CHAPTER IV 



THE HEADWATERS OF THE PARAGUAY 



AT Corumba our entire party, and all their be- 

 longings, came aboard our good little river boat, 

 the Nyoac. Christmas Day saw us making our 

 way steadily up-stream against the strong current, and 

 between the green and beautiful banks of the upper 

 Paraguay. The shallow little steamer was jammed with 

 men, dogs, rifles, partially cured skins, boxes of pro- 

 visions, ammunition, tools, and photographic supplies, 

 bags containing tents, cots, bedding, and clothes, saddles, 

 hammocks, and the other necessaries for a trip through 

 the "great wilderness," the "matto grosso" of western 

 Brazil. 



It was a brilliantly clear day, and, although of course 

 in that latitude and at that season the heat was intense 

 later on, it was cool and pleasant in the early morning. 

 We sat on the forward deck, admiring the trees on the 

 brink of the sheer river banks, the lush, rank grass of the 

 marshes, and the many water-birds. The two pilots, one 

 black and one white, stood at the wheel. Colonel Ron- 

 don read Thomas a Kempis. Kermit, Cherrie, and Mil- 

 ler squatted outside the railing on the deck over one 

 paddle-wheel and put the final touches on the jaguar- 

 skins. Fiala satisfied himself that the boxes and bags 

 were in place. It was probable that hardship lay in the 



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