NATURE’S TRANSFORMATION AT PANAMA 
route, making travel uncertain. Then re- 
sort must be had to the compass, for here 
no land was visible, no blazed trails or 
flowing waters to indicate direction, and 
one might be lost for hours in locating 
the temporary anchorage of a launch or 
house-boat. 7 
The timidity of the natives in explor- 
ing these flooded forests is in keeping 
with their fear of the open lake, and as 
guides we found them quite useless in 
reaching hunting grounds by boat. Ac- 
customed to follow the ancestral trails 
and streams, knowing nothing about a 
compass or the direction indicated by the 
prevailing winds or the position of the 
sun, we could not trust any of the Indian 
guides to lead in exploration. 
At Gatun we found several canal em- 
ployees, and one in particular, who could 
take a launch at full speed through 
densely timbered districts, swerving here 
and there with wonderful skill and sel- 
dom in doubt of the direction taken or 
where and when the launch would reach 
the open water. 
TIIE ADVANTAGES OF A HOUSE-BOAT IN 
COLLECTING AND EXPLORATION 
Many years’ use of a house-boat in the 
wilderness about Lake Superior had 
shown its great convenience as a mov- 
able habitation and its great superiority 
over tent or cabin in most places accessi- 
ble by water. In the tropics such advan- 
tages I felt would be tenfold greater. 
Before starting for Panama arrange- 
ments had been under consideration for 
converting a small scow or flathoat into 
a house-boat by merely erecting a frame 
that would support a canvas roof and 
wire netting along the sides—simple 
changes, excluding the sun or rain and 
visits from many forms of troublesome 
insects. With a swift and powerful 
launch we could tow the house-boat from 
place to place, using the former for ex- 
tended daylight excursions. 
On arriving at the lake it was found 
that the expectation of getting a small 
scow was too sanguine, for the suitable 
ones were in continuous service by the 
government and the others too bulky for 
use. Rather than take the time necessary 
in building, we were able to convert a 
165 
floating boat-house into a very comfort- 
able house-boat. In size it was 9 X 30 
feet, with a zinc roof, a covered tool- 
house at one end, suitable for storage 
purposes, and the sides and front open. 
By flooring over the slip in which a 
launch had been berthed, putting on a 
V-shaped prow at the towing end, and 
tacking on screening between the roof 
and floor, the craft was superior to the 
kind originally sought, except for its 
heavy draft and a deck so low that it 
would be awash when running into a 
head sea. 
ADVANTAGES OF HOUSE-BOAT LIFE 
We now had all the comforts of a 
commodious yacht, very much freer ven- 
tilation, and a continuous opportunity of 
viewing the landscape or wild life from 
the open sides, besides plenty of room 
for storing a bulky outfit where it would 
always be accessible, with pleasant quar- 
ters for identifying and preserving the 
material collected. 
Cots and hammocks for beds, a large 
oil stove, a thirty-gallon tank for pure 
water, a long table hinged to the side of 
the boat for the serving of meals and as 
a work-bench, comprised the additional 
improvements. 
With the house-boat one escapes the 
cumulative annoyances connected with 
breaking camp every few days, the re- 
packing of fragile or loose articles, and 
the selection and clearing out of new 
sites in the ever-present brush, where 
giant vine-tangled trees, too formidable 
for the axe, exclude the light, air, and 
every outlook, converting the jungle camp 
into a gloomy hothouse, surrounded by 
prickly plants and subject to the raiding 
ants in daytime, the fever-bearing mos- 
quitoes at night, and the vicious activity 
of red bugs and ticks, unlimited in the 
hours of visitation. 
My companion on the trip, Mr. H. F. 
Anthony, of New York, representing the 
American Museum of Natural History, 
came as my guest for the purpose of 
studying and obtaining specimens of 
mammals, and he proved a most agree- 
able and capable collector, while C. J. 
Anderson, of Michigan, a guide and as- 
