BEGINNING OF THE RAINY SEASON. 109 



quite large. Carrapatos are diminishing, but other insects 

 take their place. The cabegudo ant, also called "carre- 

 gadeiro " (umbrella ant), is very troublesome. I always 

 wear a nightcap, and sometimes wrap my whole head up 

 in a handkerchief as well, to keep off insects. These ants 

 are fond of biting off one's hair quite short, and sometimes 

 — of course by mistake — take a nip out of your skin. 

 They cannot reach me now in my hammock ; but as 

 the poor things want to make their nests comfortable, 

 they have taken a great partiality to my nice new 

 flannel shirts. The sleeve of one of these was left one 

 night just touching the ground, and next morning it was 

 half gone. By fragments dropped along a beaten track, 

 I discovered the nest lately built under the awning of 

 the tent. 



Another night I kicked off a second shirt on to the 

 ground in my sleep, and when I woke it was honeycombed 

 in a dozen places. Once again the tail end, touching the 

 ground, was cut away in one night, so that it is now six 

 inches shorter than the front. My washing flannel has also 

 shared the same fate. I must confess, however, that though 

 they are fond of cutting up flannel shirts as if they were 

 green leaves, which is about all they ever had the oppor- 

 tunity of exercising their jaws on before I arrived, and 

 though I have often had them on me, they do not sting or 

 hurt, but if frightened they may nip you and draw blood 

 with their strong jaws. 



Within the last two days another creature has put in 

 a tolerably plentiful appearance— the earwig. They are 

 everywhere ; they fall out of your towels when you wash, 

 and, with ants, beetles, and carrapatos, share the shelter of 

 your garments when you hang them up. Fleas also swarm 

 just now. Where they suddenly sprang from I don't know ; 



