1 96 OUR SEARCH FOR A WILDERNESS 



reason why she should defy public prejudice by doing so; 

 but the woman who attempts to tramp through the South 

 American jungle will find that safety and comfort make 

 them absolutely essential 



One realized as never before with what handicaps woman 

 has tried to follow the footsteps of man ; with the result that 

 physical exhaustion has robbed her of all the joys of life in 

 the open. 



Returning to our day in the jungle; we tramped silently 

 over the sodden ground, now and then sending some 

 panic-stricken Macaw or Parrot screeching from its roost. 

 After an hour the rain ceased and the sun shone brightly, but 

 where we were, many yards beneath the vast mat of tree-top 

 foliage, only single spots and splashes of light broke the solid 

 shadows. For a long distance we trod silently on deep 

 mould and moss, and not a sound of beast or bird broke the 

 stillness As we crossed a swirling creek on the trunk of a 

 mighty fallen tree, something fluttered ahead. We could 

 not see what it was. Closer we came and still the object 

 remained indistinct ; we seemed to see a butterfly and yet it 

 appeared impossible. At last we marked it down on a 

 fern frond and crept up until our eyes were within two feet. 

 Nothing was visible but the graceful lacery of the frond, 

 until a slanting beam of sunlight struck it and there, close 



f a butterfly ! It spread fully three 



mches but wa<^holly transparent save for three tiny spots 

 of a sure neai^^^dgfl or the hind wings (Haetera pier a}. 

 As we looked, it (IrJKtWto a double-headed flower of scarlet, 



an (When it a'ligl^OS^lNiJet of the flower and the green 

 of pie leaf were a* di^tirkt ai^kseen through thin mica, 

 \vhifi? We faint gray h<ize of the ia^ct's wings were marked 

 only by the indistinct Agination. The appearance of this 

 ghostly buttlftly amid the silr'tKie j^j^jiwe-inspiring stillness 

 of the reeking^|gioflB was most impressive. 



