132 TRANSACTIONS AND PROCEEDINGS OF THE [Sess. lv. 



water, by the death of the doctor to the expedition, by the 

 open appearance of Indians, and finally concluded by the 

 arrival of a relief expedition bringing us supplies and strong 

 reinforcements. The expedition was now over, but I remained 

 several months longer with the " Bolivia," exploring, collect- 

 ing, and studying the ways of the Toba Indians, with whom 

 I managed to make friends. I had been accustomed to read 

 accounts of those Indians by Argentine writers, which uni- 

 versally describe them as all that is bad, and I was therefore 

 agreeably surprised to find them immensely less cruel and 

 treacherous than their " Christian " neighbours, and morally 

 far superior to tlieni. I found them absolutely trustworthy, 

 and never detected in them any of those cases of wanton 

 cruelty so characteristic of their white neighbours. That 

 there are innumerable instances of their ill-treating Argen- 

 tines whom they take captive I do not doubt, but they do 

 this only in retaliation for the frightful atrocities which are 

 daily practised against their own comrades and friends by the 

 Argentine soldiery. 



I shall now give a short sketch of the district in which 

 the " Bolivia " remained for the five months succeeding the 

 departure of Lieut. Zorilla. I have before mentioned to you 

 the general aspect of the lower I'ilcomayo, witli its tall and 

 forest-clad banks. Soon after passing " Las Juntas," the 

 level of the surrounding country becomes much lower, and, 

 as seen from the Hood marks upon the trees, liable to occa- 

 sional inundation to the depth of several feet. The banks 

 are now low and undulating. Instead of the thick forest, we 

 have boideiing tlie river merely a narrow zone of ojien wood. 

 The trees are of quite dilferent species to those composing 

 the forest further down, tlu; two most characteristic being 

 the Mandu viiVi and tlie 'J'imlH) l)lanco. Of these the 

 Mandu vin'i is especially characteristic of the river margin, 

 and is a fine large tree, witli rougli bark and gnarled stem 

 and brandies, dark-gr'eeii pinnate leaves, yellow pajiiliona- 

 ceous llowers, and somewhat walnut-like druiuiceous fruit. 

 The Mandu vir/i is almost entii'ely restricted to the edges of 

 the river and of its ti'ibularies, and as a rule stretches its 

 branch(!S more or less horizontally over the water surface. 

 "J'he 'J'iinbo bianco, almost (Mpially abundant, is a mimosaceous 

 tree, with tall erect stem and white llower heads — somewhat 



