Only one
thing New York of Ucayalli seemed to have in common with New York of the
United States--the people seemed to be able to stand a lot of drink. They
purchased from the _Rimac_ a number of boxes of beer.

We proceeded. In a way it was amusing to travel on a trading boat. Every
time we approached a hut the steamer blew her whistle; the people got up,
at any time of the night, to come on board and see what there was for
sale. I slept on deck, and from my bed could see what was going on all
the time.

St. Helena came next, with its depot and farmhouse. A few cows could be
seen grazing on the poorest kind of grass. We could often get good fruit
at those farmhouses, principally bananas, pineapples, and _mamao_. Then
we stopped at Requena, on the left bank of the river, where a wireless
telegraphic station of the Telefunken system was established. It was
quite a nice little place, with a few houses, built of unbaked clay and
roofed with zinc.

[Illustration: In the Andes at 16,000 Feet above the Sea Level.]

[Illustration: the Galera Tunnel.]

It was entertaining to watch the pride of the local gentlemen when they
showed me their houses--mere sheds of the humblest description, but in
their eyes far superior to any palace of Europe. An imported chair or an
antiquated desk would supply them with conversation to last hours. The
wives of those settlers were generally eccentric persons who looked
suspiciously at us. One of them at Requena made me feel most
uncomfortable by the annoying way in which she looked at my only shoe--as
I was unable to put a shoe on the other much swollen foot. She never
took her eyes off that shoe, and stooped down many times to examine it
closer.

A short distance from Requena, still on the left side of the river, was
the mouth of the Tapiche River, a tributary of the Ucayalli. On the right
bank of this river was California, and then Avispa--a pretty spot. Two
new red-roofed houses with large verandas stood prominent on a green
grassy hill about 120 ft. high, while on the ridge in continuation of the
hill itself could be seen a number of small houses, some with zinc roofs,
others with _bona_ roofs and walls.

The Ucayalli was a rich stream. It was interesting to notice how many
trading launches were to be seen on that river, and the amazing part of
it was that they could all exist. Hardly a day went by that we did not
meet two or three launches. We were also constantly meeting canoes,
ge