ps to
the top of a tree.

"'Come down!' said the jaguar.

"'Certainly not!' said the monkey. Upon which the jaguar requested its
friend the Wind to shake the tree with all its fury. The Wind did, and
the monkey dropped into the jaguar's mouth, from which it immediately
passed into the digestive organs. The monkey little by little moved its
arms in the close quarters in which it found itself, and was able to
seize the knife which it carried--in the most approved Bororo
fashion--slung across its back. Armed with it, it split the jaguar's
belly and resumed its daily occupation of jumping from tree to tree."

I was able to record yet another strange legend on the preservation of
fire.

"An otter," said the legend, "in days long gone by, had with great
difficulty lighted a fire on the bank of a river. The sun first came to
warm itself by the fire, and while the otter had gone on one of its
aquatic expeditions, the moon arrived too. The sun and moon together,
feeling in a mischievous mood, put out the fire with water not extra
clean. Then they ran for all they were worth. The otter, feeling cold,
came out of the water and, to its amazement, found the fire had been
extinguished.

"'Who did it?' cried the furious otter, wishing to kill whoever had put
the fire out. While its anger was at its highest the otter perceived a
toad, which was accused of extinguishing the fire because its legs were
as red as fire.

"'Do not kill me!' appealed the toad. 'Put your feet on my belly.' The
request was at once granted. The toad opened its mouth wide, and with the
pressure of the otter's paws upon its body a burning coal was ejected
from its interior anatomy. The otter spared the toad's life in
recognition of its services in preserving the fire. That is why the otter
and the toad have been friends ever since."

It was not easy to collect legends from the Bororos, as only few of them
were inclined to speak. The same legend I found had many variations,
according to the more or less imaginative mind of the narrator.

Here is an extraordinary explanation of the origin of lightning.

[Illustration: Bororo Women, showing Method of carrying Children.]

[Illustration: Bororos showing Formation of Hands.]

"A boy had violated his own mother. His father, discovering the
misdeed and wishing to punish him severely--in fact, get rid of the boy
altogether--sent him to several dangerous places to collect various
things for him, such as wild f