Ideal Islands--Immense _Figueira_ Trees--The "Spider
Monkey"--Great Variety of Fish in the Arinos--The Rocky Gateway
into Diabolical Waters--Shooting Dangerous Rapids--Cutting a Way
through the Forest--A Nasty Rapid--Plentiful Fish
THE night of July 16th was heavy, the thermometer registering a minimum
temperature of 62°F. We had great fun fishing during the early hours of
the night. In the morning we had hundreds of pounds of fish spread upon
the bank of the river, with many excellent specimens of the _motimchun_
fish--so called, I believe, because of its noisy and rebellious habits.
The sky was overladen with clouds, and the west showed radiations of
light. We had gone 2,500 m. from our camp when we came to a tributary
stream on the left side coming from the south. Four thousand four hundred
metres farther on, a hill-range 120 ft. high, with heavy forest upon it,
encircled a sweeping curve on the left of us to the west and north-west.
The cliff of this range, eroded by the river, showed rock of a vivid red
right up to its highest point, laminated in perfectly horizontal layers,
each 10 ft. thick. Farther on a great basin 350 m. wide and of great
beauty had formed.
[Illustration: Leading the Canoe down a Rapid by Rope.]
[Illustration: Characteristic Rocky Barrier across the Arinos River.
(Author's sextant in foreground.)]
Some 10 kil. beyond a beautiful beach of white sand was noticeable on the
left bank. We were always glad to see these beaches, as we frequently
found on them quantities of tortoise eggs--most delicious to eat.
An island--Gabriella Island--200 m. long divided the river into two
channels, the larger one of which--200 m. wide--we followed; the other
being but 30 m. broad and much strewn with rocks. The river, from the
point where we met the sand beach, flowed in a S.S.W. direction for 6,500
m., when it gradually resumed its course northward. The island, thickly
wooded, was extremely beautiful, with trees of great size upon it.
Quantities of _ariranhas_ were to be found near this island, and they
came straight for us with their mouths open, shrieking wildly and
snarling and spitting like cats. I was always amazed at their bravery, as
they came right on while being shot at by my men, the reports of the
rifles enraging them to absolute frenzy.
Shortly after we came to another most beautiful, oval-shaped island, 350
m. long--Maude Island--in a basin extending from east to west for a
breadth of not less than 500 m.
Another island--Vera Island--150 m. long and of an elongated shape, was
seen in the same basin. It also had luxuriant vegetation upon it,
whereas, curiously enough, the banks on either side of the great basin
showed _chapada_ with stunted trees. Farther on, where a small tributary
entered the Arinos on the left side, the country seemed quite open beyond
the narrow fringe of trees along the water.
Another streamlet 3 m. wide flowed into the Arinos from the north-east on
the right bank. The main river there was of a width of 400 m.
Another great island--Luiz Schnoor Island--also most beautiful, like the
others, was next seen. We halted on it for our midday meal, and to take
the usual astronomical observations. The sky had, by that time, become
beautifully clear, of a dense cobalt blue, and I was able to take
twenty-three sights of the sun. I generally took a great many sights with
the sextant and artificial horizon, in order to define the latitude and
longitude with greater accuracy. We were then in lat. 11° 38'·4 S.; long.
57° 35' W.
Gorgeous _gamelleira_ or _figueira_ trees (_ficus_) were to be seen on
that island, standing high up upon arches formed by vigorous roots. In a
way the lower part of those _figueiras_ resembled a huge octopus, the
branches being extremely contorted as they clung to the ground in order
to support the weight of the giant tree of which they made part. One
could easily walk under the tree among the roots and still have six or
eight feet of space left above one's head.
As I went round to explore the island while my men were cooking the
dinner, I discovered a small lake in the centre of the island--a most
poetic spot, with its neat, delightful vegetation all round it reflected
as in a mirror in the golden waters which reproduced in a deeper tone the
rich sunset tints of the sky above. I sat myself down to look at the
beautiful scene. The poetry vanished at once. There were millions of ants
which swarmed all over me the moment I sat down upon the ground, and bit
me with such fury that I had to remove my clothes in the greatest haste
and jump into the water. That raised a cloud of mosquitoes, which made it
most uncomfortable for me when I came out again and was busy searching
for ants in my clothes.
My men killed a beautiful long-armed spider monkey. I was sorry, as I had
watched the wonderful jumps of this animal from one tree to another.
Using the impetus of the swing which they could obtain from the immense
length of their arms, as well as the swing of the branch on which they
were hanging, they could fly enormous distances through the air. The span
from hand to hand in proportion to the size of the body was really
amazing.
Luiz Schnoor Island was 450 m. long. Plenty of rubber trees were to be
seen on the right bank of the river after passing this great island,
especially where the river described a large sweeping curve towards the
north-east.
Farther on, close to the right bank, an island 100 m. long and 5 ft.
high, of yellow sand and gravel, showed brilliantly with its vivid
colouring upon the blue waters of the river. For identification' sake I
named it Gravel Island on the map I was making of the river. I seemed to
be in fairyland--but for the company of my men--as I floated down the
stream, there 400 m. wide.
We had gone hardly 4 kil. when we came to another ideal
island--Margherita Island--400 m. long and 200 m. wide, with magnificent
trees upon it. A small stream joined the Arinos on the left side. Lower
down stream we had thin forest on both sides, with some remarkable _oleo_
trees, with their minute grey leaves and the branches, laden with red
berries, drooping--weeping-willow-like--right down in the water.
Next we came to sand and gravel banks with islets 1 ft. high emerging
from the water in the centre of the river, all those little islets
displaying verdant grass on their southern side and pure white sand on
the northern side.
The river was at that point flowing in a N.N.E. direction. Then came a
long straight line of 6,000 m. of river flowing to 305° b.m. About
half-way through this long stretch the stream divided into two large
arms, one in direct continuation of the above bearings, the other in a
curve, encircling an island 1,000 m. broad. The basin--as still as a
lake--in which this island was situated was not less than 1,500 m.
across. The island--Charles Landor Island--was 2,000 m. in length. It had
plenty of rubber trees upon it, and plenty were to be seen also on the
banks. We went some 8 or 10 kil. farther that night, and at five o'clock
we halted, having made poor progress that day--only 60 kil.
Immense quantities of fish could be seen in the river. No sooner had we
made camp than we got out lines and hooks of all sizes, which we baited
with pieces of _toucinho_. One end of the bigger lines we made fast to
trees, as the fish we often caught were so powerful that on several
occasions they had dragged us into the water and we lost not only the
fish but the line as well. We had great sport that night and caught
quantities of _trahira_ (_Macradon trahira_)--not unlike a giant salmon
and quite as good to eat; and also some _surubim_ (_Platystoma Lima_), a
large fish belonging to the herring family. The surubim was flat-headed,
and not unlike the pintado fish which I have described in a previous
chapter. It had thin scales over the body, and an abnormally powerful
lower jaw, with vicious-looking, sharply-pointed teeth on the edge of the
upper and lower lip. These curiously situated teeth were far apart, and
so firmly inserted in the hard lips that it took a violent blow to remove
them.
Although after a few minutes we had killed fish enough to last us--had we
been able to preserve it--for some weeks, my men sat up the greater part
of the night hauling quantities to the bank. The excitement each time a
fish 80 or 100 lb. in weight was hauled out of the water was
considerable. The wild yells and exquisite language whenever one of my
men was dragged into the water kept me awake the entire night.
We left that camp at 7.30 on July 17th, the minimum temperature having
been 66° F. during the night. Heavy globular clouds covered the entire
sky. We were then in a region extraordinarily rich in rubber; quantities
of _Siphonia elastica_ trees were to be seen. It made one's heart bleed
to think that nobody was there to collect the riches of that wonderful
land.
The river flowed in short sections from north-west to north-north-east,
barring a long stretch of 4,000 m., when we came to a great basin 600 m.
wide, with two large islands in it; the eastern island--Orlando
Island--being 100 m. wide, the western--Elizabeth Chimay Island--220 m.
broad and not less than 500 m. long. South of both these islands were
islets of gravel 50 m. each in diameter.
Nine thousand five hundred metres below these islands an important
tributary, 8 m. wide, flowed into the Arinos from the right bank. It came
from the south-east. Close to the left bank, from which it had been
separated by the current, leaving a channel only 5 m. wide, another
island--Isabel Island--300 m. long was found.
Shortly afterwards we came to a big equilateral-triangular island--Armida
Island--fully 1 kil. a side. Albert Island, next to it, was of a narrow
elongated shape.
From the beginning of Armida Island the river flowed for 4,000 m. in a
direct line to 310° b.m. Four large rocks in a cluster stood in the
centre of the stream at the north-north-westerly end of the island. Then
we had another stretch of 4,300 m., during which the river was squeezed
through a narrow neck, 100 m. wide, between low rocks. Immediately
afterwards we emerged into a bay 800 m. broad, with three islets on one
side of it. They were rather dry and somewhat mean-looking. I called them
Faith, Hope, and Charity Islands.
After that the river was 800 m. wide. A deposit of gravel some 300 m.
long was exposed on the right side beyond the last island of the group.
Three kilometres farther we halted for an hour or so, just time enough
for me to take the latitude and longitude and for our lunch to be cooked.
The usual torture had to be endured from the innumerable insects. The
heat was also terrible--107° F. in the sun, 93° in the shade. Lat. 11°
23'·9 S.; long. 57° 39' W.
When we left, we saw 3,500 m. beyond our halting place, beside a great
heap of rocks on the left side of the river, a rivulet, 3 m. wide,
entering the Arinos on the left.
From that spot the river was contracted from a width of 800 m. to one of
only 120 m. Naturally the water was of great depth and the current
swift.
Two great volcanic rocks stuck out in the centre of the stream, and two
extensive heaps of volcanic rock stood on the right side of us, the rocks
being at all angles in a confused mass. Where these rocks were--a spot
which my men called the "porteira" or gateway--the river turned sharply
from 70° b.m. to 290° b.m. The water seemed almost stagnant there, and we
had to make a great effort to get on. It seemed as if there had been an
undercurrent pushing us back. The water was surely held up by some
obstacle, and I feared we had at last reached the extensive rapids which
I had expected for some days. Rocks were to be seen in abundance all
along, and three more sets of giant boulders were reached, one after the
other, in the centre of the river, there only 150 m. broad. Strange heaps
of broken-up boulders of immense size were to be seen on the right bank;
then farther on more great heaps in confusion on the left bank.
A tiny rivulet found its way among the rocks on the right side. The
channel was much strewn with dangerous submerged rocks. I thought I would
take the navigation into my own hands for a little while, and found a
comparatively easy channel on the left side of the river close to the
bank.
As I had expected, the rumbling noise of troubled waters was getting
louder and louder, and the whitish mist which rose above the horizon line
was an unmistakable sign that we had come to a dangerous spot. Soon
after, in fact, we arrived at a large circular basin, some 600 m. in
diameter, with rocks in the centre of it. Two clusters of magnificent
rocks, 30 ft. high, towered on the left side of the river. Then came a
long row of rocks, also gigantic, and a sandy beach which had accumulated
against them. A little farther another great mass of rocks in disorder
stood up against the now once more fierce current.
We made our way tentatively along what seemed to us the safest channel,
to 320° b.m., and with trepidation shot the rapids, which were quite
fearsome. I must say for my men that by now they had acquired a certain
amount of courage--courage, like all things, being a matter of training
after all. We went down at a terrific speed amidst the splashing waters,
shaving dangerous rocks and escaping collision by miracle. When we got to
the bottom of the rapid we were shot into the whirlpool, which we might
have avoided with ease had Alcides obeyed the orders I shouted to him.
When I had shot the rapids before in other countries, I had always
avoided getting into the centre of the whirlpool; but Alcides, who had
never navigated a river before, held the contrary idea, and always
insisted on steering the canoe right into the centre of those dangerous
rotating waters.
[Illustration: Whirlpool at End of Rapid.]
[Illustration: In Shallow Water.]
It was sufficient to remonstrate as I did, for Alcides to do a thing over
and over again with the persistency of a mule, in order to maintain what
he thought was his _amour-propre_. As it was, on that occasion, the canoe
swerved round with such force that she nearly turned over, and got so
filled with water that we had to struggle out of the difficulty as best
we could and beach her, or she would have sunk.
At that point an island 400 m. long and 50 m. wide divided the river into
two channels. The western channel had a small island of white sand and
many rocks on its southern side. Pretty yellow flowers grew wherever a
little earth had accumulated upon the rocks.
After going 1,800 m. we found a great basin 600 m. wide with a rocky
island and barrier right across it.
Farther on innumerable rocks of all sizes could be seen on the left bank;
and 1,500 m. beyond these, where a solid rock rose in the centre of the
stream, eddies of wonderful power were produced in the stream.
We glanced at a magnificent island of rock on the left side as we sped
along swiftly with the current; but we were so busy with the difficult
navigation, and expecting accidents at any moment--what else could I
expect with the disobedient, unpractical, obstinate crew I had with
me?--that I had not much time to admire the picturesqueness of the
scenery.
I had quite foreseen that it was impossible to avoid disaster sooner or
later, so that all I could do was to think of which would be the best way
to minimize its effects, when it did come.
In the great circular basin which was formed in the river there was a
passage to the west, which I did not like at all, so I ordered my men to
follow the passage to the north-east. We met there violent eddies which
knocked the canoe about in a most alarming manner soon after we had
descended a short rapid of some steepness.
Our baggage was simply soaked owing to the amount of water we had shipped
on various occasions during the day. We saw ahead of us, only a short
distance off, a rapid of some magnitude. We decided to halt at four
o'clock in order that we might go and explore on foot along the bank and
see whether the canoe could be navigated down, or if we had better
unload her and let her down with ropes. We cut a space in the forest,
which was there thick, in order to make our camp. We spread all our
things to dry during the night. The air was stifling--we had a minimum
temperature of 73° F. (July 18th).
I took the accurate elevation of the camp with the hypsometrical
apparatus, water boiling at that spot at 210°·4, with the temperature of
the air 73° F.; altitude 1,113 ft. above sea level. I also took
observations for latitude and longitude: Lat. 11° 17'·5 S.; long. 57° 37'
W. We had to remain the entire morning in order to cut a way through the
forest and take part of the most valuable baggage on men's backs until a
point below the rapids was reached.
We named that place Camp Jahu, as we caught there several enormous fish
of that name.
In a reconnaissance we made we found that from Camp Jahu we had to take
the canoe along among innumerable rocks scattered in the only navigable
channel on the north side of a basin 700 m. wide, with a large island 350
m. wide--Sarah Island--on the southern side of the bay, and another
smaller island almost in the centre of the basin. There was a drop 2 ft.
high--a regular step--in a barrier of sharply-pointed rocks. We had some
two hours' hard work in order to get the canoe safely down. The rocks
were so close together that we could not find a passage large enough for
the canoe, and we actually had to pull her out of the water over some
rocks and then let her down gently on the other side.
After leaving that great _pedraria_ there was a clear basin 250 m. wide,
ending where two enormous heaps of rock formed a giant gateway. An
island, 80 m. wide--Rebecca Island--was found near the left cluster of
rocks. Another small island had formed close to the right of the river.
We descended by the north-easterly passage, only 4 m. wide, where the
current was extremely swift but the rapid comparatively easy to
negotiate.
We then followed the channel flowing to 350° b.m., and after passing
innumerable rocks made our camp again before coming to a large rapid
which we heard rumbling in that direction.
We had worked hard all that day, and all the progress we had made by
sunset was a distance of 2,000 m.--or a little more than one mile.
Alcides, Antonio and I immediately proceeded to cut a trail through the
forest from that point down to the end of the rapid, 1,200 m. farther
down. Then we proceeded to take all the baggage upon our shoulders--a
task which occupied several hours. I was greatly surprised to find that
the men did this willingly enough, although they were unaccustomed to
carrying and the loads were heavy. They laughed heartily at one another
as they struggled under the heavy weights, or trod upon thorns, or were
jerked about with knocking against trees--the passage we had cut being
necessarily not spacious.
I had not seen my men so jolly for a long time--in fact, I do not
remember ever having seen them so jolly. I was in hopes that this state
of affairs might last, as it was certainly not pleasant to be travelling
in such usually morose company.
During the night we caught an immense jahu, weighing over 50 lb., as well
as some 200 lb. of smaller fish. As the bank of the stream was rather
high and steep, we had a great deal of trouble to land the larger fish
safely. Some of my men had exciting experiences, one man falling into the
water on receiving a powerful blow from the tail of the struggling jahu.
The scene was a comic one, the terror of the man being amusing to watch.
We carried a great quantity of salt; with it my men set out to preserve
the best portions of the fish we had caught--a precaution of which I
fully approved.
I noticed that whenever we came across rocky places the number of insects
increased to an enormous extent, especially mosquitoes and gnats. I think
it was due principally to the fact that in those rocks many cavities were
found which got filled with stagnant water which eventually became
putrefied.
The place where we halted we called Abelha Camp, because of the millions
of bees which worried us to death there, not to speak of the swarms of
flies, mosquitoes and ants, and myriads of butterflies which came to
settle in swarms upon us. It was indeed curious to note the wonderful
tameness of the latter, as they had never seen a human being before.
[Illustration: Fishing on the Arinos: a Jahu.]
[Illustration: Fish of the Arinos River.]
There was a nasty-looking rapid close to the camp. We had to let the
empty canoe down carefully by means of ropes, my men on that particular
occasion donning their lifebelts again, although they walked on dry land
when they were taking the canoe along. When I asked them why they put
them on, they said that perhaps the canoe might drag them into the
water and they had no wish to get drowned.
We left that camp late in the afternoon--at three o'clock--having wasted
the entire morning conveying the canoe to a spot of safety and then
carrying all the baggage along overland.
After having gone some 2 kil. farther we came to another rapid and a
_pedraria_ with nasty rocks right across the channel, the only passage I
could see possible for our canoe being in the centre of the stream. That
channel was only a few metres wide, and had in the centre of it a large
rock just under the surface, which flung the water up in the air. We just
managed to shoot that rapid safely, although with trembling hearts.
Farther down, rocks innumerable, rising only two or three feet above
water, spread half-way across the channel from the right side. Then
rapids and strong eddies were encountered. For 700 m. the river showed
foliated rock strewn all along on both banks, and great volcanic boulders
of a more rounded shape. The foliation showed a dip westward of 45°.
We were delighted when we discovered in that region many _solveira_ or
_sorveira_ trees, or milk trees, exuding when incised milk most delicious
to drink. Then there were plenty of _figueiras_ or _gameilleiras_ and
wild bananas. We wasted much time extracting milk from the _solveiras_
and eating wild fruit.
Monkeys were to be seen in that part. They seemed most astonished on
perceiving us, and came quite close, gazing at us in the most inquisitive
manner.
We felt that we had come to a real heaven on earth, except for the
river, which could have given points to the River Styx of infernal fame.
When we returned to the canoe we found obstructions of all kinds in the
stream. Small rapid succeeded small rapid. Rocky islets and scattered
rocks rendered navigation complicated.
Where the river turned sharply to the N.N.E. another dangerous rapid was
reached, with rocks scattered all over the channel, some just submerged.
We tried to shoot that rapid on the east side, but we got badly stuck on
a submerged rock, and once more the canoe filled with water. It took us
the best part of an hour to extricate ourselves from our uncomfortable
position.
A beautiful island 400 m. long and 200 m. wide--Maria Island--was then
reached. It had a long spur of white sand at its south-easterly end, and
pretty vegetation upon it. Strange domes of rock were near by, one
particular dome of great size showing a spit of white sand 70 m. long, on
its north-westerly side. Many other islets of rock rose above the water
along the bank of the larger island, while rapids of some magnitude
existed at the end of the island.
We hardly ever came to a stretch of placid water. No sooner had we left
the last rapid than, the river turning sharply at that point, we went
over a strong _corrideira_, so strewn with obstacles that in the terrific
current we had a narrow escape of having our unmanageable, long canoe
smashed against one of the innumerable rocks.
As we went on at a great speed I had just time to notice rocks of all
sizes and shapes along both banks, and strange rocks in the middle of the
river, one or two of them with stunted trees growing in fissures which
had become filled with earth.
Another island, 300 m. long--Martia Island--with a picturesque spur of
rock at its south-easterly end, was next reached as we were going swiftly
down a _corrideira_ in the channel to the right which we were following.
After the _corrideira_, as I was busy writing a description of the
landscape, I was thrown off my seat. My men also had a similar
experience, the canoe nearly turning turtle and becoming filled with
water. Alcides had steered us right into the centre of a whirlpool.
These unexpected baths were not much to my taste--not so much for the
discomfort they caused my person, as for the trouble they gave me in
protecting my notebooks and instruments. Also, in these accidents we lost
a considerable amount of our supply of salt, which melted away in the
water, and the supply of flour and rice suffered from these unnecessary
immersions.
A channel 30 m. wide separated Martia Island from a second
island--Camilla Island--100 m. long, which must once certainly have
formed part of it, but which had been separated by the eroding waters of
the stream. Both islands were wooded, and were extremely pretty. Great
heaps of rock, 20 m. in diameter and even more, occupied the centre of
the stream after we had passed the last island.
We had only gone 12 kil. 300 m. that day, so difficult had been the
navigation.
During the night in less than one hour we caught two large _jahu_, one
huge _pacu_ (_Prochilodus argentius_), the latter shaped like a sole,
but of a much greater size, and with brilliant red patches on its body--a
most delicately-tasting fish to eat--and a number of large _trahira_
(_Machrodon trahira_), also called by the Brazilians _rubaffo_ because of
the noise they make in the water. Altogether over 200 lb. of fish were
got out of the water in less than sixty minutes.
We found many _jenipapeiros_ (or _genipapeiro_) trees, from the stewed
bark of which we made excellent tea. Its fruit was good to eat, and we
used it for making sweets.
During the night of July 19th the minimum temperature was 67° F.
We started off gaily enough in the morning, passing first a great
boulder, 10 m. in diameter, sticking right out of the water; then an
island 200 m. long contained in a basin 500 m. wide. We left the
island--Ruby Island--which was 80 m. long, on our left, and went down a
channel with strong eddies and whirlpools. Looking back at the eastern
channel, we were glad we had not followed it, as it was extremely rocky.
[Illustration: A Fine Cataract on the Arinos-Juruena River.]
The river was contracting in narrow necks and expanding into large
basins, another of these being 450 m. broad. A strong rapid existed here,
owing to the barrier formed across the stream by a central island of rock
and other boulders. After that came a basin 700 m. wide, with three
islands--Teffe I., Nair I., Rock I.--in its western part. The central and
eastern passages were difficult owing to the quantity of rocks which
stood in the way, so we took the canoe down the channel from S.S.W. to
N.N.E., which was also extremely bad, and where we had to let her down
with the greatest care by means of ropes, the baggage having been
previously unloaded. Even then the canoe got filled with water. That
involved a great loss of time and waste of energy, so that we had to halt
longer than usual in the middle of the day.
Our halting place was most picturesque, situated on volcanic rocks of
great beauty, and overlooking a canal cut into the rocks, with strong and
foaming rapids from east to west. Strong eddies formed at the end of the
rapids.
After leaving the camp and negotiating the rapids, we came to an island
150 m. long--Magda Island--separated by a rocky narrow channel from
another island, 50 m. long, west of it.
After the last rapid we were in a basin 800 m. wide and 1,000 m. long.
Strong _corrideiras_ or rapids occurred all the time, and rocks alone or
in groups standing wherever they were not wanted. Farther on we came to
another big basin, 1,000 m. wide, with a square island on its western
side. The island--Eva Island--was 400 m. broad and of course of an equal
length.
Another island, triangular in shape, 700 m. long--Rose Island--was then
observed, after we had gone over some strong rapids in the passage on the
east side of it.
The river was flowing in a northerly direction, and shortly afterwards
formed two channels--one north-west, the other south-west--which soon
joined again.
A beautiful bank of white sand 120 m. long and 4 ft. high stretched along
the edge of the water on the left side of us. Soon afterwards we entered
an immense basin, 1,300 m. broad with a large island--May Island--on its
western side.
One kilometre farther the island ended at a place where a lot of rocks
stood out of the water. A little lower down other rocks spread right
across the river in two parallel lines, forming very strong rapids, which
were shot, our canoe coming within an ace of turning over.
The basin which followed was extremely rocky, with strong whirlpools,
most troublesome to negotiate. Another island of irregular shape, 200 m.
long and 200 m. wide--Rita Island--was found in a large basin, 1,000 m.
broad, where we came to strong rapids and violent eddies and whirlpools,
the latter most dangerous-looking. The water revolved with such force
that it formed in the centre of each vortex holes from one to two feet in
diameter.
The channel flowing north on the left side of the river seemed the better
of the two, but it was strewn with rocks against which we had many
collisions, owing to the strong current, the unmanageable canoe and the
disobedient crew.
Another island 350 m. long--Eloisa Island--was to the north-east of Rita
Island. Fifteen hundred metres farther on another _corrideira_ occurred.
A small tributary entered the Arinos on the right side.
We were then travelling in a N.N.E. direction, the river being in a
straight line for some 3,000 m., in the course of which we came to a
small island on the left side; then to a great island, 3,000 m.
long--Albert Rex Island--with beautiful forest upon it. There were two
other islets in this channel, one a mere cluster of rocks, the other,
north-east of the first and 150 m. in diameter--Belgium Island--having
pretty vegetation upon it.
A fourth and fifth--Laeken Island, 300 m. in length, and Elizabeth R.
Island, 5,000 m. in length--were separated by a narrow channel. The
latter had most gorgeous vegetation upon it; so tidy was everything in
the thick forest, and the ground under it so clean that you might have
imagined yourself in an English park.
Those islands were really too beautiful for words. Not being a poet, I
cannot find appropriate language to describe their wonderful charm.
The river had a tendency to flow toward the west, and even for 1 kil. in
a south-westerly direction. It had a width of 700 m. A small island 50 m.
in diameter, chiefly formed of accumulated rounded rocks which had rolled
down and deposits of gravel, had formed in the centre of the stream.
Beyond it a charming little island, 180 m. long--Germaine Island--was
found, on which we made our camp. It had an extensive gravel beach, on
which I found beautiful crystals and pebbles of wonderfully coloured
marble.