3 
fhe "bar at the eiitl*aace of the Magdalena HlTer aakes for a 
rough p ssage. On going out in the late afternoon on April 6th, we 
found it ©Ten rougher outside. In fact, ^t was so hoisterous that, 
in order to escape the uncoicfortahle buffeting to which we were sub- 
jected, Captain Hancock sought refuge for the night in the lee of the 
land off Cienaga 'Village, Colombia. Several dredge hauls were made 
on eauh of the next two days in the general vicinity of Cap© La Vela 
and Bahia Honda, Colombia. 
The afternoon of April 9 th and the forenoon of A,pril 10th 
were spent at Aruba, H.W.I, Very successful shore collecting was 
undertaken on the west side of Punta Basora at the extreme east end 
of the island. The whole south shore of the eastern end of the island 
is covered with a deposit of tar. k subsidiary of the Standard Oil 
Company, the Lago Oil and Transport Company, maintains here one of 
the world’s largest oil refineries. The director is a Mr. Lloyd 
Bmith, a graduate of the University of Illinois, and a relative of 
Dr. Paul Welch. 
Mr. C. B. Perkins, of the San Diego ?.oo, herp-etologist to 
the expedition, was much interested in getting specimens of the en- 
demic rattlesnakes of Aruba. These snakes h4».ve ^ven the oil company 
considerable concern. The native watchmen do not care to patrol the 
pipe lines because the snakes like to warm themselves on some of the 
lines which carry hot oil. We did not find any snakes during the 
short time that we spent there, but they h 've been promised the ©x- 
ped.it itm by Mr. Smith’s second in command, Mr. f. S. Campbell. 
Me made La Guaira, Venezuela, on Anri 1 11th, but almost 
half a day ela,psed before we were able to get ashore. The harbor 
authorities did not know just where they wanted us to anchor. They 
were rather busy entertaining the crews of three large Havy cruisers 
who were a.t the beginning of an extended journey around South America 
from east to west. 
While at La Gutira a visit was paid to Caracas, in order to 
see the n 0 \'!r natural history lauseum. It is a fine edifice, recently 
completed, but still im empty shell. For the purpose of stimulating 
interest in it and acquiring collections and exhibits for this fine 
building, a very active organization has been forsjed, the Sociedad 
Venezolana de Ciencias Naturales. Dr. Alfredo Jahn is the present 
President of the society, and your good friend, Mr. Ibidolf Dolge, is 
also one of the important members of the group. He asks to be kindly 
remembered to you. It was a great treat to become acquainted with 
so versatile and estimble a man. I enjoyed being shown around his 
home and inspecting that magnificent library that he has gotten to- 
gether. The Hancock expedition films were shown before the society 
in the auditorium of the University at Caracas on the night of the 
12th of April. 
