3i6 Through the Brazilian Wilderness 



of the other members of the party, unless Colonel Ron- 

 don told me that it would have to be done in pursuance 

 of his duty as an officer of the army and a servant of the 

 Government of Brazil. At the first halt Colonel Rondon 

 came up to me and told me that this was his view of his 

 duty, but that he had not stopped because he wished 

 first to consult me as the chief of the expedition. I 

 answered that for the reasons enumerated above I did 

 not believe that in justice to the good men of the ex- 

 pedition we should jeopardize their safety by taking 

 the murderer along, and that if the responsibility were 

 mine I should refuse to take him; but that he. Colonel 

 Rondon, was the superior officer of both the murderer 

 and of all the other enlisted men and army officers on the 

 expedition, and in return was responsible for his actions 

 to his own governmental superiors and to the laws of 

 Brazil ; and that in view of this responsibility he must act 

 as his sense of duty bade him. Accordingly, at the next 

 camp he sent back two men, expert woodsmen, to find the 

 murderer and bring him in. They failed to find him.* 

 I have anticipated my narrative because I do not wish 

 to recur to the horror more than is necessary. I now re- 

 turn to my story. After we found that Julio had fled, we 

 returned to the scene of the tragedy. The murdered man 

 lay with a handkerchief thrown over his face. We buried 

 him beside the place where he fell. With axes and knives 

 the camaradas dug a shallow grave while we stood by 

 with bared heads. Then reverently and carefully we 



* The above account of all the circumstances connected with the 

 murder was read to and approved as correct by all six members 

 of the expedition. 



