Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-06-22
j. s. SCIENTIST
GETS PHOTOS Of
FAMOUS GORGE
Member of Indiana University
South American Expedition
PierCes to Pivot Of Continent.

Ut. Ndfl II. ElSeQndn, mead OF iIle
department of zoology Of Indiana I'm
iyersity. has received a letter from
Arthur w Hem. Of the HEM Wilson
expedition to Colombia, which left
here for South America in December,
After reaching the interior Of the con
| tinent Hem was taken sick with a
fever. and Wilson pushed on alone,
leaving Hem in the care of the ma
tiVes.
Wilson reached the United States
about month ago. The letter from
Hem, which has just been received
is the first word that has been heard
from the young zooIogist. except a
cable, since he was left by his com
panion,
Fever Stops Advance.
In his letter. HEM writes.
After crossing the paramo we
reached Tuuuerres, elevation about
10000 feet in "a few hours Here lis
an American, Colonel John Bidlakc.
United States Consul at Baranquilla
under Cleveland's administration He
is interested in mines ] stayed in
Tuquerres nine days Ctwo i'm bed be-
cause of fever and chills)
Exploration of Pacific Slope
streams is a thankless job at best.
There are few species of fishes with
in a few miles Of the coast The
mountains go straight up, the streams
are small and the upper stretches
tumbHng torrents, while the lower
stretches are affected by a fourteen
foot tide
For three days on the Patia at
the gorge we had nothing to eat eX-
cept son cocha,' a soupy mixture of
plantaius. a root called yucca and a
L.
ing to drink except 'chicha. a sour
drink made from corn. No rain fell
there for two months. The water
pools were fenced against hogs. but
this was only a Shiny. liquid mud
This trip, however. has been the trip
of a lifetime
THE Upper Patia valley is the pivot
Of the South American continent
West Is the Pacific slope, north the
Cauca, northeast the MagdaIena,
southeast and south the Rios Negro
Caqueta and Putamayo Of the Anna
zon basin.
"As a factor of distribution the
! Patia is probably negligible since
nowhere Is the region less than five
thousand feet except directly at the
river All tributary rivers drop sew
eral hundred feet to the mile and are
AteAAlAa 70 haAAAAAe wi 'AAArr ~ AltAhAl anu
Chilis, south Of Tuquerres. are Gov
/ cred with snow every morning
Alexander Won Humboldt made the
| trip from Popayan to Paste and was
| thus the first naturalist In the patia
| valley. I made probably the first
| photos ever made OF the Patia gorge
/ One was taken west toward the break
| IN the west Cordilleras. another nortl
| toward Popayan. Another of tn,
gorge OF Juanambu, which is 2.7Ot
/ feet in depth, measured by my baron
eter
"The elevation Of the Patia where
| fished is 1900 feet; its width 40 feet
! FL Sotomayor looms up in the west
straight UP $4,000 feet from the fast
rushing Fatia water
To Make Trip In Canoe.
| Il am leaving day after Tomorrow
| by the steamer Buenaventura foi
Puerto Negrin. From there | shall
/ return here in a canoe with two
| poems, five days down San Juan, pro-
| cure another man at the Calima for
| the trip up the Calima Creek. which
requires two days From the Calima
across the divide to this place re-
| quires one day Another canoe viii
| have TO be sent up from here to meet
me on this side Of the divide What
/ fishes ! obtain will be sent you from
| here.
IF | can obtain steamer here in
q reasonable time, ! shall go on down
to Esmeraldas or Guayaquil, Ecuador
] cannot obtain map here of Ecua-
dor, not even at the cable station, but
! presume your cable meant to gel
into the rivers at Esmeraldas anC
Guayaquil quito is 5000 feet alti-
tude and can have few fishes.
Hugh NICK Landon. Of IndianapA is
who has betrayed all the expenses OF
the expedition so far. has promised
to make possible a thorough explora-
ton of the rivers OF Western Ecuador
| and enable Mr. Hem to return by
way Of the Amazon, In other words
to cross the continent from the Paci-
fc to the Atlantic at its widest point