e from them. We
were in great luck. A flock of six beautiful red _araras_ (macaws) passed
above our heads. They looked perfectly gorgeous as they flapped their
wings heavily and shrieked loudly as they sped along.

The formation of the soil in that region was interesting enough. Under a
greyish white surface layer there were thin sedimentary strata of
pebbles, deposited evidently by water, then under these a thick
stratum--30 ft. or more--of warm-coloured red earth. The streams which
had cut their way through this geological formation were invariably
limpid in the extreme.

We were beginning to find beautiful flowers and butterflies again, the
latter in great swarms near the water.

My caravan of grey and white pack-animals--some fourteen--was quite a
picturesque sight as it wound its way down steep hill-sides, the mounted
men urging the mules with shouts and lashes from their whips. We
experienced difficulty in finding a good camp that night, the grazing
being poor and the water scarce when sunset came. It seemed a pity that
the most suitable camping places were not always to be found when you
wished to halt!

We were now at an elevation of 1,550 ft. When we proceeded the next
morning we found nothing of interest. Fairly wooded country alternated
with campos, at first rather undulating, then almost flat, until we
arrived at the Tapirapuana River (elev. 1,350 ft.), 8 yards wide and 3
ft. deep, which we crossed without much trouble, in the afternoon, at a
spot some 28 kil. distant from our last camp. Luxuriant foliage hung over
the banks right down into the water, which flowed so slowly--only at the
rate of 1,080 metres an hour--that it looked almost stagnant, and of a
muddy, dirty, greenish colour.

We were much troubled by mosquitoes, flies and _carrapatinhos_, the
latter a kind of tiny little clinging parasite which swarmed absolutely
all over us every time we put our feet on the ground on dismounting from
our animals. The irritation was such that you actually drove your nails
into your skin in scratching yourself. They could only be driven away by
smearing oneself all over with tobacco juice, the local remedy, or with
strong carbolic soap, which I generally used, and which worked even more
satisfactorily.

A tubercular leper came to spend the evening in our camp. He was most
repulsive, with his enlarged features, especially the nose, of a ghastly,
shiny, unwholesome, greenish white, and pitifully swollen feet