541 205-68

care if they inspected the car or did any-
thing they wanted with the guns and
ammunition and I think they had a right to,
but when the agreement was to send the car
"in bond" I think they were guilty in not
letting me be there at the time. Whenever
guns or atmmunition are mentioned in Guate-
mala twenty or so military people collect
around and feed on the despoils as would
twenty ants feed upon a crumb of bread.
The only harm done was the reshuffling of
my packing which in Guatemala City I can
reorganize again.

Departed from Barrios at noon; fare,
$10.60 which I thought was reasonable for
transporting one over tropical country that
would take a year to go by foot. The
tropics, in my estimation, is the attraction,
at least it should be, in Guatemala. The
volcanoes do not stand up to any of the
cones in Washington or Oregon. Maybe I
will change my mind as I have the chance to
see the western highlands. The tropics from
the air are more luxuriant than those of
Assam and the appearance from the air is
like the surface of a cauliflower. The
upperstory vegetation appears to be more
compact than in Assam. The hills and
mountains are completely covered with virgin
forests. The low broad valley appears to
be kept in successional stages. It is in
the flat valleys where the bananas grow
most readily. The color is a deep green
with a few patches of lighter green. I
would like to spend a year in these dense
jungle forests, especially those on the
mountain slopes, but I see no way of getting
into them. aA car in this country is as
useless as a "loon on land." The best way,