UP THE RIVER OF TAPIRS 151 



not yet obtained. The antlers had recently been shed, and 

 the new antler growth had just begun. A great jabiru 

 stork let us ride by him a hundred and fifty yards off 

 without thinking It worth while to take flight. This day 

 we saw many of the beautiful violet orchids; and in the 

 swamps were multitudes of flowers, red, yellow, lilac, of 

 which I did not know the names. 



I alluded above to the queer custom these people in 

 the interior of Brazil have of gelding their hunting-dogs. 

 This absurd habit Is doubtless the chief reason why there 

 are so few hounds worth their salt in the more serious 

 kinds of hunting, where the quarry Is the jaguar or big 

 peccary. Thus far we had seen but one dog as good as 

 the ordinary cougar hound or bear hound in such packs 

 as those with which I had hunted In the Rockies and In 

 the cane-brakes of the lower Mississippi. It can hardly be 

 otherwise when every dog that shows himself worth 'any- 

 thing is promptly put out of the category of breeders — • 

 the theory apparently being that the dog will then last 

 longer. All the breeding is from worthless dogs, and no 

 dog of proved worth leaves descendants. 



The country along this river Is a fine natural cattle 

 country, and some day It will surely see a great develop- 

 ment. It was opened to development by Colonel Ron- 

 don only five or six years ago. Already an occasional 

 cattle-ranch is to be found along the banks. When rail- 

 roads are built into these interior portions of Matto Grosso 

 the whole region will grow and thrive amazingly — and so 

 will the railroads. The growth will not be merely ma- 

 terial. An immense amount will be done in education; 

 using the word education in Its broadest and most accurate 



