Across Nhambiquara Land 235 



a delicious canja, the thick Brazilian soup of fowl and rice 

 than which there is nothing better of its kind. All these 

 birds were new to the collection — no naturalists had pre- 

 viously worked this region — so that the afternoon's 

 work represented nine species new to the collection, six 

 new genera, and a most excellent soup. 



Two days after leaving Campos Novos we reached 

 Vilhena, where there is a telegraph station. We camped 

 once at a small river named by Colonel Rondon the 

 "Twelfth of October," because he reached it on the day 

 Columbus discovered America — I had never before 

 known what day it was ! — and once at the foot of a hill 

 which he had named after Lyra, his companion in the ex- 

 ploration. The two days' march — really one full day and 

 part of two others — ^was through beautiful country, and 

 we enjoyed it thoroughly, although there were occasional 

 driving rain-storms, when the rain came in almost level 

 sheets and drenched every one and everything. The 

 country was like that around Campos Novos, and offered 

 a striking contrast to the level, barren, sandy wastes of 

 the chapadao, which is a healthy region, where great in- 

 dustrial centres can arise, but not suited for extensive 

 agriculture as are the lowland flats. For these forty- 

 eight hours the trail climbed into and out of steep valleys 

 and broad basins and up and down hills. In the deep val- 

 leys were magnificent woods, in which giant rubber-trees 

 towered, while the huge leaves of the low-growing paco- 

 va, or wild banana, were conspicuous in the undergrowth. 

 Great azure butterflies flitted through the open, sunny 

 glades, and the bell-birds, sitting motionless, uttered their 

 ringing calls from the dark stillness of the columned 



