Up the Paraguay 51 



once a flock of white wood-ibis among the trees on the 

 bank. 



On the Brazilian boundary we met a shallow river 

 steamer carrying Colonel Candido Mariano da Silva Ron- 

 don and several other Brazilian members of the expe- 

 dition. Colonel Rondon immediately showed that he was 

 all, and more than all, that could be desired. It was 

 evident that he knew his business thoroughly, and it 

 was equally evident that he would be a pleasant com- 

 panion. He was a classmate of Mr. Lauro Muller at 

 the Brazilian Military Academy. He is of almost pure 

 Indian blood, and is a Positivist — the Positivists are a 

 really strong body in Brazil, as they are in France and 

 indeed in Chile. The colonel's seven children have all 

 been formally made members of the Positivist Church 

 in Rio Janeiro. Brazil possesses the same complete lib- 

 erty in matters religious, spiritual, and intellectual as 

 we, for our great good fortune, do in the United States, 

 and my Brazilian companions included Catholics and 

 equally sincere men who described themselves as "libres 

 penseurs." Colonel Rondon has spent the last twenty- 

 four years in exploring the western highlands of Brazil, 

 pioneering the way for telegraph-lines and railroads. 

 During that time he has travelled some fourteen thou- 

 sand miles, on territory most of which had not previously 

 been traversed by civilized man, and has built three thou- 

 sand miles of telegraph. He has an exceptional knowl- 

 edge of the Indian tribes and has always zealously en- 

 deavored to serve them and indeed to serve the cause 

 of humanity wherever and whenever he was able. Thanks 

 mainly to his efforts, four of the wild tribes of the 



