/ 



2-^2. Through the BraziHan Wilderness 



later, in the afternoon, we camped by a beautipl open 

 meadow; on one side ran a rapid brook, with /a water- 

 fall eight feet high, under which we bathed a/id swam. 

 Here the feed looked so good that we all exprj^sed pleas- 

 ure. But the mules did not like it, and after nightfall 

 they hiked back on the trail, and it was a long and ardu- 

 ous work to gather them next morning. 



I have touched above on the insect pests. Men un- 

 used to the South American wilderness speak with awe 

 of the danger therein from jaguars, crocodiles, and 

 poisonous snakes. In reality, the danger from these 

 sources is trivial, much less than the danger of being run 

 down by an automobile at home. But at times the tor- 

 ment of insect plagues can hardly be exaggerated. There 

 are many different species of mosquitoes, some of them 

 bearers of disease. There are many different kinds 

 of small, biting flies and gnats, loosely grouped together 

 under various titles. The ones more especially called 

 piums by my companions were somewhat like our north- 

 ern black flies. They gorged themselves with blood. At 

 the moment their bites did not hurt, but they left an itch- 

 ing scar. Head-nets and gloves are a protection, but are 

 not very comfortable in stifling hot weather. It is im- 

 possible to sleep without mosquito-biers. When settlers 

 of the right type come into a new land they speedily learn 

 to take the measures necessary to minimize the annoyance 

 caused by all these pests. Those that are winged have 

 plenty of kinsfolk in so much of the northern continent as 

 has not yet been subdued by man. But the most noxious 

 of the South American ants have, thank Heaven, no rep- 

 resentatives in North America. At the camp of the 



