154 UP THE RIVER OF TAPIRS [chap, v 



At sunrise we again started. There were occasional 

 stretches of swift, broken water, ahnost rapids, in the 

 river ; everywhere the current was swift, and our pro- 

 gress was slow. The prancha was towed at the end of 

 a hawser, and her crew poled. Even thus we only just 

 made the rififle in more than one case. Two or three 

 times cormorants and snake-birds, perched on snags in 

 the river or on trees alongside it, permitted the boat to 

 come within a few yards. In one piece of high forest 

 we saw a party of toucans, conspicuous even among 

 the tree-tops, because of their huge bUls and the 

 leisurely expertness with which they crawled, chmbed, 

 and hopped among the branches. We went by several 

 fazendas. 



Shortly before noon — January 16 — we reached Tapira- 

 poan, the headquarters of the Telegraphic Commission. 

 It was an attractive place, on the river-front, and it was 

 gaUy bedecked with flags, not only those of Brazil and 

 the United States, but of aU the other American 

 repubhcs, in our honour. There was a large, green 

 square, with trees standing in the middle of it. On 

 one side of this square were the buildings of the Tele- 

 graphic Commission, on the other those of a big ranch, 

 of which this is the headquarters. In addition, there 

 were stables, sheds, out-houses, and corrals ; and there 

 were cultivated fields near by. Milch cows, beef-cattle, 

 oxen, and mules wandered almost at will. There were 

 two or three waggons and carts, and a traction auto- 

 mobile, used in the construction of the telegraph-line, 

 but not available in the rainy season, at the time of our 

 trip. 



Here we were to begin our trip overland, on pack- 

 mules and pack-oxen, scores of which had been gathered 

 to meet us. Several days were needed to apportion the 



