Bulletin - United States National Museum - si-pddr - Smithsonian ...

BIEDS OF ARGENTINA, PARAGUAY, URUGUAY, AND CHILE 3
and eucalypts, that gave waj^ to muddy shores and rush or brush
grown marshes at the border of the Rio de la Plata.
On the evening of July 3 I left Buenos Aires for the north by rail,
and arrived the following noon at Santa Fe, where I had opportunity
for a trip afield in the afternoon in level country near an open
lagoon. As this was the hunting season many men were out in
pursuit of birds of all kinds, as was the case at Berazategui. That
same evening I continued north by rail to Resistencia, capital of the
Territory of Chaco, where I arrived the following night. At Resisten-
cia I was fortunate in meeting Seiior Enrique Lynch Arribalzaga, with
whom I was associated for several days. Field work was carried on
here in a limited area of marsh, small lagoons, brush-grown fields
and pastures, thickets, and small woodland near the Rio Negro, a
small stream north of town. On July 11 I continued to Barran-
queros, on the banks of the Rio Parana, 8 kilometers from Resistencia,
and crossed by steamer to Corrientes. The following morning
at daybreak I embarked on a small steamer for the port of Las
Palmas. Travel on the great inland river systems at this time was
uncertain, due to a strike among sailors who manned the steamers,
and most of the boats normally available were not running. Government
police boats were pressed into service for transportation of
mails, and it was one of these that afforded communication at the
time between Corrientes and Formosa. The river at this point
varied from 200 to 400 meters in width, with its swift, turbid current
enclosed between cut banks 2 or 3 meters high. Above Corrientes the
shores were wooded or open by turns, with scant sign of habitation.
At one point a hill 10 meters high made a marked eminence in an
otherwise level landscape.
The port for Las Palmas, Chaco, is located on the western bank of
the Rio Paraguay, a short distance above the confluence of that
stream with the Parana. The steamer cast anchor, swung in to the
shore, a plank was thrust out to the bank, and the few passengers
and luggage for this point disembarked. A small narrow-gauge
railroad led inland for 9 kilometers to the little village of Las
Palmas, headquarters for a large estancia that covered 60 leagues of
land. The manager, R. A. Young, to whom I presented a letter
from Seiior Enrique Caceres, governor of the Territory of Chaco,
received me here and granted permission to carry on work on the
lands under his charge. Quarters were obtained at a little fonda in
the village. A strike among workmen employed in the quebracho
and sugar mill was in progress, and at times the factory, guarded by
militia imported for the purpose from Buenos Aires, was virtually in
a state of siege. The Rio Quia, known familiarly as the " Riacho,"
passed the northern border of town, with numerous small lagoons