252 Through the BraziHan Wilderness 



work, for no civilized man, no white man, had ever gone 

 down or up this river or seen the country through which 

 we were passing. 'The lofty and matted forest rose like 

 a green wall on either hand. The trees were stately and 

 beautiful. The looped and twisted vines hung from 

 them like great ropes. Masses of epiphytes grew both 

 on the dead trees and the living; some had huge leaves 

 like elephants' ears. Now and then fragrant scents were 

 blown to us from flowers on the banks. There were not 

 many birds, and for the most part the forest was silent; 

 rarely we heard strange calls from the depths of the 

 woods, or saw a cormorant or ibis. 



My canoe ran only a couple of hours. Then we halted 

 to wait for the others. After a couple of hours more, as 

 the surveyors had not turned up, we landed and made 

 camp at a spot where the bank rose sharply for a hundred 

 yards to a level stretch of ground. Our canoes were 

 moored to trees. The axemen cleared a space for the 

 tents; they were pitched, the baggage was brought up, 

 and fires were kindled. The woods were almost sound- 

 less. Through them ran old tapir trails, but there was 

 no fresh sign. Before nightfall the surveyors arrived. 

 There were a few piums and gnats, and a few mosquitoes 

 after dark, but not enough to make us uncomfortable. 

 The small stingless bees, of slightly aromatic odor, 

 swarmed while daylight lasted and crawled over our faces 

 and hands; they were such tame, harmless little things 

 that when they tickled too much I always tried to brush 

 them away without hurting them. But they became a 

 great nuisance after a while. It had been raining at 

 intervals, and the weather was overcast ; but after the sun 



