240 THROUGH THE BRAZILIAN WILDERNESS 



The central shaft ran straight down for about eight feet, 

 and then laterally for about fifteen feet, to a kind of cham- 

 ber. The animal dug hard to escape, but when taken and 

 put on the surface of the ground it moved slowly and awk- 

 wardly. It showed vicious courage. In looks it closely 

 resembled our pocket gophers, but it had no pockets. This 

 was one of the most interesting small mammals that we 

 secured. 



After breakfast at Bonafacio a number of Nhambiquaras 

 — men, women, and children — strolled in. The men gave 

 us an exhibition of not very good archery; when the bow 

 was bent, it was at first held so that the arrow pointed 

 straight upwards and was then lowered so that the arrow 

 was aimed at the target. Several of the women had been 

 taken from other tribes, after their husbands or fathers 

 had been killed; for the Nhambiquaras are light-hearted 

 robbers and murderers. Two or three miserable dogs ac- 

 companied them, half-starved and mangy, but each deco- 

 rated with a collar of beads. The headmen had three or 

 four wives apiece, and the women were the burden-bearers, 

 but apparently were not badly treated. Most of them 

 were dirty, although well-fed looking, and their features 

 were of a low type; but some, especially among the 

 children, were quite attractive. 



From Bonafacio we went about seven miles, across a 

 rolling prairie dotted with trees and clumps of scrub. 

 There, on February 24, we joined Amilcar, who was camped 

 by a brook which flowed into the Duvida. We were only 

 some six miles from our place of embarkation on the 

 Duvida, and we divided our party and our belongings. 

 Amilcar, Miller, Mello, and Oliveira were to march three 



