Across Nhambiquara Land 213 



sometimes himself put up the family shelter. They were 

 mainly of negro blood. Struck by the woman's uncom- 

 plaining endurance of fatigue, we offered to take her and 

 the baby in the automobile, while it accompanied us. But, 

 alas! this proved to be one of those melancholy cases 

 where the effort to relieve hardship well endured results 

 only in showing that those who endure the adversity 

 cannot stand even a slight prosperity. The woman proved 

 a querulous traveller in the auto, complaining that she 

 was not made as comfortable as, apparently, she had 

 expected ; and after one day the husband declared he was 

 not willing to have her go unless he went too; and the 

 family resumed their walk. 



In this neighborhood there were multitudes of the 

 big, gregarious, crepuscular or nocturnal spiders which I 

 have before mentioned. On arriving in camp, at about 

 four in the afternoon, I ran into a number of remains of 

 their webs, and saw a very few of the spiders themselves 

 sitting in the webs midway between trees. I then strolled 

 a couple of miles up the road ahead of us under the line 

 of telegraph-poles. It was still bright sunlight and no 

 spiders were out ; in fact, I did not suspect their presence 

 along the line of telegraph-poles, although I ought to 

 have done so, for I continually ran into long strings of 

 tough, fine web, which got across my face or hands or 

 rifle barrel. I returned just at sunset and the spiders 

 were out in force. I saw dozens of colonies, each of 

 scores or hundreds of individuals. Many were among the 

 small trees alongside the broad, cleared trail. But most 

 were dependent from the wire itself. Their webs had all 

 been made or repaired since I had passed. Each was 



