76 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA 



Matahambre to its very summit (one thousand 

 feet). From there we caught a superb view of 

 Azucar and the ranges east and west. Between us 

 and the sierra we could trace our route over many 

 lesser lomasy the path zigzagging along their crests. 

 After some two hours of travel we descended 

 sharply into a valley where the vegetation suddenly 

 assumed the sierra character, and blocks of white 

 honeycomb limestone appeared beneath a drapery 

 of leaves and the matted stems of creeping vines. 

 Here, then, were the remains of an old mo gate, far 

 removed from the main sierra and possibly a 

 treasure island for us. We dismounted in a hurry 

 to explore the rocks, exhilarated by land- shell 

 possibilities. A perfect little gem of a banded 

 Eutrochatella (E. regina) of the Azucar type of 

 coloration and sculpture, but of miniature size 

 rewarded us, but there was nothing else of 

 importance. 



Throughout this region of lesser lomas we ob- 

 served many low trees of a species of SpondiaSf 

 bearing a plum-like fruit related to the Otahite 

 apple, which is eaten by the natives. There are 

 also several species of FicuSj among them F, 

 crassinervia with leaves resembling those of the 



