14 
Annual Reports of Academy of 
the already muddy trails into almost knee-deep mires, making 
walking extremely slow and tiring. The greatest difficulty was to 
keep the specimens and butterfly net dry in the field, even alter 
wrapping them in“’a rubber poncho; by the time I reached the 
Staff House the birds looked as if they had been fished from a 
creek. 
From the middle of May collecting was carried on in almost 
a continual downpour, with hardly any sun at all to dry the speci¬ 
mens, so that I discontinued field work the 24th of May, and 
started to pack up the collection. This was by no means an easy 
task for they were to travel over 2500 miles, most of it more or less 
exposed to the rain and certainly in great danger from ants and 
cockroaches that at all times infest banana-carrying steamers. 
I was fortunate in securing a good supply of large square tin boxes, 
with tight-fitting circular lids, used to ship dynamite to the mine. 
A handful of naphthaline in each tin, to keep out insects and pre¬ 
vent mould, and the tin enclosed in a wooden box, brought the 
specimens home in perfect condition. 
On June 5th, at seven o’clock in the morning, I bid good bye to 
my companions at the Staff House, whose pleasant companionship 
will always be remembered. The collection and equipment were 
loaded on a flat-car and covered with a tarpaulin and Dr. Bouchelle 
and I crawled on top with a number of employees. Henry, the 
Indian boy, was there too as he was going home to Sandy Bay, on 
the coast between Prinzapolka and Cabo Gracias a Dios. 
As we left Eden it rained, almost continuously for tw r o days and 
nights. Arriving at Miranda, the baggage was loaded into three 
pitpans and covered with tarpaulins. 
At Miranda, I left Dr. Bouchelle, knowing that I should welcome 
him in Philadelphia before the end of the year. 
What we accomplished in Nicaragua was due entirely to Dr. 
Bouchelle; ever watchful of our health, our comfort and the 
thousand-and-one things that go to make an expedition a success 
in the field. 
There being now plenty of water in the river, the crew of Sumo 
Indians made good time with the paddles. Although it rained 
continuously, I stopped at the three Sumo settlements to take 
pictures, with very fair success. Arriving at Tunky, the baggage 
was transferred to a fifty-foot pit pan with a crew of seven Moskito 
