iane_ were getting interesting, some being of great length and of
colossal size, twisted round like a ship's cable.

We rose again to an elevation of 2,600 ft. On emerging from the cool dark
forest and its refreshing green light, we found ourselves on another
plateau with a slightly arched summit, of beautiful campos. From that
height we looked over the immense undulating plain to the south. To the
south-east we gazed upon a lower flat-topped plateau bounding the valley
which, in great sweeping undulations from south-east to north-west,
resembled an ocean with waves of colossal magnitude. We travelled across
the slightly domed grassy plateau, and found on it a _cuvette_--only
slightly depressed this time, but with the usual central line of tall
trees with luxuriant foliage, _burity_ palms and _pintahyba_ trees.
There, too, we had a surface stratum of red earth and fine brown dust,
with an under stratum of grey ashes. Soon after we came to a second
_cuvette_, and farther north a third could be perceived. In fact, the
summit of that particular table-land was made up of subsidiary domes
dividing _cuvette_ from _cuvette_ in succession.

In going down to 2,550 ft. we found a streamlet flowing northwest into
the Rio das Mortes--or "River of Death." We were there on the great
divide between the waters flowing south into the S. Lourenco and
eventually into the Parana, and those flowing north--after thousands of
kilometres--into the Amazon. This little rivulet was therefore
interesting to me, for it was the first one I had met flowing north since
leaving the Araguaya--although not the first whose waters eventually
flowed in a circuitous way into the Amazon.

That was a day of great domes--all of them with perfect curves. On them
the grazing was magnificent. To the north a wonderful green dome, larger
than the others (elev. 2,650 ft.), would have been splendid for cattle
raising. Not a sign of life could be seen anywhere. Seldom have I seen
nature so still and devoid of animal life. What immensity of rich land
wasted! It made one's heart bleed to see it. There was everything there
to make the fortunes of a hundred thousand farmers--yet there was not a
soul! There was good grazing, plenty of water. There were no roads, no
trails, it is true, but with a little enterprise it would be easy to make
them. With a railway passing through, that now wasted land should become
the richest on earth.

In a depression (elev. 2,450 ft.) we ca