NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITIONS 9) In the Rio de Poopé occurs a spring of superheated steam and water. This water mingles with and is gradually tempered by the water of the river. Small suches were observed in water of considerably more than 100°F. The same phenomenon occurs at Aguas Calientes in southern Peru.
At the same altitude as the Titicaca-Poop6 altiplane the so-called Lake Ascotan is hemmed off by a ring of volcanoes. It is about twenty-five miles in extent and lies just within the border of Chile. It consists for the most part of muddy deposits of lime salts. Numerous pools and sluggish streams appear throughout, and drain away by seepage. At the bases of volcanoes along the eastern margin are many warm and cold springs. These are only shghtly brackish. Small Orestias are everywhere abundant here, though there isno communication with the outside.
Between Ascotan and the coast at Antofagasta lie vast volcanic areas and the nitrate belt. Only one river which might support fish occurs—the Loa. But at Calama (elevation 7000 feet) it was found to be totally devoid of them. This is reported to be due to a waterfall twenty-five kilometers downstream, below which coastal forms were said to exist.
.. with one exception few parasites were obtained from the many hundreds dissected ... resident in the cranial cavity of nearly every Orestias examined, not only in Lake Titicaca itself, but in tributary lakes and streams. In the lakes of the altiplane the great quantity of bird life in the broad plant zone of the littoral is noteworthy. There are many coots, cormorants, grebes, ducks, flamingoes, ibises, lapwings, and gulls. I estimated that there were not fewer than 10,000 wading birds per mile of the shore at the southern end of Lake Poopéo.
_.. The smaller Orestias, hispe and carache sometimes occur in remarkable concentration, especially in the meadow ponds of the pampas. Frequently scores of them may be dipped up with a single swoop of the dipnet. Even a roadside sheep-washing pool, without outlet and very muddy, contained a multitude of isolated, pallid carachitos. In the same pools occur also vast numbers of small Dytiscid beetles. As a result... no fish were found which did not have the fins more or less abbreviated.
After the lapse of a year I found myself back in Peru, this time as representative of Indiana University alone. The following extract is a brief account of the “Centennial Expedition’, occurring as it did in the university’s centennial year and that of the Republic of Peru. As it turned out the enterprise was finally reduced to a one-man expedition (Allen, 1921b; a fuller account, Allen, 1921a). Between June, 1918, and June, 1919, the Irwin Expedition of Indiana University as a part of its work collected the fishes in the highlands of Peru, particularly in the Urubamba valley from the headwaters at La Raya, elevation 14,150 feet, to Santa Ana, 3,000 feet. This work was done by Dr. C. H. Eigenmann and Miss Adele Kigenmann. Collections were made in the upper Huallaga basin between its headwaters about Cerro de Pasco and Goyllarisquisga down to near Tingo Maria, 1,800 feet, mostly by the present writer. Further collections were made from Lake Junin, 13,500 feet, near Cerro de Pasco, in the Mantaro basin to Huanecayo, 10,500 feet, by myself and the Eigenmanns. Collections were also made from the headwaters of the Tarma River at Tarma, 10,000 feet, down to La Merced, about 2,500 feet, by the Eigenmanns. The Irwin Expedition thus collected in the headwaters of the
6 FISHES OF WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA Huallaga and Ucayali Rivers from their sources to the neighborhood of 2,000 feet above sea level.
In May of 1920 I started on the so-called Centennial Expedition of Indiana University to carry the survey of the fish fauna to the lower levels of the rivers of eastern Peru. The expedition was assisted by a grant from the Bache Fund of the National Academy of Sciences, and by the hearty cooperation of the Peruvian government, which provided free transportation and other assistance within Peru.
The writer traveled alone, so far as the English-speaking personnel of the expedition is concerned, depending solely upon local aid. At times help was volunteered by interested individuals or solicited from the local authorities, oe ae ee Fic. 3. The upper Mantaro near Jauja, about 11000 feet above sea level. This portion of the riverpertainstothetemperatelifezone,andtotheareaoftheuplandfishfauna. civil and military. Three weeks of the initial portion of the trip (from the Perené to the Ucayali) were spent in company with Professor J. Chester Bradley and Dr. W. T. M. Forbes, of the Cornell Entomological Expedition. The plan of the present expedition has been to collect as exhaustively as possible the fishes of a few suitable, representative localities in the basins of the above-named rivers, comprised for the most part within the great Department of Loreto. Entering by Lima, Tarma and La Merced, the writer began where the Irwin Expedition left off two years ago, and crossed to the head of navigation of the Pichis-Pachitea-Ucayali system by the Via Central. Ten days were required to traverse the final 200 kilometers of this atrocious trail. It is an endless succession of mudholes, yet the principal and almost sole means of communication between coastal Peru and her transandine provinces.
NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITIONS 7 No real hardship is involved in making this journey, thanks to the series of government tambos, or shelter houses, at convenient distances, which cater very well to those who come well recommended. This is otherwise a region entirely devoid of inhabitants.
Ten days were spent at Puerto Bermudez. Two days by canoe brought the party to a point on the Pichis to which the steam mail launch could ascend. Thenceforward travel was chiefly by launches, mail and commercial, which abound in Loreto; the shorter trips into tributary streams and lakes were made in dugouts. A month was devoted to the vicinity of Contamana on the lower Ucayali, a fortnight to the Puinahua and Pacaya, and an equal period to the region of Iquitos. The markets of Iquitos are in season very well supplied with fresh fish of great variety. Another month was spent in cruising the upper Maranon from Iquitos to the Pongo de Manseriche, and the tributaries Tigre and Morona. A three-week sojourn in and about Yurimaguas allowed an examination of the lower Huallaga, the third of four great rivers of Peruvian Amazonia. I had during the Irwin Expedition collected on the upper portion of this river.
These streams, the Ucayali, Maranon, and Huallaga, are comparable in size to the Ohio at flood stage. All arise in the Andes and form a vast confluent flood plain parallel to the mountains, and 500-600 miles in extent. Though 2,000—2,500 miles from the mouth of the Amazon, this plain is only 400 feet above sea level. In all this stretch there is very little topographic relief. The annual fluctuation in level of the Amazon at Iquitos is 40 feet. The annual inundation therefore extends far inland from the rivers. Large numbers of cut-off lakes (cochas) with their connecting canvas form a network throughout the system, which becomes one body of water with the coming of winter rains. Most of them are dead-water bayous of varying dimensions. There are almost no brooks—all depressions (quebradas) only serving to receive the backwater of the rivers. The smaller tributary rivers vary greatly in their flow at all seasons, fluctuating both with the local rainfall and with the level of the outlet. A stream flowing very rapidly now may display almost no current within a few hours, or vice versa.
The extent of the navigable portion of the streams in Peru is much greater than in most Brazilian streams. Many of the latter are interrupted not far from their mouths by impassible rapids. The Brazilian river basins are sharply separated from each other by chains of hills. To the Loretan the slightest rise 1s a cerro—mountain. Any stretch of terrain not inundated is an altura. Every riffle is a pongo—rapid. Within the past few years even the redoubtable Pongo de Manseriche, by which the Maranon breaks through its last chain of the Andes, has been passed by no fewer than five steam launches. It has always been risked by raft and canoe.
The above conditions allow many species of fish from the lower Amazon to become distributed to the very foot of the Andes, and throughout oriental Peru. One finds many fishes extending from one extremity of Loreto to the other.
With the annual subsidence of the water there is of course everywhere a local sorting of species according to preferred habitat. Thus in a given stream one may not obtain more than two, three, or half a dozen species at the same time. Rarely are more than this number brought up in a single haul of a seine. (Bates called attention to this fact seventy years ago.) The cochas usually produce more species, but spaced pretty well apart. To get them all one must draw the seine many times in various parts of the lake. The common
FISHES OF WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA fish that one is obliged to reject may surfeit even one’s native helpers. There is a pretty rigid assorting of fishes into river and lake forms, despite the fluvial origin of the lakes, and despite the inundations.
The great diversity of arboreal animals on the land is paralleled in the water by the large number of families of fishes and of aquatic mammals represented. The region is yet virtually tourist-free. One may journey by steamers and launches without seeing much of the teeming life of forest and river, Fic. 4. DYNAMITING THE RIO DE MOLINO, along the western shore of Lake Titicaca. Using the dipnet is Pedro Vasquez,assistant,cook,foreman,interpreter.
or of primitive human life. Only in the-tributary streams, traveling by canoe, does one encounter them. Here the dolphin, manatee, otter, alligator, capybara, tapir, ete., still abound, and one comes surprisingly near seeing all the animals which he had hoped to encounter.
The year 1920 was remarkable for its unusual rainfall. Not only was the curve for the depth of the Amazon at Iquitos higher throughout April and May than for many years, but also throughout the dry season. The lowest stage reached was some seven feet higher than the mean minimum depth. The exceptional inundation of April and May had destroyed much of the
NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITIONS 9 crops. There was a serious shortage of all staples (plantains, beans, yucca, rice, ete.) and considerable hardship among the improvident. At no time were the sand bars of the Maranon or Amazon exposed. This of course affected the fishing industry. Seining was made much more difficult, while throw-net fishing was probably increased, due to the concentration of the mijanos, schools of shore fish. Much of the time the fish had taken to the monte, or thicket, when the overflow of cocha and quebrada reached into the forest. While the fish are in the woods, the Loretan abandons his diet of fresh fish, and resorts to his supply of the dried.
Certain fishes are very abundant. But there is an increasing scarcity of others. The famed piraructi (paiche of Peru) has undoubtedly been exter- Fic. 5. Marketing Orestias, Puno, Lake Titicaca. Each string of fish worth five centavos, the whole valued at thirty centavos (about 15¢). Strung on the toughbladesofanativeflag.
minated from certain regions. In the Chanchomayo dynamiting has greatly reduced the river fishes. The government has now found it possible to prevent the sale of dynamite to the poor thereabout, but has found no way of curbing the practise of dynamiting on the part of the wealthy and influential. | Poisoning streams wholesale by means of the crushed root of the native poison plant cube is prohibited by law. But this method continues to prevail wherever cube is available, notably in the tributaries of the Huallaga, the smaller of which are nearly depopulated of fish.
Some birds are also rapidly becoming scarce, especially the egrets, whose plumes are marketed. Two brothers Hoyle of Contamana have secured recently a government monopoly of the plume trade of the Ucayal. They are bound by its terms to develop the fisheries of the Ucayali, first as a means
10 FISHES OF WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA of rearing fish to feed the egrets, and secondarily for the sake of restocking the streams. How to enforce respect of their charter, and how to develop a fisheries industry from nothing, without experience, are two large problems confronting the concessionaires. They do not seem to regard it a difficult matter to secure a revocation of the American law forbidding the importation of egret to this country.
Seventy years ago Bates predicted the rapid extinction of the turtles of the Amazon. In spite of an enormous consumption of turtles and eggs that has continued from that day to this, they are still very abundant. Petroleum has replaced turtle oil since that time, but turtle eggs, meat, and viscera continue to be favorite articles of food.
An effort was made by the expedition to confirm the widespread urinophilous reputation of the candiru (carnero of Peru). A Briggs’ lead-in trap properly baited was frequently placed in rivers in the hope that it might demonstrate such a tropism. This was never successful. Nor did careful inquiry ever lead to the finding of an authentic case of parasitism of man by this fish. That it is strongly tropic to flesh or blood has been demonstrated. The Oriente of Peru was not found by the writer to be, as we are encouraged to believe, wholly a land of dismal forests, swamps, noxious animals, and fevers. All these elements are present in quantity, certainly, but by no means universally distributed. Only once have I seen a large boa, and very few small snakes. Mr. Mitchell of Yurimaguas states that he has seen but four boas in twenty years’ residence in Amazonia. Some rivers, e.g., the Pacaya, are full of alligators, but many rivers have almost none. Only one region visited, that of the upper Maranon, was badly infested with fever. Insect pests were numerous, and of many sorts, but not so intolerable as often represented by travelers.
The realization of Humboldt’s dream does not seem imminent. Such difficulties as those of transportation, climate, inundation, and an untaught, unambitious population, must be overcome before Peruvian Amazonia shall come to her own.
CHRONOLOGY AND ITINERARY OF THE IRWIN AND CENTENNIAL EXPEDITIONS June 18, 1918 Left Bloomington, Indiana, with Professor C. H. Eigenmann and daughter, Adele; June 19, Arr. New Orleans; June 19-July 23 Awaiting passports at New Orleans and Bay Saint Louis; July 24 Released by State Department, sailed on 8.8. Carrillo; July 26 Arr. Havana, Cuba; 28 Departed Havana; August 1, 1918 Arrived Cristobal-Colon, C.Z.; 5 Transited Panama Canal; 9 Landfall Payta, Peru; 10 Eten, Pacasmayo; 11 Salaverry; 12 Callao and Lima; 13-18 Making contact with officials, arranging letters, permits; 16-17 Fishing Rio Rimac at Lima; 18 Sunday excursion and reconnaissance of upper Rio Rimac to Rio Blanco; 20 Fishing above Cerro San Cristobal in Rimac; 22 Enroute to Chosica; 23-25 Fishing between trains in middle Rimac; 26 Enroute to Rio Blanco; 26-27 Adjustment to high elevation; 28 Train to Oroya; 29-380 Preparing equipment for dividing forces; 31 Train to Junin.
NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITIONS 11 September 1, 1918 Via locomotive to Duck House on Lake Chinchaycocha; 2 To Smelter in search of facilities and assistance; 3 Return to Duck House; 4 Duck hunting for parasites, Lake Chinchaycocha; 5-6 Fishing with dynamite, seine, dipnet, collecting Spongillids; 7 Duck House to Zigzag, fishing branch of Mantaro, collecting earthworms, return to Oroya; 8-9 (With C.H.E.) collecting Rio de Oroya and Rio Mantaro; 10 Preparations for trips to Chanchomayo and Huanuco; 11 Oroya to Cerro de Pasco; 12-13 Packing and securing transportation to Hudnuco; 14-16 Cerro de Pasco to Hudnuco by horse; 17-21 Hudnuco Awaiting baggage and arranging accommodations in the “‘interior’’; 22 Horseback Husdnuco to Cochas; 23-24 Cochas to San Juan (Don Augusto Durand’s coca hacienda and manufactory); 25 Preparations for carriers and foot-travel to the Huallaga; 26 Via foot-trail to Chinchavitoe at mouth of Rio Chinchao; 27-28 Rained in, walked to Cuevas at foot of the Cayumba rapids, dynamiting river; 29-30 Fishing, collecting parasitological materials.
October 1, 1918 Seining and dynamiting Chumatagua, return to Chinchavitoc; 2 Chinchavitoe to Hacienda San Juan, dynamiting and seining the Rio Chinchao enroute; 3-12 Collecting parasitological materials from birds, snakes, etc. at San Juan; 13-15 Enroute, mostly afoot San Juan to Cochas; 16-25 Cochas to Hudnuco, convalescing from fever, fishing Rio Huallaga, Rio Tingo, and Huanecachupa Creek; 26-29 Hudnuco to Cerro de Pasco, fishing Rio Huallaga and a tributary at Ambo; 30 Fever, packing; 31 Cerro de Pasco by rail to Junin, damming creek, tributary to Lago Chinchaycocha, fishing, collecting parasites. November 1, 1918 By train Junin to Tilarnioc, collecting fish and birds for parasites, oo to Oroya; 2 Oroya to Lima by train; 3-7 Preparations for southern trip; 8-11 8. 8. Maipo to Mollendo, boat-train to Arequipa; 12 Arequipa; 13 Train Arequipa to Patios 14-20 Collecting at Puno mole, Puno Bay; shores of island in bay; 21 Train Puno to Sumbay; 22 Fishing gorge of upper Rio Chili, Sumbay by train to Maravillas and fishing Crucero Alto enroute; 23 Fishing the outlet of Lakes Lagunillas and Saracocha into Rio de Lampa, walked to Santa Lucia and freight-train to Maravillas; 24 Net fishing and poisoning millrace, ete. about Maravillas, train to Puno; 25 Puno to Cuzco by train; 26 Sightseeing, the Eigenmanns arriving in evening from Urubamba trip; 27 Cuzco to Puno; a8 80 Preparing stores, etc. for overland trip to Bolivia. :
December 1-3, 1918 Same; 4 Hunting birds for Parasitology about the bay; 5 Afoot with burro train Puno to Chucuito; 6 Hunting, fishing about Chucuito; 7 Chucuito to Acora, shooting birds enroute; 8 Acora to Have; 9 Dynamiting and seining Rio de Ilave, bird parasites; 10 Ilave to Juli, fishing Rio Caminaque enroute with roadside ponds and marshy areas; 11 Caring for parasites and collections at Juli, first collecting from open part of Lake Titicaca; 12 Juli to Pomata, fishing at noon in Rio de Molino; 13 Hunting birds and plankton Pomata Bay; 14 Pomata to Yunguyo, camping beside mole; 15 Shooting birds for parasites; 16 Mainly collecting parasites, at nightfall boarded coastwise steamer, Coya, found Dr. and Mrs. F. M. Chapman aboard; 17 Aboard 8. 8. Coya, Copacabana; 18 Guaqui, Bolivia, boat train to La Paz, joining the Eigenmanns and the Chap-
12 FISHES OF WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA mans; 19 Boat train to Guaqui, rejoining the Coya, and following eastern shores of Lake Titicaca; 20 Puerto Acosta and Moho port, set up camp in Adventist school; 21-23 Shooting birds, collecting parasites of birds, toad, fishes, collecting Oligochaets, Crustacea, spending one afternoon getting my assistant, Pedro Vasquez, out of Moho jail; 24-25 Waiting promised burros engaged by Gobernador; 26 Up at 4:30, enroute via Vilque Chico to Huancané; 27 Fishing and collecting Fic. 6. Upper course of Rio de Poopd, Bolivia, about 13000 feet altitude. Thermal springs seen at foot of slope on right are sufficiently hot to be used for cooking,buttheiroutletisoccupiedbyPygidiumattemperaturesdecidedlywarm tothetouch(above100degreesF.).
Crustacea in roadside pools and wet meadows, Huancané; 28 Continued rain and flood waters, dynamiting and seining at ford of Rio de Huancané; 29 Rio de Huancané to near village of Chupa, emergency camp; 30 One league further to Chupa, camping on North shore of Lake Arapa, Gobernador and villagers coming out and helping with seine; 31 Hunting birds, Crustacea, seining. January 1, 1919 Burro train and afoot Chupa to Laguna Salinas, fishing enroute in small Rio de Chupa; 2 Fishing Laguna Salinas from balsa, no fish present