India rubber world . led a year or twobefore, and frequently we sawstumps of what must oncehave been fine, large rubber trees. Eight miles is a long distance in the tropics, and thoughlightly clad and walking slowly, we were soon very warm andwet through with perspiration. The Pioneer ventured the pre-diction that this was the last long tramp upon which the Com-modore would carry an eight pound gun, and his prophecycame true. Even long journeys end, however, and after ford-ing the Palo Secco. and a little later the Negro river, weemerged into a fine grove of Castilloas, and fronting it a palmt
India rubber world . led a year or twobefore, and frequently we sawstumps of what must oncehave been fine, large rubber trees. Eight miles is a long distance in the tropics, and thoughlightly clad and walking slowly, we were soon very warm andwet through with perspiration. The Pioneer ventured the pre-diction that this was the last long tramp upon which the Com-modore would carry an eight pound gun, and his prophecycame true. Even long journeys end, however, and after ford-ing the Palo Secco. and a little later the Negro river, weemerged into a fine grove of Castilloas, and fronting it a palmthatched house that was to be our base of operations for manydays. An hour later the mules arrived with the navy bags, andwithin fiteen minutes we were in dry clothing, had hammocksslung, and were ravenously watching the cook prepare supperof jerked venison, bacon, dago bread, and coffee. Later hemade delicious chocolate, using condensed milk and serving itin calabashes. Just here—the supper and its preparation sug-. INTERIOR OF CAMP RIO NEGRO. gests it—let me say that the little camping stove was all right,but three stones between which the fire was built were just asgood, while a candle box made a fine molding board. So too,with the hip boots of rubber—they kept us dry a couple oftimes in fording creeks, but it was so much easier to slop rightthrough and dry out on the march that we didnt bother withthem after the first day or two. It was lucky, however, thatthere were ample stores of rice and salt, for the natives had ne-glected to clear and plant during the dry season just precedingour visit and the whole countryside was on the verge of starva-tion. Not that they worried about it particularly ; they simplyate what they could get and contentedly waited for the nextdry season to come around. Our first night in camp we slept part of us in hammocks andpart on a platform of poles under which the mozos crept when the evening rain came Pioneer kept a lanternburning, as
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