NATURE'S TRANSFORMATION AT PANAMA 



165 



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. 



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. 



THE ADVANTAGES OE 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 flatboat 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 



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 OE HOUSE-BOAT LIEE 



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, Air. H. E. 

 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- 



