the Tertiary period (20,000,000 years ago), and fossil reminders of this sea are present along the shores and for some miles inland, especially in the vicinity of Santa Rosalía. The fossil shells of this sea, as

well as many of the recent shells of the Gulf, show a close relationship to species from the Gulf of Mexico on the opposite side of the continent. Possibly an ancient sea connection across the lowlands of the

Isthmus of Tehuantepec accounts for this similarity.

Instead of risking the danger of a breakdown of our car on the rough road back to Tijuana, we returned to San Diego by the long way around. We put the car on a small boat and crossed the Gulf of California to Guaymas (Sonora) on the mainland and then drove back to the States over much better roads via Hermosillo, Magdalena, and Nogales.

Our trip had been very interesting and had yielded some information on the peninsula, both on its geography and inhabitants as well as on its geology and natural history.

We had found the northern part of the peninsula to be sparsely inhabited except for the three towns of Tijuana, Ensenada, and Mexicali. Much of the country was too arid for cultivation but here and there attempts had been made to grow corn and a few other vegetables. Much of the trade was with California. Any supplies shipped from Mexico proper would almost necessarily have to be shipped through the United States. Probably for this reason, the Territory of Baja California is a free zone, and all materials can be shipped from the United States without duty. This explains why we saw mostly American goods in the stores in Ensenada and other towns in the northern part of the territory.

The southern part of the territory has boat connections with the Mexican mainland through Santa Rosalía and La Paz, although even here American goods are still much in evidence.

When we sailed from "free" Lower California to Sonora, all our bags and equipment were examined as if we were entering a new country. (There had been no examination at the border.)

The information obtained on this trip left me with a desire for another visit to

this interesting desert peninsula. However, travel restrictions brought about by the war, as well as the pressure of other work, caused a longer postponement than had been anticipated in planning a second expedition.

Then, in May 1946, an opportunity suddenly presented itself for at least a brief revisit to the peninsula. A lecture tour which I was making through the oil country of the Southwest was to end at Wichita, Kansas, slightly ahead of original schedule. Since I had a week or so to spare, I conceived the idea of returning from Wichita to Philadelphia by a circuitous route through San Diego and Lower California.

Arrangements were made by telephone. and telegraph with a friend in San Diego who wished to accompany me, and while

it was impossible to plan a real expedition on such short notice and with such limited time available, it seemed possible to make a short trip in order to see the changes, if any, that had taken place in the northern part of the peninsula and to make better plans for a more extended expedition in the not too distant future.

I arrived by plane at San Diego at 10:30 p. m. on May 22, and by 9:00 a. m. the following day we were across the border, Ned, my San Diego friend, having assembled the necessary camping and collecting equipment.

As before, we hurried over the road to Ensenada. Near Santo Tomás, where an exceedingly steep grade had been almost disastrous in 1941, we found a well graded gravel road. Near San Vicente, where we had encountered such delays from the flooded arroyos, we found bridges either completed or in the process of construction. A large bridge was being built.

across the San Vicente River at the same spot where we had spent three hours attempting to ford the stream.

For a while I was beginning to think that much of the difficulty of travel in Lower California, as well as the romance, was gone. The first three camping sites of 1941 were passed smoothly before sundown of the first day in 1946.

However, shortly before reaching the Hamilton Ranch, the "improved portion" of the road came to an end. The road was maintained to the Colonia Guerrero (190 miles) but beyond that it consisted merely of two ruts in the desert, showing no improvement over 1941.

We reached Rosario and hoped to continue to Catarina where some unusually large fossil ammonite shells had been reported. However, in view of the very bad road and the fact that our car was much too low for the desert road, we regretfully postponed that portion of the

trip, and returned to the border with collecting stops at several points, notably at Socorro, a truly beautiful spot on the Pacific coast which may at some future date be a popular tourist resort. A splendid beach, abundant well water, and good potential farm land make this one of the favorable localities in the northern part of the peninsula.

Before returning east, we took one more brief excursion into Lower California, this time going south from Mexicali to the delta of the Colorado. We camped one night below El Mayor, near the mouth of the river. We had hoped to continue some 80 miles farther to San Felipe, on the Gulf. However, our time was short, the road was bad, and the desert hotter and even more desolate than on the western side of the peninsula.

Finally, about 10 miles south of El Mayor, while we were debating whether or not to go any farther, .we met some

Mexicans traveling northward in a truck over the desolate mud flats. We hailed them to ask the condition of the road. After warning us not to go any farther unless we had adequate water, they told us that they were bringing out of the desert another American who had attempted to drive to San Felipe. He had strayed off the road, a very easy thing to do since there are many branches and the "main highway" is not marked. He had run out of gasoline and water, had finally drunk the water from the radiator, and was in a delirious state when picked up by these Mexicans to be taken back to Mexicali.

The water problem did not worry us, since we were well supplied. However, since I knew nothing whatever about automobiles, and since Ned, although an excellent driver, was not a mechanic, we decided that "discretion is the better part of valor," and therefore placed San

Felipe on the agenda for a future trip. Even though we did not reach all of our objectives, such as Catarina and San Felipe, the trip was definitely a success, since it was planned mainly as a "shakedown cruise" for future field work.

Before I left San Diego, Ned and I made preliminary plans for another expedition to Lower California. We shall plan it more carefully and see to it that we have a suitable car, one that is high enough for the desert roads and in good enough condition to withstand the rough terrain. An army command car might be the

answer.

We could not help being impressed

with the friendliness and courtesy of all the inhabitants we met in the peninsula. The Mexican boy who carried our fivegallon water can more than half a mile to and from a well, and refused any money, was typical.

There are plenty of places yet to visit in Lower California. The ammonite locality at Catarina is definitely a "must." Also, we hope to collect more fossils from the southern part of the peninsula, south of Santa Rosalía, in the hope that we shall get further information on the Tertiary marine submergence of the region. Yes, definitely, we are going back to Lower California!

THE New Constitution of the United States of Brazil, promulgated in Rio's Tiradentes Palace on September 18, marks a return to democratic processes of government and introduces several new concepts and provisions which will doubtless be of great interest to students of constitutional law and will have great influence on Brazil's future political, economic, and social relations with other powers.

The document contains 217 articles, which are divided into various subject headings. These include, under Federal organization, preliminary dispositions and legislative, executive, and judicial powers. Subsequent titles deal with State judicial powers, declarations of the rights of individuals, statements of policy on the economic and social order, provisions governing the armed forces and civil service, and general provisions.

This charter promises that Brazil will 1 From "Brazilian Bulletin", October 15, 1946.

have recourse to war in settling international disputes only when arbitration and all other peaceful means as regulated by international security organizations to which Brazil belongs have failed. It pledges furthermore that Brazil will never undertake aggressive warfare on her own or in alliance with other powers.

In the chapter on preliminary provisions it is asserted that certain powers are reserved to the Federal Union such as the rights to make war and peace, proclaim and lift states of siege, maintain armed forces, grant permission to foreign troops to use Brazilian territory in transit or for temporary bases, produce armaments and munitions, supervise maritime, border police, and aerial forces, print and coin money, institute banks, oversee the operations of credit, capital and insurance establishments, establish a national plan for development of transportation, maintain postal and national airmail services,