Viewing page 13 of 38

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

5

understand me, I got off the car when I thought we were somewhere near the cathedral.  There was a small group of police standing on a corner and I approached with some reluctance and asked, in my best Spanish, how to get to the Plaza de Armas and the cathedral.  To my complete surprise they understood me the first time and gave me directions in slow and very clear Spanish.  It was fourteen blocks to the hotel.

Feb. 15.  Raúl called for me at 9 and we went to the Museo Nacional.  I first met Señor Frage, now the librarian but formerly an entomologist specializing in the Tabanidae.  At present and for some time in the past, his eyes have been giving him trouble.  It was pitiful to see how he clings to the belief that "they are much better today and will be completely well soon."  From the library I went to the office of Miss Grete Mostný, a refugee Austrian-jew archaeologist who has been recently working in the desert region of Chile.  She was very pleasant and finally ran down by telephone both Ureta, who is technically in charge of the Chilean National collection of insects, and Carlos Muñoz, Director of the Department of Forests.  Before they arrived the Director of the Museum, Dr. Enrique Gigoux, came in and I was introduced and started on a tour of the building.  As Dr Gigoux was 85 years old and unable to climb stairs and devotes only two hours a day to the museum, it should not be surprising that the institution is in a very run down condition.  Dr Ureta is a practicing physician and when convenient, comes to the museum for one hour each day.  He and Muñoz came together and we were admitted to the collection of insects; a room perhaps 18 by 10 feet equipped with cases to hold about 250 drawers. The collection was a rather grim sight and none of the types of Germain or Philippi could be found.  It was explained that they probably had been stolen.
Raúl had spent the morning at the Dept. Sanidad Vegetal and came for me I time to go to the Club de la Unión for lunch with Thayer.  There were six of us, Thayer, Guest, Casanueva, Janney of the Rockefeller Foundation, Raúl and myself. The party broke up at three and Raúl and I went to the hotel to talk and read some in "Time for Decision" (Raúl had the Spanish translation).  After onces at the American Milk Bar we went to a movie, "Andy Hardy and his Blonde Troubles."  Dinner at the hotel and bed.

Feb. 16.  We first went to the D.S.V. and I prepared a curriculum vitae for Sr Casanueva.  Then I went to the Museum and while waiting for Ureta, I talked New World archaeology with Dr Mostný.  When Ureta arrived, I asked to see the collection of Theclinae so that I could tell Bill Field about it.  Found that Chile has less than ten species in all.