This greatly interested me, and
I asked the Chief, Marques, whose wife I had operated upon previously,
if I could accompany him on this trip. He consented unwillingly, saying
that it was very dangerous and that the same number of men that went
out never came back. However, this was too rare a chance to let pass,
and I made my preparations to accompany the expedition on this journey
into regions where even the native _caucheros_ had never before been.
On a Monday morning we all assembled at the Floresta headquarters,
where Coronel da Silva bade us good-bye, and at the same time once
more warned me against venturing on this trip, but I was determined
and could not be persuaded to give it up.
The expedition consisted of the six men, above mentioned, all, except
the Chief, Marques, unmarried. After leaving the main building we
went down to the store-room where we chose the necessary articles
of food--enough to last us for three or four weeks. Our staples
were to be dried _pirarucu_, the largest fish of the Amazon, some
dried or "jerked" beef, and a large quantity of the farinha, the
eternal woody and unpalatable meal that figures on every Brazilian's
table. Besides these, we carried sugar, coffee, rice, and several
bottles of "Painkiller" from Fulton Street, N.
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