re:
min. 54 deg.; max. 83 deg. Fahr. Perfectly clear sky.

May 30th. Obliged to remain one more day at Sangrador. Horse missing
still. All men have gone searching the forest for it. Temperature: min.
561/2 deg. Fahr; max. 75 deg. Fahr. Elevation 2,050 ft.

It was indeed a great treat to be able to converse with so intelligent a
gentleman as Father Malan after the company I had been in since leaving
Goyaz.

Father Malan was a man with a heart of gold and great courage. Under him
the Salesians will some day continue their good work and spread happiness
and culture among the few Indians who now remain in Matto Grosso. What
had already been done by the Salesians was amazing. No doubt, with their
great enterprise, they would certainly continue their good work of
civilization and science combined.

Although the Salesians tried hard to induce men to accompany my
expedition, their efforts were rewarded with no success; so that I had to
be content with the handful of men I had with me. I foresaw disaster from
that moment, for thirty was the least number of men I needed to carry out
my work properly--and thirty good men at that. Instead, I only had six
men, two of them extraordinarily plucky but quite uncontrollable; the
others absolutely worthless.

Had I been a wise man I should have turned back. But I am not a wise man,
and I never turn back; so that there only remained one thing to do--go on
as best I could, come what might.

CHAPTER XX

Wild Animals--An Immense Chasm--Interesting Cloud Effects

ON May 31st (thermometer min. 56 deg., max. 74 deg. Fahr.) I decided to abandon
the missing horse and proceed on my journey. I suspected, with reason,
that the animal had been stolen. It was no use wasting any more time
searching for it. We thus bade good-bye for good to the Salesians, and
left the great basin of the Sangrador River (elev. 2,050 ft.).

We travelled over sparsely wooded country to 2,350 ft. Tobacco-coloured
soil was still under our feet, yellow spattered lava, then again reddish
soil, wonderfully rich and fertile, if only it could be cultivated. The
country was here peculiar for its many undulations until we arrived on
the rim of a large basin, extending from north-west to south-east, of
great campos, with stunted vegetation at first, but later with a truly
luxuriant growth of vigorous-looking _Jtauba preta_ (_Oreodaphne
Hookeriana_ Meissn.), with thick deep green foliage.

We crossed two strea