This “work during the rainy season in the humid Amazonian forests of the Caquetá, where with only unskilled native assistance he secured eight hundred and thirty birds and mammals in thirty days, is a feat in tropical collecting.” And “this locality ... was one of the most productive of any visited by American Museum expeditions, and many species were secured which have not heretofore been recorded from Colombia.” CHAPTER VIII ACROSS THE ANTIOQUIAN GOLD-FIELDS TO PUERTO VALDIVIA ON THE LOWER CAUCA Puerto Berrio is not the most attractive spot in Colombia, but it is nevertheless of a great deal of importance. All steamers plying on the Lower Magdalena stop at that port, the up-going ones after a six days’ voyage from Barranquilla to discharge freight for Medellin, and those bound down-stream to take aboard gold and other products of the Antioquian highlands. The arrival of the steamer always causes a great deal of confusion. Debarking passengers are required to look after their own luggage, which is not a simple matter, as it is invariably covered with mountains of boxes and bags on the lower deck; and after it has been located it is necessary to secure _peons_ to convey it ashore, the ship’s crew invariably refusing to render this service. There is always a rush for the little hotel “Magdalena,” built on a slight bluff overlooking the river. Accommodations are limited, and those who arrive first naturally have the advantage of selecting the cooler rooms in the upper story. However, the advantages gained are partly imaginary, at best. The climate is insufferably hot in the daytime, and mosquitoes filtering through rents in the nets protecting the beds are most annoying at night. Nor is it possible to seek the cooling comfort of a bath; a small, corrugated iron building in the garden is supposed to provide for this need, but a tank containing water for the shower is placed on the roof in the full glare of the tropical sun, and the water becomes heated to such a degree that it is almost scalding. The town of Puerto Berrio is situated a few hundred yards below the landing. It contains about a hundred low buildings, many of which are utilized for shops where merchandise and, more important at least to transients, a great variety of fruit may be had. All the buildings are low--some constructed of adobe with red tile roofs, others of nothing more substantial than bamboo, and grass or palm-leaves.