ACROSS UNKNOWN SOUTH AMERICA 
some forty pounds of coffee, sugar, knives, and other 
sundries. So then I had two criminals less. 
I packed my animals, and was about to depart with 
the four remaining rascals and the two Araguary men 
— six all told—when a policeman, sent in haste, called 
me to the palace. The truly good-hearted Presidente 
and his charming family were in a great state of mind. 
They told me that my men had gone about the town the 
previous night drinking, and had confided to friends that 
they were merely coming with me in order to murder and 
rob me of all I possessed as soon as they had an oppor¬ 
tunity. It was an open secret that I carried a very large 
sum of money upon my person, as after leaving Sao 
Paulo City it was impossible to obtain money by cashing 
cheques on letters of credit or other such civilized means, 
and it was imperative for me to carry several thousand 
pounds sterling in cash, in order to be able to purchase 
horses, mules, boats, food, and pay the men, as long as 
the journey should last. 
When you stop to consider that I had before me the 
prospect of not replenishing my exchequer for at least one 
year, or perhaps even two years or more, it will be easily 
understood that if one wants to travel, and travel quickly 
as I do, there is no other possible way than to carry the 
money with one in hard cash. The risk was certainly 
enormous, although no one except myself ever really 
knew the amount that I actually carried. A large portion 
of that sum was in Brazilian notes, a good deal in English 
bank-notes, and some four hundred pounds sterling in 
English gold. As I could trust nobody, that sum, except 
what I gradually spent, and barring the few moments 
when I took my daily morning bath, never left my person, 
even for a few minutes, for the entire period of one year. 
Most of the notes were contained in two bulky leather 
bags and the gold was in a third, attached firmly to a 
strong belt which day and night, much to my discomfort, 
114 
