Quechua Indians wearing the costume used during the reign of the Incas, five hundred years ago 358 Ploughing at Rosario de Lerma 374 Tilcara, showing the stream and valley and the snow-capped Andes in the distance 374 The lagoon in the Chaco, Embarcacion 380 Paramo above Tafí 380 The great crested tinamou 402 A burrowing owl 402 Skinning a boa 404 Boa sunning itself at the entrance to a vizcacha burrow 404 Oculto, or _Tucotuco_, a rare rodent with mole-like habits 406 Gray fox, abundant in the semiarid regions 406 Long-tailed vizcacha of the high Andes 410 Short-tailed vizcacha of the Argentine lowlands 410 Rice-fields at the foot of the Andes Mountains, Sarmientos 416 MAPS Sketch map of the south-central part of the Amazon drainage system 241 Routes taken by the author in his South American explorations _At end of the volume_ _PART I_ COLOMBIA CHAPTER I BUENAVENTURA TO CALI, AND THE CAUCA VALLEY The voyage from Panama to Buenaventura, the more northern of Colombia’s two Pacific seaports, requires but two days’ time. Owing to numerous reefs and rocks that render navigation perilous along the coast of northwestern South America, it is necessary for ships to sail far out into the Pacific. Banks of low-hanging fog, encountered at frequent intervals, add further to the skipper’s difficulties. The captain of the _Quito_ followed a simple plan for finding port. It was his custom to steam in a southerly direction about forty-eight hours, and then head toward the coast. Once in sight of land, there was little difficulty in getting his bearings, although it frequently meant steaming back a distance of ten or fifteen miles. At noon on the second day out we entered what might be called the belt of perpetual rain, and for three hours water fell in such torrents that it seemed a solid wall. When the deluge had ceased and the last wisps of blue-gray vapor melted into oblivion, the shore-line, dim and distant, could be discerned. The faint outline of a rugged coast became gradually sharper; jagged rocks, frowning precipices, and dark, gloomy forests slowly unfolded themselves to the vision. The magnitude of it all was most impressive.