CHAP. XX. TROPICAL DREAiMS. 391 



We went by steam-launch from Yaguachi to Guayaquil and 

 there separated, — Oampana returning to Quito via Bodegas, and 

 the Carrels going by steamer to Panama. During the next fort- 

 night, I lived principally in the hotel called Tlie Ninth of Octoher ; 

 where, although in a certain sense solitary, I was never without 

 company. The wonderful exuberance of life chased away drowsi- 

 ness, and, when sleep came, one's very dreams were tropical. 

 Droves of mice galloped about at night, and swarms of minute 

 ants pervaded everything. The harsh gnawings of voracious rats 

 were subdued by the softer music of the tender mosquito. These, 

 the indigenous inhabitants, were supplemented by a large float- 

 ing population ; and, in all, I collected fifty species of vermin in a 

 single room. A few selections are given in the accompanying 

 plate from ^my bedfellows at Guayaquil.'^ 



Eleven years have elapsed since our return to Europe. Due 

 regard to my ordinary avocations, and various inevitable delays 



to the edge of a tract of country without traffic or population. The Bridge of Chimbo 

 is 1132 and Sibambe is 8859 feet above the level of the sea. Throughout the course 

 of the fifty miles of line between these two places there will therefore be an average 

 gradient of 1 in ?A ; but, as it will be impossible to construct the whole with one 

 uniform grade, some parts will necessarily be steeper. Those who propose to lay 

 out money on this line might enquire (I adopt the words of Mr. St. John) into "the 

 feasibility and probable profitableness" of loorking aline with an average gradient 

 of 1 in 34 during the occurrence of torrential tropical rain, and into the effect of 

 swiftly running water on loose soil. 



From this interesting though brief Report I find that [in 1891] the trade with the 

 interior is conducted in just the same manner as in 1880. "Goods," it is said, "are 

 carried on mules, horses, and donkeys. Very heav}^ loads are carried by gangs of 

 Indians. All the merchandize transported to and from the northern and central 

 provinces of the Andean region passes through Babahoyo and Chimbo, hut mostly 

 through the former place. . . The railway is little used for the conveyance of goods 

 for the highlands, as but few animals can be procured at Chimbo, the present 

 terminus of the line." 



1 Coleoptera(2, 3, 7, 15, 18-24, 27, 28, 35). Orthoptera (16, 25, 26, 32, 33). 

 Hymenoptera (1, 8-10, 14, 34). Hemiptera (4, 6, 12, 31). Diptera (11). 

 ScoRPioiss and Spiders (5, 13, 17, 29, 30). These are given upon the scale of 

 nature. The larger species have been omitted on account of their size, and the 

 smallest ones from the difficulty of representing them. 



