that was more than hilly--almost mountainous--the first
of the kind we had encountered since leaving the railway.

[Illustration: Author's Caravan about to cross the River Corumba.]

[Illustration: Burity Palms.]

At Camp Maria Alves we were at an elevation of 3,000 ft. Beautiful
crystals were to be found at and near this place. Many were enclosed in
hard envelopes of yellow lava, which contained besides semi-crystallized
matter easily crushed--to be strictly accurate, the imprisoned
infinitesimal crystals were easily separated, under gentle pressure. Some
spherical balls and pellets of lava I picked up, when split contained red
baked earth which had evidently been subjected to intense heat. In the
centre of these pellets one or more crystals of great clearness were
invariably to be found. These pellets must have been expelled with
terrific force from a volcanic vent, and must have travelled great
distances, for the depression where I found them had a surface of
alluvial formation.

On April 13th we again rose over a range where we encountered a good deal
of igneous rock and quantities of beautiful crystals. We had a range to
the west of us and one higher and more important to the north-east, the
latter more broken up than any we had so far seen in the three last
provinces crossed. We somehow missed now the lovely pasture lands of the
day before, so refreshing to the eye, and the landscape had suddenly
become more rugged and barren, except near water. Some 9 kil. from the
farm Maria Alves the Uru or Uruba River (elev. 2,550 ft.) flowed
north--there merely a picturesque torrent among rocks and overhanging
vegetation on both banks.

The wonderful effect of erosion was noticeable on the mountain sides to
the north of us, where it had left a top terrace with deep corrugations
in the lower sides of the mountain. A miserable-looking farmhouse could
be seen here and there--quite as miserable as the country in itself was
rich. Some shaggy policemen, in rags and barefooted, passed us, guarding
an ox-cart dragging treasure to the capital. Only the oxen and some cows
which were about looked at us with interest, and sniffed us--it is
wonderful how quick animals are at detecting the presence of
strangers--but the people took no notice of us. Here and there a
tumbled-down tree blocked the way. There were tracts of pasture land. My
men were considerably excited on seeing a poisonous snake crawl swiftly
towards our mules. It was p