Across Nhambiquara Land 239 



try and began to march through thick forest, not very- 

 high. There was Httle feed for the animals on the Chap- 

 adao. There was less in the forest. Moreover, the con- 

 tinual heavy rains made the travelling difficult and 

 laborious for them, and they weakened. However, a 

 couple of marches before we reached Tres Burity, where 

 there is a big ranch with hundreds of cattle, we were 

 met by ten fresh pack-oxen, and our serious difficulties 

 were over. 



There were piums in plenty by day, but neither mos- 

 quitoes nor sand-flies by night ; and for us the trip was 

 very pleasant, save for moments of anxiety about the 

 mules. The loose bullocks furnished us abundance of 

 fresh beef, although, as was inevitable under the circum- 

 stances, of a decidedly tough quality. One of the biggest 

 of the bullocks was attacked one night by a vampire bat, 

 and next morning his withers were literally bathed in 

 blood. 



With the chapadao we said good-by to the curious, 

 gregarious, and crepuscular or nocturnal spiders which 

 we found so abundant along the line of the telegraph- 

 wire. They have offered one of the small problems with 

 which the commission has had to deal. They are not 

 common in the dry season. They swarm during the 

 rains ; and, when their tough webs are wet, those that lead 

 from the wire to the ground sometimes effectually short- 

 circuit the wire. They have on various occasions caused 

 a good deal of trouble in this manner. 



The third night out from Vilhena we emerged for a 

 moment from the endless close-growing forest in which 

 our poor animals got such scanty pickings, and came to 



