176 THROUGH THE BRAZILIAN WILDERNESS 



walls, stone floors, and tiled or thatched roofs. They 

 stood in a wide, gently sloping valley. Through it ran a 

 rapid brook of cool water, in which we enjoyed delightful 

 baths. The heavy, intensely humid atmosphere of the 

 low, marshy plains had gone; the air was clear and fresh; 

 the sky was brilliant; far and wide we looked over a land- 

 scape that seemed limitless; the breeze that blew in our 

 faces might have come from our own northern plains. 

 The midday sun was very hot; but it was hard to realize 

 that we were in the torrid zone. There were no mosquitoes, 

 so that we never put up our nets when we went to bed; 

 but wrapped ourselves in our blankets and slept soundly 

 through the cool, pleasant nights. Surely in the future 

 this region will be the home of a healthy, highly civilized 

 population. It is good for cattle-raising, and the valleys 

 are fitted for agriculture. From June to September the 

 nights are often really cold. Any sound northern race 

 could live here; and in such a land, with such a climate, 

 there would be much joy of living. 



On these plains the Telegraphic Commission uses 

 motor-trucks; and these now served to relieve the mules 

 and oxen; for some of them, especially among the oxen, 

 already showed the effects of the strain. Travelling in a 

 wild country with a pack-train is not easy on the pack- 

 animals. It was strange to see these big motor-vans out 

 in the wilderness where there was not a settler, not a civ- 

 ilized man except the employees of the Telegraphic Com- 

 mission. They were handled by Lieutenant Lauriado, 

 who, with Lieutenant Mello, had taken special charge of 

 our transport service; both were exceptionally good and 

 competent men. 



