CHAPTER XV 



A FORTY DAYS' RIDE THROUGH WILDEST MATTO 



GROSSO 



TAPIRAPOAN presented a scene of festive gayety upon 

 the arrival of the expedition. The large, open square around 

 which clustered the low, mud-walled huts was decorated 

 with lines of pennants, while the American and Brazilian 

 flags fluttered from tall poles in the centre. Flag raising 

 and lowering were always impressive ceremonies; every- 

 body lined up and stood at attention while the banners 

 were elevated or taken down, as the case might be, to the 

 strains of martial music. However, if Tapirapoan bore a 

 festive outward appearance, it acted merely as a mask to 

 cover up the general confusion that even a casual inspection 

 could not fail to disclose. Numbers of horses, mules, and 

 oxen had been gathered from the surrounding country; an 

 array of natives or camaradas who were to have charge of 

 the animals and the impedimenta, had assembled, and 

 several warerooms were filled with provisions and equip- 

 ment. To organize properly a cavalcade of such vast pro- 

 portions required some little time in fact just six days. 

 We did not particularly regret the delay, for it gave us an 

 opportunity of making daily excursions into the near-by 

 country. This was mostly of an open character and yielded 

 no big game, but it teemed with interesting little creatures. 

 Several small tracts of land were fenced in and planted in 

 maize, and it was wonderful to note how these restricted 

 areas had been discovered by small rodents which apparently 

 came from the surrounding wilds, found an abundance of 

 food and favorable conditions, and multiplied so rapidly that 

 within a short time they were so abundant as to be decidedly 

 harmful. One would almost expect their natural enemies 



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