CHAPTER XVIII 
The Salesian Fathers — A Volcanic Zone 
W E arrived at the chief colony of the Salesians, 
Sagrado Cora^ao de Jesus (Tachos). There, 
thanks to the great kindness and hospitality of the 
Fathers, and also owing to the amount of interesting 
matter I found from a geological and anthropological 
point of view, I decided to halt for a day or two. 
The Salesians had come to that spot, not by the way I 
had gone, but by an easier way via Buenos Aires and the 
Paraguay River, navigable as far as Cuyaba, the capital 
of Matto Grosso. The friars had done wonderful work 
in many parts of the State of Matto Grosso. In fact, 
what little good in the way of civilization had been done 
in that State had been done almost entirely by those 
monks. They had established an excellent college in 
Cuyaba, where all kinds of trades and professions were 
taught. In the port of Corumba a similar school was 
established, and then there were the several colonies among 
the Indians, such as the Sagrado Cora 9 ao de Jesus on the 
Rio Barreiro, the Immaculada Concep 9 ao on the Rio das 
Garzas, the Sangradouro Colony, and the Palmeiras. 
As in this work I have limited myself to write on 
things which have come directly under my observation, 
I shall not have an opportunity of speaking of the work 
of the Salesians at Cuyaba or Corumba, two cities I did 
not visit, but I feel it my duty to say a few words on the 
work of sacrifice, love, and devotion performed by the 
friars in those remote regions. 
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