THE FORESTS OF ALAUSI 233 
unsafe to leave my goods a moment. Yet even 
such an Ager Syrticus " has its points of interest, 
for on this place is seen the dividing of the waters 
of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. We passed 
many small streams, some rising on the paramo 
and some in the Western Cordillera, but all running 
eastward to join the Great River, with whose waters 
and forests I was long so familiar ; when, however, 
we approached the southern side of the paramo, we 
came on the Rio de Pumachaca (River of the Bridge 
of Tigers), a considerable stream rising in the 
Eastern Cordillera and running westward towards 
the Pacific ; it is, in fact, one of the sources of the 
river Yaguachi, which enters the Gulf of Guayaquil. 
From the Pumachaca northward, until very near 
Quito, all the streams of the central plain between 
the two branches of the Cordillera flow eastward, 
and unite in the gorge of Banos to form the river 
Pastasa, which speedily reaches the Amazonian 
plain, and thence the Atlantic ; but the streams 
around Quito itself unite to form the river of 
Esmeraldas, and seek the Pacific. Near the 
Pumachaca there was rather more vegetation ; 
patches of Cyperaceae were dotted with the white 
flowers of a minute Lobelia, which I have seen in 
many similar situations, and groups of Cactus were 
draped over by an Atropa, remarkable for its 
aromatic leaves. It is singular that in so deadly 
a genus all the species I have seen in the Quitonian 
Andes have edible though very acid fruit, and that 
the shoots are cropped by asses and llamas. 
As we descended from the southern side of the 
paramo, the Hedyotis began to be mixed with a 
small labiate shrub ol very similar foliage, and 
