348 Through the Brazilian Wilderness 



geographic work, the exploration of the unknown river, 

 undertaken at the suggestion of the Brazilian Govern- 

 ment, and in conjunction with its representatives. No 

 piece of work of this kind is ever achieved save as it is 

 based on long-continued previous work. As I have 

 before said, what we did was to put the cap on the pyra- 

 mid that had been built by Colonel Rondon and his asso- 

 ciates of the Telegraphic Commission during the six pre- 

 vious years. It was their scientific exploration of the 

 chapadao, their mapping the basin of the Juruena, and 

 their descent of the Gy-Parana that rendered it possible 

 for us to solve the mystery of the River of Doubt. On 

 the map facing page vii I have given the outline route of 

 my entire South American trip. The course of the new 

 river is given separately. 



The work of the commission, much the greatest work 

 of the kind ever done in South America, is one of the 

 many, many achievements which the republican govern- 

 ment of Brazil has to its credit. Brazil has been blessed 

 beyond the average of her Spanish-American sisters 

 because she won her way to republicanism by evolution 

 rather than revolution. They plunged into the extremely 

 difficult experiment of democratic, of popular, self-gov- 

 ernment, after enduring the atrophy of every quality of 

 self-control, self-reliance, and initiative throughout three 

 withering centuries of existence under the worst and most 

 foolish form of colonial government, both from the civil 

 and the religious standpoint, that has ever existed. The 

 marvel is not that some of them failed, but that some of 

 them have eventually succeeded in such striking fashion. 

 Brazil, on the contrary, when she achieved independence, 



