WATER PLANTS AND TAPIRS 173 



of rushing water, in places where a man can barely stand 

 if he attempt to wade up to his knees. But if the plant 

 be closely examined it will be seen that while the stems 

 and leaves are soft and pliable and yield to the force of 

 the current, the roots are hard and wiry and cling with 

 such tenacity to the surface of the rocks that it is almost 

 impossible to remove the entire plant. Any attempt to 

 do so resulted, as I found, in the breaking of the stem at 

 the point where it springs from the roots. This neolacis 

 exists only under water. With the falling of the river 

 the exposed plants die, leaving a network of white thread- 

 like roots with sharp points where the stems had dried 

 up. If tapirs feed largely on these aquatic plants, as the 

 Indians affirm, their elongated snouts would be of great 

 use in tearing off the succulent leaves and stems from the 

 uneven surface of the rocks to which the plants attach 

 themselves. 



Some of the slabs of granite upon which we landed 

 were quite honeycombed with pot-holes. In many of 

 these pot-holes there were either single stones or a 

 number of pebbles, while others were half full of sand 

 sometimes mixed with fresh-water shells. 



Although it was quite early when we reached the 

 Indian settlement at Mura, the men asked me to camp 

 for the night. We chose a spit of sand along the bank 

 not far from the settlement. The men planted poles, 

 either in triangles or quadrangles, between which they 

 slung their hammocks. ' The Pirate ' said he preferred 

 to sleep wrapped up in his blanket on the sand, so he 

 made no preparations for passing the night, but went 

 with the Indians to their settlement. Pancho Mon- 

 tenegro, the cook, and his assistant, Freddy, had made a 

 big wood-fire, and the large iron pot full of vegetables 



