THE CHOCO COUNTRY 73 



It was impossible to secure fresh meat at N6vita; salt 

 beef was imported in barrels, but it was of such poor qual- 

 ity that we could not eat it. We therefore depended on 

 toucans and parrots for our meat-supply, and found both 

 species very palatable. 



The paper money used throughout the greater part of 

 Colombia is not recognized by inhabitants of the Choco. 

 It rots in the wet, hot atmosphere and for that reason is 

 valueless. Neither are gold coins wanted, but some of the 

 shopkeepers accepted them at a twelve per cent discount. 

 The money that finds favor is composed of silver coins 

 from Mexico and practically all the other South and Cen- 

 tral American republics; it is valued according to size, the 

 "doUars" passing for forty cents, the halves for twenty, 

 and so on. I found a number of United States half-dimes 

 circulating at two cent, and dimes at four cent values, 

 and "collected" all that came within reach. 



After a few days' hunting around Novita we secured 

 another bongo and resumed ovu" journey down-stream. The 

 Tamand. empties into the San Juan, about ten miles be- 

 low Novita. The latter river is wider and deeper, but 

 there is no change in the country bordering it. All day 

 long we glided steadily onward, stopping at noon only for 

 a brief respite from the burning sun. At dusk we landed 

 to spend the night near a negro hut. The floor was raised 

 five feet from the ground and the ragged, thatched roof 

 nearly touched it; there were no walls. Altogether it was a 

 most primitive dwelling, in which the dusky forms of the 

 occupants moved like shadows against the dim light of 

 their cooking fire. Noanamd was reached the next day. 

 It is not quite so large as Juntas de Tamand, and stands on 

 a bluff overlooking the river. The inhabitants are all ne^ 

 groes; the males wore breech-cloths only, while the costume 

 of the women consisted of a narrow cloth fastened around 

 the waist with a string. Both men and women spend a 

 few hours each day washing gold on the river-bank, secur- 

 ing enough from this work to pay for provisions brought 



