REPUBLICA DE COLOMBIA
Account of a Journey Down the Magdalena River, Through the Magdalena Province and the Peninsula of Goajira (Colombia)
By M. T. DAWE, F. L. S.
LOWER MAGDALENA.
I left Bogotá on 21st August, 1916, for the Coast, and on the way visited various ports along the lower Mag- dalena river, the first halt being made at Puerto Berrio.
Puerto Berrio.
This town is chiefly of importance as being the river port for Antioquia and the terminus of the Medellin railway. It has been rather aptly described by a dis- tinguished foreign visitor as a "village of vulturės," and certainly these birds, from their very number, are the first thing to attract one's attention on arriving at the port. The special object of my visit to Puerto Berrio was to make an examination of the forest re- sources of that locality, but daily torrential rains and the flooded state of the country prevented me from doing any detailed forest survey. The land in this neighbourhood is broken in character, there are many lagoons and swamps, and the interior of the forests we found alive with mosquitos and other biting insects. formed the impression that the lands are less fertile than those of the opposite side of the river in San- tander. The forests near the Magdalena appeared to
me of poor timber value, but I was informed that much useful timber abounds further in the interior. I ob served a valuable timber being employed locally in the construction of a new hotel which is known locally as Comune and botanically as Aneba perulitis, Hemsl. This timber is also employed very largely for sleepers on the Medellin railway, and is said to be very durable, lasting for many years. The tree is said to be abundant in the higher and drier lands of the interior, and the timber is certainly one that should figure amongst the possible classes for export.
Balsam of Copaiba.
I noticed in these forests the Canime or Copaiba tree (Copaifera officinalis, L.) which yields the Balsam of Copaiba. This important oleo-resin is contained in se cretion ducts throughout the entire length of the tree. It is collected by cutting a V-shaped incision into the trunk of the tree near its base, penetrating to the centre of the tree. Into the plate-like cavity thus made is dis charged the olea-resin which is transferred to kerosene tins. From three to four kerosene tins are frequently
A River Steamer on the Magdalena
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collected from a single tree, the yield is, however, very variable and some trees yield but little. A trec does not yield this valuable product but once, as the incision made reaches the heart of the tree and prevents it secreting balsam the second time.
Noli Palm.
Palms of considerable grace and beauty are abundant in the vicinity of Puerto Berrio. I noticed the graceful and slender faluriche palm growing in large clusters in swampy lands. The Noli palm, a species of Eloris allied to the West African oil palm of commercial fame, is here found in abundance. The kernels of this palm, which are produced in large erect bunches within a few feet of the ground, afford an oil which is extracted locally and employed for a variety of purposes. As this palm is found in many parts of the lower Magdalena region, and in great abundance, a sample of the kernels has been forwarded to Europe for examination to ascer- tain if the oil may have any value in commerce.
Cattle.
Attempts are being made in cattle farming in the vicinity of Puerto Berrio, and the cattle I saw appeared healthy and in good condition, although I noted that ticks (Boophilus australis, Fuller) were fairly abun- dant. As the forest lands become cleared, drained and replaced with artificial pastures, this locality should in- crease in importance from a cattle raising point of view.
Carare.
From Puerto Berrio I proceeded on the 27th down the river to Carare, a journey by boat of about four hours. Carare is a smail village lying at the junction of the river of the same name with the Magdalena. It consists of a single street of small houses, the walls of which are built of the reeds of a grass known as caña brata, and the roofs are thatched with leaves of palms. There are about two hundred inhabitants altogether, and the chief occupations are the collection of the ivory-nut laya), and the cultivation of maize along the banks of the Carare river.
Balata.
On the 28th I made an excursion by canoe to a large lagoon known as Cienega del Clavo, which we reached by ascending some little distance the Carare and thence through cafios. We here came across a tree (Sapota-
which yields alata, but it does not appear to exist, at least in this locality, in sufficient abundance to be likely to prove of much commercial importance.
By Canoe Up the Carare.
On the 29th I left for a journey up the Carare river. in company with Señor Dr. Paulo Vanegas, the genial chief of the survey in progress for the proposed new railway from Puerto Parra to the interior of Santander. The river was much swollen and we had a difficulty to persuade the canoe men to undertake the journey, owing to danger from whirlpools and the difficulty of punting due to the dense vegetation overhanging the banks. Having to hug the banks, not a little fear was exhibited
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from possible attacks by savage Indians, who now and again cause trouble to canoe parties ascending the river. At dusk we camped on the bank for the night in a leaky rancho under conditions far from pleasing; it rained incessantly throughout the night until 10 o'clock the next morning. We then continued our journey and camped the evening of the second day under conditions even less congenial. The river here being on a level with the banks, necessitated the arrangement of our beds on raised platforms. Early in the afternoon of the third day we arrived at Puerto Parra, having taken about three days to cover seventy-five kilometers. Of course Puerto Parra is only a port in name, there is a tittle cliff on which the survey party have their grass huts, beyond which there are no habitations, there being nothing but forest all around. The river, I was in- formed, had not been known so high for many years, and this was in conformity with information I received later regarding other affluents of the Magdalena. The following day we left Puerto Parra about doon on the return journey for Carare, reaching there late in the evening of the same day.
The Forest Along the Rio Carare.
While at Puerto Parra I had an opportunity of ex- amining the forest through which the railway survey is being conducted, and although there are many species of important timber value, their distribution is poor; the composition of the forest being mixed and the more valuable species few and far between. The larger and more outstanding trees of the forest which clothes the banks of the Carare are the Ceibo and Higuerón; the former is a species of Bombar and yields a soft and useless wood, and the latter is a species of Ficus, the timber of which is also of little or no value. There are mahogany (Sweitenia makayani, L), cedar (Cedrela glasiovii, D. C) guayacán and other trees of timber value throughout these forests. The more accessible parts, however, have already been largely denuded of their mahogany and cedar timber, which has been ex- tracted by various parties for sale at Barranquilla or for export; without. I fear, any attention whatever having been given to the replanting of these valuable species.
Cacao.
There are a few cacao plantations along the Carare, and I was impressed by their general appearance in spite of the little attention which they appear to receive. The cacao-beetle seems to cause very little trouble to the trees, and the plantations are said to yield good crops. I believe there to be a promising future for cacao along the Carare, given the plantations are established with selected seed and well cultivated and cared for.
Sugar.
The rich. fertile, alluvial lands along the Carare should prove suitable for the cultivation of sugar, which could be grown on a large scale. The great drawback is that there is very little local labour, and labour for sugar planting would need to be drawn from other
sources.
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