48 Bulletin American ^f^lseum of Natural History. [Vol. XXXVI, 



from here, over a fairly good road, level, with the exception of a small rise 

 or two which, however, are of no consequence. 



" Florencia is a small town, with a few hundred inhabitants, but growing 

 rapidly. The altitude is 675 feet. The whole Department of the Caqueta 

 contains but two thousand souls not including Indians, according to the 

 alcalde of Florencia. Provisions can be had at Florencia, but prices of 

 everything but meat and corn are very high. 



" Our first work was done a short distance above the town, at an eleva- 

 tion of 1000 feet, at the ranch of one Don Bias. The clearing was the 

 largest I had seen in this locality, there being fodder, plantains, cacao and 

 corn. In this open country birds were abundant. The surrounding forest 

 was comparatively open, and not far away. From the elevated position 

 one has a good view of the Caqueta country, a perfect ocean of forest stretch- 

 ing out ahead as far as the eye can see, which on clear days is many miles. 

 The sight is most impressive. There is not a single rise visible and the forest 

 is of uniform height. 



" The forest is comparatively open, that is, free from dense undergrowth. 

 The trees are tall and there are a few tree ferns, many climbing lilies and 

 also many palms. There is not much moss and along the streams there is 

 much bamboo and also wild cane, often mixed with dense clumps of creepers, 

 tall grass and thorny bushes. In places there are small clumps, perhaps a 

 few acres in extent, of dense low trees resembling cecropias and called 

 " estrojo." Streams and rivers are numerous and one is at once impressed 

 with their large size and depth. Also, while swift, they are so silent that 

 one may be near a large river and not know of its presence until at the 

 very edge. 



" Clouds hang low, often descending to the ground, especially in the early 

 morning and late night, causing a dense fog. We happened to strike the 

 country in the height of the rainy season, but there were frequently intervals 

 of three bright days with not a drop of rain. On other days the showers, 

 which were heavy, were confined to early morning, the afternoon, after 

 4 P. M., and night. It rarely rained all daj' long. About 4 P. M. a cool 

 wind invariably sprang up. At noon the heat was rather intense but not 

 nearly so great in the Magdalena Valley (as I later discovered) below Neiva. 

 The nights were cold so that two blankets were none too many. The ex- 

 pedition was without a thermometer so no observations as to temperature 

 could be made. It is said that during the dry season (December, Janu- 

 ary and February) the heat is terrific and there is much fever owing to the 

 clouds of mosquitoes that emerge from the pools left by the receding water. 

 "La Morelia is two days' southeast from Florencia, between the Bodo- 

 quera and Pescado. It seems as if the elevation should be greater than 



