In size it is about six feet long and
three and a half feet high. There were also ant-bears, peculiar
animals, without teeth, but provided with a rough tongue to lick up
the ants. The length of this animal is about four feet, but the thick
tail is longer than the body. Whereas the tapir has a hog-like skin,
the ant-bear has long, bristly hairs.
Returning to camp, judge of my surprise when I found it in possession
of two savages of strange appearance. My first thought was that I had
lost all, but, drawing nearer, I discovered that Timoteo and the
chief were also there, squatting on the ground, devouring the remains
of my breakfast. They had returned from the royal tribe, who had
offered to cut a way from their side, and these two strangers were to
assist us.
With this additional help we again penetrated the forest. The men cut
with a will, and I drove the horses after them. Black, howling
monkeys, with long beards and grave countenances, leapt among the
trees. Red and blue macaws screeched overhead, and many a large
serpent received its death-blow from our machetes. Sometimes we were
fortunate enough to secure a bees' nest full of honey, or find
luscious fruit. At times I stopped to admire a giant tree, eight or
ten feet in diameter, or orchids of the most delicate hues, but the
passage was hard and trying, and the stagnant air most difficult to
breathe. The fallen tree-trunks, over which we had to step, or go
around or under, were very numerous, and sometimes we landed in a
bed, not of roses, but of thorns. Sloths and strange birds' nests
hung from the trees, while the mosquitos and insects made life almost
unendurable. We were covered with carapatas, bruised and torn, and
almost eaten up alive with insects.
[Illustration: PARAGUAYAN FOREST INDIAN. These dwarf men use a very
long bow, while the Patagonian uses a short one]
Under the spreading branches of one of the largest trees we came upon
an abandoned Indian camp. This, I was told, had belonged to the
"little men of the woods," hairy dwarfs, a few of whom inhabit the
depths of the forest, and kill their game with blow-pipes. Of course
we saw none of the poor creatures. Their scent is as keen as an
animal's; they are agile as monkeys, and make off to hide in the
hollow trunks of trees, or bury themselves in the decaying vegetation
until danger is past. Poor pigmy! What place will he occupy in the
life that is to be?
CHAPTER X.
WE REACH THE SUN-WORSHIPPERS.
After some days' journey we heard shouts, and knew that, like
entombed miners, we were being dug out on the other side!
