The navigation of the Amazon is not free from danger. Fierce storms
arise; black clouds gather over the blue expanse, suffused anon with a
lurid yellow tinge, and the fierce whirlwind howls along the
river-banks, tearing the placid stream into masses of foam; the tall
trees bend before the blast, and huge branches are wrenched off and
hurled into the water. The long-legged waders and other water birds,
unable to face it, throw themselves on the ground, and cling with claws
and beak to the sand to escape being carried helplessly away.