COLONEL RONDON 49 



civilized man, and has built three thousand miles of 

 telegraph. He has an exceptional knowledge of the 

 Indian tribes, and has always zealously endeavoured to 

 serve them, and indeed to serve the cause of humanity, 

 wherever and whenever he was able. Thanks mainly 

 to his efforts, four of the wild tribes of the region he 

 has explored have begun to tread the road of civiUzation. 

 They have taken the first steps toward becoming 

 Christians. It may seem strange that among the first- 

 fruits of the efforts of a Positivist should be the conver- 

 sion to Christianity of those he seeks to benefit. But 

 in South America, Christianity is at least as much a 

 status as a theology. It represents the indispensable first 

 step upward from savagery. In the wilder and poorer 

 districts men are divided into the two great classes of 

 " Christians " and " Indians." When an Indian becomes 

 a Christian he is accepted into, and becomes wholly 

 absorbed or partly assimilated by, the crude and simple 

 neighbouring civilization, and then he moves up or down 

 like anyone else among his fellows. 



Among Colonel Rondon's companions were Captain 

 AmUcar de Magalhaes, Lieutenent Joao Lyra, Lieu- 

 tenant Joaquin de Mello Filho, and Doctor Euzebio de 

 Oliveira, a geologist. 



The steamers halted ; Colonel Rondon and several of 

 his officers, spick and span in their white uniforms, came 

 aboard ; and in the afternoon I visited him on his 

 steamer to talk over our plans. When these had been 

 fuUy discussed and agreed on, we took tea. I happened 

 to mention that one of our naturahsts, Miller, had been 

 bitten by a piranha, and the man-eating fish at once 

 became the subject of conversation. Curiously enough, 

 one of the Brazilian taxidermists had also just been 

 severely bitten by a piranha. My new companions had 



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