214 Through the Brazilian Wilderness 



sitting in the middle of his own wheel, and all the wheels 

 were joined to one another ; and the whole pendent fabric 

 hung by fine ropes from the wire above, and was in some 

 cases steadied by guy-ropes, thrown thirty feet off to 

 little trees alongside. I watched them until nightfall, and 

 evidently, to them, after their day's rest, their day's work 

 had just begun. Next morning — owing to a desire to 

 find out what the facts were as regards the ox-carts, 

 which were in difficulties — Cherrie, Miller, Kermit, and 

 I walked back to the Burity River, where Colonel Ron- 

 don had spent the night. It was a misty, overcast 

 morning, and the spiders in the webs that hung from 

 the telegraph-wire were just going to their day homes. 

 These were in and under the big white china insulators 

 on the telegraph-poles. Hundreds of spiders were al- 

 ready climbing up into these. When, two or three hours 

 later, we returned, the sun was out, and not a spider was 

 to be seen. 



Here we had to cut down our baggage and rearrange 

 the loads for the mule-train. Cherrie and Miller had a 

 most workmanlike equipment, including a very light tent 

 and two light flies. One fly they gave for the kitchen 

 use, one fly was allotted to Kermit and me, and they kept 

 only the tent for themselves. Colonel Rondon and Lyra 

 went in one tent, the doctor and Oliveira in another. Each 

 of us got rid of everything above the sheer necessities. 

 This was necessary because of the condition of the 

 baggage-animals. The oxen were so weak that the 

 effort to bring on the carts had to be abandoned. 

 Nine of the pack-mules had already been left on the 

 road during the three days* march from Utiarity. In 



