134 THROUGH THE BRAZILIAN WILDERNESS 



just as sharks and crocodiles in different seas and rivers 

 vary. 



On the morning of January 9th we started out for a tapir- 

 hunt. Tapirs are hunted with canoes, as they dwell in 

 thick jungle and take to the water when hounds follow 

 them. In this region there were extensive papyrus-swamps 

 and big lagoons, back from the river, and often the tapirs 

 fled to these for refuge, throwing off the hounds. In these 

 places it was exceedingly difficult to get them; our best 

 chance was to keep to the river in canoes, and paddle 

 toward the spot in the direction of which the hounds, by 

 the noise, seemed to be heading. We started in four ca- 

 noes. Three of them were Indian dugouts, very low in the 

 water. The fourth was our Canadian canoe, a beauty; 

 light, safe, roomy, made of thin slats of wood and cement- 

 covered canvas. Colonel Rondon, Fiala with his camera, 

 and I went in this canoe, together with two paddlers. 

 The paddlers were natives of the poorer class. They were 

 good men. The bowsman was of nearly pure white blood; 

 the steersman was of nearly pure negro blood, and was 

 evidently the stronger character and better man of the 

 two. The other canoes carried a couple of fazendeiros, 

 ranchmen^ who had come up from Caceres with their dogs. 

 These dugouts were manned by Indian and half-caste pad- 

 dlers, and the fazendeiros, who were of nearly pure white 

 blood, also at times paddled vigorously. All were dressed 

 in substantially similar clothes, the difference being that 

 those of the camaradas, the poorer men or laborers, were 

 in tatters. In the canoes no man wore anything save a 

 shirt, trousers, and hat, the feet being bare. On horse- 

 back they wore long leather leggings which were really 



