ACROSS NHAMBIQUARA LAND 209 



ing — owing to a desire to find out what the facts were as 

 regards the ox-carts, which were in difficulties — Cherrie, 

 Miller, Kermit, and I walked back to the Burity River, 

 where Colonel Rondon had spent the night. It was a 

 misty, overcast morning, and the spiders in the webs that 

 hung from the telegraph-wire were just going to their day 

 homes. These were in and under the big white china 

 insulators on the telegraph-poles. Hundreds of spiders 

 were already climbing up into these. When, two or three 

 hours later, we returned, the sun was out, and not a spider 

 was to be seen. 



Here we had to cut down our baggage and rearrange 

 the loads for the mule-train. Cherrie and Miller had a 

 most workmanlike equipment, including a very light tent 

 and two light flies. One fly they gave for the kitchen use, 

 one fly was allotted to Kermit and me, and they kept only 

 the tent for themselves. Colonel Rondon and Lyra went 

 in one tent, the doctor and Oliveira in another. Each of 

 us got rid of everything above the sheer necessities. This 

 was necessary because of the condition of the baggage- 

 animals. The oxen were so weak that the effort to bring 

 on the carts had to be abandoned. Nine of the pack- 

 mules had already been left on the road during the three 

 days' march from Utiarity. In the first expeditions into 

 this country all the baggage-animals had died; and even 

 in our case the loss was becoming very heavy. This state 

 of affairs is due to the scarcity of forage and the type of 

 country. Good grass is scanty, and the endless leagues of 

 sparse, scrubby forest render it exceedingly difficult to find 

 the animals when they wander. They must be turned 

 absolutely loose to roam about and pick up their scanty 



