Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 
25 
progressed almost feeling his way, by hunting for old cuttings of 
the machete. 
Our course lay first up a valley, following the guide’s lead through 
a dense subtropical forest. Here there was no especial difficulty 
although progress was not swift. Then we reached a narrower 
part of the valley, and, after passing the night in an unfinished house 
in a small clearing,—the only sign of human occupation seen during 
ourentireascent,—we went on up along a turbulent mountain brook. 
So closely did we follow this stream’s course that at times we made its 
v ery bed our route, and advanced by wading. We crossed its 
course in all twenty-five times, fording usually in the shallow 
formed by hard rocks at the head of rapids and waterfalls. At 
last we had to leave its course at a point where ahead we could see 
much higher waterfalls with no possibility of ascent. 
From the river we went up the side of a valley so steep that it 
seemed to me impossible that the men could carry the loads. 
Slowly feeling our way, crossing logs and swinging upward by pro¬ 
jecting tree-buttresses and roots, we could realize the amount of 
our advance. Every moment the view became wider and wilder. 
We passed just above the brink ol a waterfall of unknown height; 
it was certainly great, but it was too perilous to attempt to reach 
any point with an adequate view below. Across the valley were 
two streams falling in sheer cascades, while ahead the chief stream 
of the valley could be traced through a succession of high waterfalls. 
We could look up to the cliffs now seeming quite near, but a uniform 
green still suggested only forest or shrubs to the highest point in 
sight. 
We had meant to place our camp beside water in a little valley 
near paramo known to the guide. From the hillside forest we were 
working our way toward sundown along a spur, following the guide's 
amazing scent over and under the age-rotted logs and mossy tangles 
that I markd as the temperate virgin forest. But, alas, we came into 
a thicket of Chusquea , the dense growing bamboo that forms great 
tangles at this elevation. A bamboo grows rapidly and is liked by 
bears. The guide could find scarcely any old marks, and time after 
time his supposed cuttings proved on close inspection to be cut 
stalks broken by bears. Night came upon us here, and in the bam¬ 
boo thicket, without water, we were forced to pitch our tent. 
We made what supper we could and hoped for quicker advance on 
