e Rio Novo which
we had seen descending from the Serra Azul, formed the Arinos River and
could certainly be considered the head-waters of that immense tributary
of the Amazon.

A short distance south of Diamantino were the Sete Lagoas, or Seven
Lakes--as a matter of fact, they numbered more than seven--circular pools
only a few yards in diameter but extraordinarily deep, evidently of
volcanic origin, and filled with water at a later time. Around their
edges a remarkably luxuriant growth of _buritys_ could be admired. A
great valley extending south with a central ridge could be distinguished.
On it was the meeting-place of the Rio Diamantino and the Rio do Ouro
(River of Gold), which, with the Sete Lagoas, formed another most
important point of South America, for it was there that the Great
Paraguay or Parana River rose.

It was thus interesting to note that within almost a stone's throw rose
two of the most powerful rivers of South America--one flowing due north
into the Amazon, the other almost due south as far as Buenos Ayres and
Montevideo, where it entered the Atlantic Ocean.

A great confusion is made on most maps between those lagoons and the
actual birth-places of those important streams. The ancient Jesuits and
friars had a fair idea of geography. I have in my possession a remarkable
work in Italian published in Rome in 1698 by Father John Joseph of S.
Teresa--a barefooted Carmelite. It is entitled _The History of the Wars
in the Kingdom of Brazil between the Crown of Portugal and the Republic
of Holland_. The book contains a number of extraordinary maps of Brazil.
Those of the principal harbours give a splendid idea of the places
represented. The coastline of the continent is indicated with fair
accuracy. It is curious to note that the author of that book and the
cartographer place the sources of the Amazon and of the River Plate in
the same spot, as descending on opposite sides of a range extending from
east to west--a range which does not exist, unless it was intended to
represent the Central Brazilian plateau. "The River S. Francisco," Father
John Joseph goes on to state, "has also its birth in the spot where the
Amazon is born, but this is not sure." The cartographer, in fact, places
the head-waters of that river close to the head-waters of the Amazon, and
makes them flow through a large lagoon in the heart of Brazil--evidently
the Great "Lagoa dos Veados" or else the "Sete Lagoas" to which reference
has