A FORTY DAYS' RIDE 233 



his men, he permitted no one to retaliate in any manner 

 whatever. They have therefore learned to look upon him 

 as a friend and some even appeared to be heartily glad to 

 see him. 



In stature the Nhambiquara is short, but well built and 

 of a rather dark-brown color. It seems possible that some 

 of them have a slight amount of negro blood in their veins, 

 obtained from runaway slaves many years ago; a few of 

 this class had a light growth of hair on the face. The others 

 were beardless and their bodies also were entirely devoid 

 of hair. 



Clothes are entirely unknown to these Indians, and prac- 

 tically the only ornaments in their possession were strings 

 of beads given to them by Colonel Rondon. The men had 

 the septum of the nose and upper lip pierced, and wore 

 quills or slender pieces of bamboo in these perforations. 

 They had the unpleasant habit of coming close up to one 

 and jabbering at a furious rate of speed; this caused the 

 labrets to move uncomfortably near one's eyes, and it was 

 necessary at times to retreat a short distance in order to 

 get out of range of the menacing ornaments. This tribe 

 builds curious round huts or maloca of grass or leaves, and 

 cultivates small areas of mandioca; but forest fruits, game, 

 and wild honey form important articles of diet. Ants, 

 snakes, and almost any creature they can capture are eaten. 

 One day I saw several children playing with a calabash of 

 honey, when they accidently upset it on the ground; this, 

 however, caused them not the slightest concern ; they 

 gathered around the spot, and scooped up handfuls of the 

 saturated sand, which they ate. When they had finished, a 

 deep hole remained to mark the site of their banquet ! 



The weapons of the Nhambiquaras consist of bows six 

 feet tall, made of tough black or red palm-wood, and long 

 bamboo arrows. The points of the latter vary according 

 to the purpose for which they are to be used, and some of 

 them are poisoned. A bamboo cap is placed over the points 

 that have been treated with curare, to prevent the owner's 



