d. Then innumerable _colibris_--the tiny humming-birds, of
marvellous iridescent metallic tints--sucked now from one then from
another flower while still flying. Indeed, that spot seemed the
rendez-vous of all the animals of that region. There you found _oncas_
(jaguar), _anta_ (a large pachyderm), the _Tapirus Americanus_, the
_tamandua bandeira_, with its worm-like tongue, (or _Myrmecophaga
jubata_), and plenty of _veado_ (_Cervus elaphus_). The footmarks of all
those animals were innumerable near the water.

The man I had left behind in order to make a further attempt at
recovering the lost horse arrived that evening, his search having been
unsuccessful. Undoubtedly the horse had been stolen.

[Illustration: Strange Geometrical Pattern of Lava over Giant
Volcanic Dome.]

Although the place where we had made camp was a regular paradise to look
at--in the day-time--it might have been compared to warmer regions at
night. Mosquitoes of all sizes and of all degrees of viciousness rose in
swarms from the swamp at sunset, and made our life absolutely miserable.
To counterbalance the torture we had a wonderful sunset to look at. First
the sky, of a golden colour, was intersected by graceful curves
dividing it into sections like a melon; then it gradually became
overladen with horizontal black and crimson lines to the west, black to
the east and overhead.

June the 2nd was my birthday. I am superstitious by nature, and I would
have given anything to celebrate it with some lucky event, although I was
at a loss to think of anything lucky that could have happened to me
there. Indeed, I began my new year badly--much worse even than I
expected. That was an ill-omen to me. First of all there was a terrible
row among my men in camp. They had taken to their rifles. They wanted to
shoot the cook. The man deserved punishment, perhaps, but not quite so
severe a one. After a great deal of arguing I quieted them and got them
to lay down their weapons. The cook's life was spared--worse luck for me.
I was sorry for it when I had my breakfast, for cooking more diabolical
than his could not be imagined. During breakfast the news came that
another horse of my caravan had been lost. So there was the prospect of
another day wasted to recover it. My men were unable to trace it, so I
resigned myself to the monetary loss and also to the inconvenience its
absence would cause us.

My men felt the cold intensely during the night, the thermometer