p. 

 m. at San Botholeme. Here I shot a 

 species of squirrel new to the ex- 

 pedition and also a species of querula, 

 (Cotingae). Also saw a galictus, a 

 large weasel like animal, a few feet 

 up in a forest tree. Noted several 

 colonies of nesting casiques, one con- 

 taining thirty seven hanging nests. 

 We have had heavy rains for the last 

 few evenings and they have made the 

 jungle much cooler and easier to work 

 in, in the morning hours. Found 

 another nest of the Chima Chima 

 seventy feet up in a Ceiba tree. An 

 interesting and very common sight in 

 the jungle are the paper nests of a 

 very small species of social hymenop- 

 tera, or wasp. The nests are pear- 

 shaped and suspend from trees and 

 bushes two or three feet from the 

 ground. Fortunately the insects arc 

 of a peaceful nature as one frequent- 



