n a
well-kept English park--a heavy and sudden storm arrived, which in a few
seconds drenched us to the marrow of our bones. I have seldom seen or
felt drops of water of such weight and size as when the rain began,
followed within a few seconds by a downpour in bucketfuls.

Animals, baggage, and men, dripping all over, went along, rising to 2,400
ft. above the sea level, by the side of a conical hill. A huge block of
volcanic rock--shot and deposited there evidently from elsewhere--was to
be seen near by.

Eighteen kilometres from our last camp we descended to a streamlet,
dividing a grassy basin like the preceding ones. Again I noticed here
that all divisions between ranges--caused by volcanic or other violent
action, and not by erosion--were in a direction from north to south. We
had this in the Paredao Grande, and in the triple division of the
top-dyked mountains on the south, and also in the gabled and tower
mountains we had observed for some days to the south-west.

Again during the night I saw to the west the phenomenon of the previous
evening repeated--the strange flashes directly under and occasionally to
the left of the brilliant planet--that is to say to the right of the
person observing it.

This was from Camp Areal, where we suffered terribly during the day from
our friends the _pium_, which filled our eyes and ears and stung us all
over; and at sunset from the _polvora_ or _polvorinha_ (or powder), so
called because of their infinitesimal size--most persistent mosquitoes,
so greedy that they preferred to be squashed rather than escape when they
were sucking our blood on our hands and faces. Fortunately, during the
night--with the cold (min. Fahr. 56 deg.)--we had a little respite, and these
brutes disappeared, only to return to their attack at sunrise with the
warmth of the sun. At 9 a.m. the thermometer already registered a
temperature of 95 deg. Fahr. in the sun--a jump of 39 deg., which,
notwithstanding mosquitoes and _pium_, my men greatly enjoyed.

[Illustration: The Paredao Grande, showing Vertical Rocks with
Great Arches.]

I have never seen men suffer more from the cold than my followers. They
were simply paralyzed and frozen at that comparatively high temperature.
They moaned and groaned and wept all night, although they slept in their
clothes and were tightly wrapped up in heavy blankets. Moreover, they had
spread a heavy waterproof double tent over the lot of them, as they lay
closely pack