268 TIMEHRI. 
and persuaded them to come down to us.* Our newly — 
found hosts proved to be of the same tribe as my com- a 
panions, and declared that they had been frightened 
away by my quite harmless self, mistaking me for a 
Brazilian who had come to take them and make soldiers 
of them. It is surprising how often this story crops up 
among the Redmen of those parts, although it must be 
quite half a century since any of them from ourterritory 
were thus forced into the Brazilian service, It is said 
that this sort of conscription goes on even now across 
the border; and the rumour of this, spreading, as all 
news does far and wide over the savannah, probably 
keeps the tradition alive. On this occasion our new 
found hosts were soon comforted and delighted by a few 
very trifling presents; and some of them, unasked, even 
added themselves to our train, for the mere pleasure of 
“ taking a walk’’—of a week’s duration—in our company. 
This is a loca] custom which often tends to swell a party 
travelling through those parts on business, and turns it 
into a merry picnic. 
On every other occasion throughout our march, on the 
rare occasions when we came to the widely scattered 
houses, we met with an immediate and most hearty 
welcome from the inhabitants. The etiquette of the 
visit had always to be fulfilled, but this was accompanied 
by a friendliness on the part of our hosts which softened 
those formalities of the best redskinned society. One 
such reception may be recounted as a type of all. 
The particular instance sele€ted for description is 
impressed on my mind by the faét that the settlement in 
question, consisting of three or four large houses, each 
inhabited by a group of families, stood on the lofty summit 
