HOUSE-BOAT TIED TO DEAD TREE MANY MIEES EROM DRY LAND 



The open space gave sunlight, cooling breezes, and freedom from insects, and the deep, 

 clear water invited the morning and evening swim. Fish of several species were very 

 numerous. 



the naturalization of strange foreign ani- 

 mals like the hippopotamus, the water- 

 buck, and numerous other interesting or 

 valuable animals suited to these sur- 

 roundings. 



Shooting, under a Federal license, of 

 predaceous animals like the jaguar, 

 puma, and ocelot could be permitted, 

 while up the now navigable valleys lead- 

 ing into the Panaman wilderness hunt- 

 ing parties would enjoy a variety of 

 sport with the minimum of discomfort 

 or loss of time. Many of the wildest dis- 

 tricts, unsurpassed in all of South Amer- 

 ica, can be reached from our northerly 

 cities in less time than it now takes to 

 visit the remoter portions of the Rocky 



Mountains or hunting resorts in upper 

 Canada. 



At a trifling cost a resident superin- 

 tendent of zoology and botany could be 

 maintained, with all the benefits follow- 

 ing the scientific study of plant and ani- 

 mal life of our only continental posses- 

 sion in the Southern Hemisphere; and 

 here would come the representatives 

 from our great museums and other sci- 

 entific organizations, were it possible for 

 them- • to receive the cooperation of 

 trained resident experts, thus avoiding 

 the delay and wasted efforts such as were 

 suffered by the present expedition, where 

 half the time was occupied in outfitting 

 and acquiring reliable information. 



194 



