l places, with
ramifications from a common centre--evidently caused by the concussion of
some huge weight which had fallen from above, perhaps a huge boulder shot
out by volcanic action, which had then rolled farther down the incline.

The terminal side of the curious range we had on our right appeared not
unlike a fortress with its vertical walls standing upon a slanting
bastion.

At the bottom (elev. 1,200 ft.) of the great dome of granite we had
travelled upon we crossed a stream flowing south-west, the water of which
was quite warm. The high temperature was due, I think, to the heat
absorbed by the rock exposed to the sun and communicated to the water
flowing over it, rather than to a thermal origin.

Continuing our journey, we had to the south a great hollow basin in the
south-western end of the range, with two hillocks between the range
itself and the flat boundary plateau to the south.

The highest point of the hill on which we travelled was 1,450 ft. above
the sea level. Every metre we travelled westward became more strangely
interesting. We were now upon a conglomerate of bespattered lava-drops
encased in a coating of solidified ashes. When we reached the stream we
had to go through a dark tunnel of dense vegetation, great ferns, giant
palms, creepers with their abundant foliage, and tall trees festooned
with liane. Having crossed this dark vegetable passage, we emerged once
more into lovely open campos.

Great lumpy globular woolly clouds faced us in the sky to the west.
Horizontal intermittent white layers were close to the horizon to the
east, then three parallel lines of feathery mist to the north-west. In
quantity of clouds the sky that day would meteorologically be described
as C 4--which means that four-tenths of the sky vault was covered.

One could not help being struck in Central Brazil by the almost absolute
immobility of the clouds. One seldom experienced a strong wind; contrary
to what must have taken place there in ages gone by, when that country
must have been the very home of terrific air-currents and disturbances on
a scale beyond all conception. It was only occasionally that a light
breeze--merely in gusts of a few seconds--would refresh one's ears and
eyes as one marched on. What was more remarkable still was the sudden
change of direction of those spasmodic gusts of wind when they did come.

From a river (elev. 1,250 ft.) we proceeded over undulations to 1,550 ft.
There we were treate