UNPRACTICAL MINDS 
being almost stagnant in that part and heavy to paddle 
along. 
Five hundred metres down the straight stretch of river, 
4,000 metres long, we came to another charming affluent, 
10 metres wide, coming from the east-southeast. Farther 
on, another tributary two metres wide entered the Arinos 
on the left side, and formed a shallow bank of gravel 
extending half way across the stream. 
As I have stated elsewhere, the mentality of Brazilians 
was somewhat difficult to understand by people of any 
other nation. They did everything the wrong way, 
according to our notions. I had been worried a great 
deal, the reader may remember, at the most unpractical 
way in which my men loaded the animals when I had my 
caravan of mules and horses. I had been more than 
amazed at Brazilian ideas of architecture, sculpture, 
painting, and music. I had on many occasions been dumb¬ 
founded at their ideas of honour and truthfulness. Now 
once more I was sickly amused — I had by then ceased 
to be amazed or dumbfounded or angry — at the way my 
men daily packed the baggage in the canoe. The baggage 
was naturally taken out of the canoe every night when 
we made our camp, for the canoe leaked so badly that 
when we arrived anywhere and halted we had to beach 
her, or else, where this was not possible, we found her in 
the morning almost entirely submerged. Naturally we 
invariably selected shallow places where we could bale 
the water out and float her again. 
Returning to the baggage: the men every morning 
insisted on loading the canoe in front, where the four 
men were situated paddling, and the three dogs of the 
expedition were also accommodated. I sat in the centre 
of the canoe, and Alcides at the helm naturally stood in 
the stern. The man whose incessant daily occupation it 
was to bale out the water of course had to be with the 
group of four men in the bow, since, the canoe being so 
73 
