Vlll 
PREFACE 
verse. Considering all the adventures and misfortunes 
we had, I am sure the reader, after perusing this book, 
will wonder that we got back at all, and will be indulgent 
enough to give me a little credit for saving, through in¬ 
numerable disasters — and perhaps not altogether by 
mere luck — all my photographs (eight hundred of them), 
all my note-books, all my scientific observations, as well 
as all the vocabularies I made of the various Indian lan¬ 
guages of tribes found on my way. Also for bringing 
all my men out alive. 
Here are, briefly, a few results of the expedition: 
(a) First of all it has proved that, far from being an 
impenetrable country, as was believed, it is possible for 
any experienced traveller to cross Brazil in any direction 
if he can obtain suitable followers. 
( b ) It has proved that the “millions of savage In¬ 
dians ” supposed to be swarming all over the interior of 
Brazil do not exist at all. All the pure Indians of Cen¬ 
tral Brazil taken together may number a few hundreds, 
or, including half-castes (negroes and Portuguese), a 
few thousands. As for the wild beasts and snakes, no 
one ever need fear being troubled by them; they are 
more afraid of you than you of them, you can take my 
word for it. So that the terror which has so far pre¬ 
vented people from penetrating the interior has no reason¬ 
able ground, and this book ought to be the means of 
making European people some day swarm to develop 
that marvellous land, now absolutely uninhabited. 
( c ) Meteorological observations were recorded daily 
right across Brazil. 
( d) Altitude observations, forming a complete chain 
and including all minor undulations, were registered 
across the entire South American continent, from the 
Atlantic coast at Rio de Janeiro as far as Callao on the 
Pacific coast. The observations were taken with a hyp- 
someter and several excellent aneroids. These show that 
