256 JUNGLE PEACE 



amphibians was present even in this square of 

 four feet — a very tiny, dried, black, and wholly 

 unrecognizable little frog. Fishes were absent, 

 though from my knees as I scraped up the 

 debris, I could almost have seen a little igarape 

 in which dwelt scores of minnows. 



As I delved deeper and examined the mold 

 more carefully for the diminutive inhabitants, I 

 found that this thin film from the floor of 

 the jungle appeared to have several layers, each 

 with its particular fauna. The upper layer was 

 composed of recently fallen leaves, nuts, seeds, 

 and twigs, dry and quite fresh. Here were 

 colonies of small ants and huge, solitary ones; 

 here lived in hiding small moths and beetles 

 and bugs, awaiting dusk to fly forth through 

 the jungle. The middle layer was by far the 

 most important, and in it lived four fifths of all 

 the small folk. The lowest layer was one of 

 matted roots and clayey soil and its animal life 

 was meager. 



Between the upper and the middle strata were 

 sprouting nuts and seeds, with their blanched 

 roots threaded downward into the rich dark 

 mold, and the greening cotyledons curling up- 

 ward toward light and warmth. Thus had the 



