CHAP, iv] ENTERING THE FOREST 121 



Wariness, sharp senses, the habit of being rigidly motion- 

 less when there is the least suspicion of danger, and 

 ability to take advantage of cover, all count. On the 

 bare, open, treeless plain, whether marsh, meadow, or 

 upland, anything above the level of the grass is seen at 

 once. A marsh-deer out in the open makes no effort 

 to avoid observation ; its concern is purely to see its 

 foes in time to leave a dangerous neighbourhood. The 

 deer of the neighbouring forest skulk and hide and lie 

 still in dense cover to avoid being seen. The white- 

 lipped peccaries make no effort to escape observation 

 by being either noiseless or motionless ; they trust for 

 defence to their gregariousness and truculence. The 

 collared peccary also trusts to its truculence, but seeks 

 refuge in a hole where it can face any opponent with its 

 formidable biting apparatus. As for the giant tamandua, 

 in spite of its fighting prowess I am wholly unable 

 to understand how such a slow and clumsy beast has 

 been able through the ages to exist and thrive sur- 

 rounded by jaguars and pumas. Speaking generally, 

 the animals that seek to escape observation trust pri- 

 marily to smell to discover their foes or their prey, and 

 see whatever moves and do not see whatever is mo- 

 tionless. 



By the morning of January 5 we had left the marsh 

 region. There were low hills here and there, and the 

 land was covered with dense forest. From time to 

 time we passed little clearings with palm-thatched 

 houses. We were approaching Caceres, where the 

 easiest part of our trip would end. We had lived in 

 much comfort on the little steamer. The food was 

 plentiful and the cooking good. At night we slept on 

 deck in cots or hammocks. The mosquitoes were 

 rarely troublesome, although in the daytime we were 



