ACROSS UNKNOWN SOUTH AMERICA 
sunset — not unlike an aurora borealis. White, well- 
defined radiations shot skyward from the west, where the 
sun had set, and stood out luminously against the dark 
blue sky, like the spokes of a gigantic wheel. This effect, 
as we shall see, was repeated frequently at sunset, and 
sometimes was even more beautiful than on the occasion 
of my first acquaintance with it. 
We marched 391/2 kilometres that day, with my nine 
pack-mules, Formosa (which in Portuguese means 
“ beautiful ”), the splendid white mule I rode, and three 
other mules ridden by my men. It was a real pleasure 
to see the appetite of the animals when we made camp. 
How joyfully they ground with their powerful jaws the 
Indian corn which each had received in a nose-bag soon 
after we had halted, removed the loads and saddles from 
their backs, and properly groomed them! 
When we started the next morning, we went through 
most beautiful grazing land for some 20 kilometres, and 
through marvellous grassy slopes on the mountains be¬ 
yond. Streamlets of clear, abundant water were passed. 
From 2,050 feet, the elevation of the stream, we rose to 
2,650 feet, then descended gradually to the village of 
Corumbahyba, with its brand-new, red-tiled roofs and 
whitewashed houses — very tiny, and, with one exception, 
all one-storied. The windows and doors were gaily 
decorated with bright blue paint. There was a church, 
of course, on one side of the large square smothered in 
high grass, and by the church two wooden pillars sup¬ 
ported a beam from which hung a bronze bell. Then in 
the centre of the square stood the thing most prominent 
in the village — a huge wooden cross in a dilapidated 
condition. What little life seemed to exist in the place 
was to be found in the local store, where an inquisitive 
crowd had collected when I arrived. 
My mules were let loose to graze in the square, joining 
* a number of cows that were already there. As I sat in 
5.6 
