222 Through the BraziHan Wilderness 



to remember this fact is one of the obstacles in the way 

 of securing a proper appreciation of the needs and the 

 results, of South American exploration. 



At the Juruena we met a party of Nhambiquaras, 

 very friendly and sociable, and very glad to see Colonel 

 Rondon. They were originally exceedingly hostile and 

 suspicious, but the colonel's unwearied thoughtfulness 

 and good temper, joined with his indomitable resolution, 

 enabled him to avoid war and to secure their friend- 

 ship and even their aid. He never killed one. Many of 

 them are known to him personally. He is on remarkably ' 

 good terms with them, and they are very fond of him — 

 although this does not prevent them from now and then 

 yielding to temptation, even at his expense, and stealing a 

 dog or something else which strikes them as offering an 

 irresistible attraction. They cannot be employed at steady 

 work ; but they do occasional odd jobs, and are excellent 

 at hunting up strayed mules or oxen; and a few of the 

 men have begun to wear clothes, purely for ornament. 

 Their confidence and bold friendliness showed how well 

 they had been treated. Probably half of our visitors 

 were men; several were small boys; one was a woman 

 with a baby ; the others were young married women and 

 girls. 



Nowhere in Africa did we come across wilder or more 

 absolutely primitive savages, although these Indians were 

 pleasanter and better-featured than any of the African 

 tribes at the same stage of culture. Both sexes were 

 well-made and rather good-looking, with fairly good 

 teeth, although some of them seemed to have skin dis- 

 eases. They were a laughing, easy-tempered crew, and 



