NatiiraUHistory Collectors. 



6939 



Proceedings of Nalural-Hislory Collectors in Foreign Countries, 



Mr. Louis Fkazer. — Mr. Louis Frazer left England in August last 

 to proceed to South America^ for the purpose of collecting objects of 

 Natural History in the mountain-valleys of the republics of Ecuador 

 and Peru. Mr. Frazer left by the West Indian mail steamer on the 

 17th of August; arrived off Colon, 10 a.m., on the 9th of September; 

 crossed the isthmus next day to Panama by railway* in five hours 

 and a half; on the 15th embarked on the Pacific S. N. Co.'s packet 

 " New Grenada," and reached Guayaquil on the 20th at daylight. 

 The following are extracts from his letters. 



Guayaquil, September 29. — My boxes are all on board the chatter, 

 or large flat-bottomed boat, which will carry them down the Guaya- 

 quil river and up the Naranjal. 9 a.m. I saw Sr. Oreallana, who 

 said he was going on board, hastened to get my box, containing 

 bread and brandy for the road ; by the time I got to the river (not 

 more than five minutes) the chatter was well in the river; hailed, — 

 no answer. After some delay, secured the captain of the port's boat, 

 and followed. We were gone about two hours, but could not find 

 her in the dark. Until one o'clock next morning I was endeavouring 

 to hire a boat to follow, but without success. 



30th. Mr. Mocatta and self were hunting all day for a boat ; at 

 7 P.M. procured one for thirty dollars; at 7.30 p.m. started with 

 a strong tide and four oars; at 11 p.m. arrived o(F the upper end of 

 the Island of Puna for the night and tide. 



Oct. 1. 8 a.m. Off the Naranjal river, bar quite dry. Had to wait 

 the tide. Some rain. About Puna and up the Naranjal river there 

 are magnificent mangrove trees, apparently forming splendid forests; 

 trees thirty and forty feet high and thick in proportion. The Naranjal 

 is not more than thirty or forty yards wide anywhere. 3 p.m. arrived 

 at the station called Naranjal Port, — it cannot be called a village, as 

 it has only one house and two or three miserable huts scattered about. 

 Plenty of birds and lots of filth. On the banks of the Naranjal we 

 saw numerous alligators sloping into the water at our approach ; but 

 there w^as one party of upwards of twenty-four which never moved ; 



* Culonel Totten, the chief engineer and director of the Panama Railway, upon 

 hearing who Mr. Frazer was, and the ohjects for which he was travelling, immediately 

 granted him a free pass for himself and his baggage over the railway, thus saving 

 him an expense of upwards of £20. 



