THE PARAGUAY BASIN 7 



age of reptiles, or, indeed, of any true land vertebrates 

 on the globe. This plateau is a region partly of healthy, 

 rather dry and sandy, open prairie, partly of forest. The 

 great and low-lying basin of the Paraguay, which borders 

 it on the south, is one of the largest, and the still greater 

 basin of the Amazon, which borders it on the north, 

 is the very largest of all the river-basins of the earth. 



In these basins, but especially in the basin of the 

 Amazon, and thence in most places northward to the 

 Caribbean Sea, lie the most extensive stretches of tropical 

 forest to be found anywhere. The forests of tropical 

 West Africa, and of portions of the Farther-Indian 

 region, are the only ones that can be compared with them. 

 Much difficulty has been experienced in exploring 

 these forests, because under the torrerttial rains and steam- 

 ing heat the rank growth of vegetation becomes almost 

 impenetrable, and the streams difficult of navigation; 

 while white men suffisr much from the terrible insect 

 scourges and the deadly diseases which modern science 

 has discovered to be due very largely to insect-bites. 

 The fauna and flora, however, are of great interest. 

 The American museum was particularly anxious to 

 obtain collections from the divide between the head- 

 waters of the Paraguay and the Amazon, and from the 

 southern affluents of the Amazon. Our purpose was to 

 ascend the Paraguay as nearly as possible to the head 

 of navigation, thence cross to the sources of one of the 

 affluents of the Amazon, and if possible descend it in 

 canoes built on the spot. The Paraguay is regularly 

 navigated as high as boats can go. The starting-point 

 for our trip was to be Asuncion, in the state of Paraguay. 



My exact plan of operations was necessarily a little 

 indefinite, but on reaching Rio de Janeiro the Minister 

 of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Lauro Mliller, who had been 



