CHAPTER XIV 

 HUNTING EXCURSIONS ALONG THE UPPER PARAGUAY 



Corumba is a very hot, dusty town built on a high, 

 rocky elevation on the west bank of the Paraguay. The 

 settlement bears the unenviable reputation of being the 

 rendezvous for fugitives from justice from many climates, 

 but we saw nothing of the lawlessness and disorder said to 

 prevail, and the treatment we received was all that could 

 be desired. The heat at midday was great, but frequently 

 a breeze came up at night. Rows of low, spreading mimosa- 

 trees lined some of the streets and cast a welcome shade; 

 their branches were covered with clumps of gorgeous scarlet 

 flowers. 



A railroad in course of construction will soon connect 

 Corumba with Rio de Janeiro. There is also a cart trail 

 leading through the heart of the chaco to Santa Cruz, Bo- 

 livia; to travel over it is a difficult undertaking, the ox- 

 drawn carts requiring a minimum of thirty days for the 

 trip. During the rainy season a large part of the country 

 is inundated, when the caravans must, of course, suspend 

 their activity. I met two men who had made this journey 

 but a short time before. One night a party of Indians at- 

 tacked and killed all the members of a caravan, stopping 

 only a half-mile distant from the spot where one of these 

 men and his family had made their camp. The tribes along 

 this route are the Penoquies, Guaranokas, and Potoreras, 

 and they are said to be of a treacherous, hostile disposition. 



As there was little zoological work to be done in the 

 immediate vicinity of Corumba, we moved to a place 

 called Urucum, about nine miles away. The road lay 

 through scrub growth and forest, and was all but impassa- 

 ble on account of the deep mud and rocks. Numbers of 

 native cabins are scattered along the wayside; some of the 



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