Dogs--Macaws--Crocodiles--A Serious Accident--Men flung into a
Whirlpool--The Loss of Provisions and Valuable Baggage--More
Dangerous Rapids--Wonderful Scenery--Dangerous Work--On the Edge
of a Waterfall--A Risky Experience--Bravery of Author's Brazilian
Followers--A High Wind from the North-East--A Big Lake
THE night was heavy and damp. All our things were soaked in the morning
with the dew which had fallen. We were enveloped in a thick mist when we
woke up. It became a dense fog when the sun rose, and did not clear up
until the sun was fairly high above the horizon. The minimum temperature
during the night had been 62° F. (July 22nd).
We were unable to leave until eight o'clock, as the river was dangerous
enough when we could see where we were going, and it would have been
rather foolish to add one more risk to our travelling in the fog.
My men were extremely irritable and morose that morning, and even our
dogs were most troublesome. We had had a great deal of trouble with the
dogs; they were as disobedient and untrainable as the men. Nearly every
morning we had to waste a considerable time in getting the animals back
into the canoe. When we were ready to start they generally dashed away
into the forest and the men had to go and fetch them and bring them
back. That particular morning one dog--the best we had--escaped, and my
men searched for more than an hour, but were unable to find him. In
trying to run after him they got their feet full of thorns, and they
became so enraged that they decided to abandon the dog on the island. I
called him for more than half an hour, trying to save his life, but the
animal refused to come. So, much to my sorrow, we had to pull out without
him, and undoubtedly the poor beast eventually must have died of
starvation, as there was no food whatever to be obtained in the forest on
the island.
The dogs were quite amusing to watch while in the canoe, their terror
when we shot rapids being quite manifest. They were an additional source
of danger to us, for once or twice while shooting rapids strewn with
rocks they would jump out of the canoe on to the rocks as we were shaving
past them, and we lost much time on several occasions in order to rescue
them. In going through the forest the poor animals had suffered much from
the attacks of ants and all kinds of insects, many parasites having got
inside their ears and where the skin was softer under their legs, causing
terrible sores.
They never got fond of anybody, no matter how well they were treated. In
fact, unlike all other dogs of any other country, they never seemed even
to recognize any of us. Alcides had become the owner of the abandoned dog
in a peculiar way at the beginning of our journey, when travelling with
my caravan of mules. The dog was going along with a man travelling in the
opposite direction to ours. Alcides, who at the time was eating some
bread, whistled to the dog, and from that moment the animal left his
master and came along with us.
Perhaps Brazilian dogs do not give affection because they never receive
any. They were so timid that when you lifted your hand to caress them
they would dash away yelling, with their tails between their legs, as if
you had been about to strike them. I tried time after time to make
friends with them--and I am generally quick at making friends with
animals--but I gave up in despair the hope of gaining the slightest
affection from those dogs.
When we came to the end of the island we found another great barrier of
foliated rock extending from east to west, 500 m. across. The basin
showed, moreover, three sets of giant rocks on the left side. In the
north-easterly part where the river narrowed again there stood a range of
hills 300 ft. high, extending from west to east, and parallel to the
rocky barrier across the basin. A streamlet 3 m. wide coming from the
south-west entered the Arinos from the left bank. The hill range which
stood along the right bank of the river showed a rocky formation of a
greyish colour right up to its summit, and was, in fact, a mere great
rocky barrier with only a few trees growing in interstices which had been
filled with earth and sand. The southern aspect of the range was an
almost vertical wall.
The river was proceeding mostly in a westerly and north-westerly
direction for long stretches of 3,500 m., 4,000 m., 2,000 m., until we
came to an equilateral-triangular island, 300 m. each side--Erminia
Island. A small channel not more than 20 m. across separated this from
an irregularly-shaped island, 600 m. long--Niobe Island. After this came
a low island of sand and gravel 5 ft. high and 300 m. long, with merely a
few trees upon it, whereas the other two islands were covered with dense
and most beautiful vegetation. The main channel of the river was 400 m.
wide.
_Araras_ (macaws) of great size and of a beautiful vermilion colour flew
overhead, shrieking wildly at the sight of us. We began to find a great
many _jacarés_ (_Caiman fissipis_) or crocodiles. I saw one sleeping
placidly on an islet of gravel. I landed and photographed it,
subsequently waking it with a start by throwing a stone at it. My men,
who were following cautiously behind me, opened a fusillade and killed
it.
It was really amusing to watch the astonishment of the few animals and
birds we met in that deserted part of Brazil, as none of them had seen a
human being. They evidently did not know what to make of us. They
generally looked with curiosity and surprise, and my men could fire shot
after shot before they would attempt to run, or, if they were birds, fly
away.
There were in that region some fine specimens of the _cigana_
(_Opisthocomus cristatus_) and of the _jacú_ (_Penelope cristata_). The
_cigana_ was beautiful to look at, with brown and yellow stripes, not
unlike a pheasant, and a tuft of bright yellow feathers on the head. All
of a sudden we came upon great numbers of these birds, and they supplied
us with good meals.
[Illustration: Terrifying Rapid shot by Author and his Men in their
Canoe.]
There were again plenty of rubber trees in the forest, plenty of fish in
the river. The climate was not too hot--merely 87° F. in the shade, 105°
in the sun--the insects not too troublesome; so that it seemed to us a
paradise on earth.
We had now before us a great expanse of 5,000 m. of straight river to
345° b.m., with two parallel ranges of hills extending from west to east.
The second range was the higher of the two--some 600 ft., whereas the
first was only 200 ft. high.
What I took to be a great river coming from 75° b.m. (N.E.), 250 m. wide,
joined the Arinos from the right side; but I was puzzled whether this was
not a mere arm of the Arinos. In the quick survey I was making, and with
the many things which occupied my mind at every moment, the river being
moreover so wide, it was impossible, single-handed, to survey everything
carefully on every side. Therefore this may have been a mere arm of the
Arinos which I mistook for a tributary. It was not possible for me to
deviate from my course every moment to go and ascertain problematic
details, but it will be quite easy for subsequent travellers to clear up
this point now that attention has been drawn to it.
An island, 1,000 m. long--Olivia Island--was found at the point where the
main arm of the river flowed in a direction of 345° b.m., and where to
the north-west, north, and north-east, three hill ranges were before
us--one 300 ft. high, extending from south-west to north-east on the left
side of the river; another thickly wooded hill from west to east, also
300 ft. high; and yet another one, the highest of all, behind it from
S.S.W. to N.N.E., on the right bank. The river was 350 m. wide, and its
water almost stagnant.
Another barrier of rock held up the stream. We came to an island 800 m.
long, 300 m. wide--Sabrina Island--on the left side of the stream, which
showed a beautiful spit of white sand at its southern end.
I halted on the bank where the island began in order to take observations
for latitude and longitude, and as the day was a very clear one I took
forty-eight consecutive sights of the sun with the sextant. Lat. 10°
35'·1 S.; long. 58° 12' W. While I was busy observing the sun I thought I
heard curious noises in the forest just behind me. The dogs all of a
sudden jumped up, barking furiously, and I heard the sounds of what
seemed an escaping person dashing away through the thick growth near the
stream. My men were greatly excited, saying it was an Indian who had come
quite close to me, and was about to shoot an arrow while I was busy with
my sextant and chronometers. All through lunch they sat with their loaded
rifles next to them, in case we might be attacked.
The river now flowed in a straight line for 5,000 m. in a north-westerly
direction. Half-way along was a large triangular island--Pandora Island;
then farther on the left another island, 2,000 m. long--Sibyl Island.
The river was of extraordinary beauty in that region. The tall range of
hills to the north-west of us showed beautiful cobalt-blue tones against
the whitish and grey sky; while the dark green foliage of the trees and
the yellow blooms of the _Oleo pardo_ trees visible here and there, the
immaculate white sandy beach along the water line, together with the
brilliantly red and yellow rocks which stood out of the crystalline
emerald water, formed indeed a beautiful scene for the painter's brush.
It did not do to be poetically inclined when travelling on the Arinos. I
had hardly time to realize how beautiful that scene was when we found
ourselves confronted by another big barrier of rocks, through which we
went over a swift _corrideira_.
A basin was formed, 900 m. wide, with an extensive island of rock on the
right side of it. Then we suddenly came to a terrible-looking rapid at an
incline so steep that I foresaw trouble in store for us. There was no way
of stopping anywhere, as the current was swiftly taking us down.
"We are lost!" shouted one man. "Jesus Maria Santissima!"
"Paddle away! paddle away, for Heaven's sake!" I shouted, as I knew that
speed alone could save us from disaster.
Down went the canoe at an angle of 45° in the foaming and twisting waters
of the rapid. Where the water curled right over itself the heavy canoe
was lifted up in the air like a feather, and as I turned round to shout
to Alcides to steer straight ahead I saw his expanded eyes looking in
terror at the terrific whirlpool which was facing us at the bottom of the
rapid.
"No! no!" cried Alcides.
"Straight--straight! For God's sake, straight!" shouted I; and as I saw
the canoe swerve to the right I again shouted to Alcides to steer
straight in order to avoid the dangerous part of the whirlpool.
Alcides would not steer straight, but steered us instead on the right for
the very centre of the whirlpool. No sooner did the prow of the canoe
enter the circle of the rotating water, which formed a deep concave
hollow 70 or 80 m. in diameter, than, dipping her nose in the water, she
was flung right up into the air, revolving on herself. Baggage and men
all tumbled over, two men being thrown with terrific force clean out of
the canoe. A lot of baggage disappeared into the whirlpool. The canoe,
although filled with water, righted herself and spun round helplessly at
an alarming speed. The impact had been so violent that the men, in
tumbling over, had lost all the paddles except one.
We heard the cries of the two men in the water, and I saw them struggle
in order to keep themselves afloat. I gave a sigh of relief that the two
men--already a long distance from us--were, by a great stroke of luck,
the only two who could swim. I urged them to have courage and we would
come to their rescue, although for a moment I could not think how we
should do it, as we had only one paddle left and the steering gear had
got torn away from its socket, although Alcides with great courage had
managed to save it. I ordered my men to paddle with their hands and with
the large oar which was used for steering. We were tossed about in a
terrific manner, the men and canoe going round and round the whirlpool in
an absolutely helpless fashion.
[Illustration: Author's Men shooting a Crocodile.]
What distressed me more than anything was when I saw the two men getting
nearer and nearer the centre, although they made a desperate struggle to
swim away from it. In our effort to get to them by using the steering
oar, the canoe, for some reason or other, swung round upon herself two or
three times, and I saw with gladness the men gradually getting nearer. It
was a moment of joy when I saw Antonio, who was a powerful swimmer,
within only a few feet of the canoe. His face was ghastly, with an
expression of terror upon it. He was quite exhausted, and was shouting
pitifully for help. The man X was a few yards farther off.
The canoe suddenly swung round, going right against Antonio, who grasped
the side of the boat and proceeded in such haste to climb on board that
he came within an ace of capsizing her. A few moments later we were
alongside of X, but he was so exhausted that he had not the strength to
climb up. We seized him and with great difficulty lifted him inside the
canoe.
We continued to go round and round the vortex in a helpless fashion,
endeavouring with the steering oar to get out of that perilous position.
As I gazed around I saw my camp bed and bedding, which were enclosed in a
water-tight canvas bag, still floating close to the centre of the
whirlpool. Alas! a moment later they were sucked down. Most of our
cooking utensils which were loose in the canoe had been washed overboard.
Two of our casseroles were floating gracefully in a circle round the
whirlpool.
It is curious how people's mentality will work on such occasions. After
we had been some minutes endeavouring to get away from the centre of the
whirlpool, one of my men, who had recovered from the fright, saw the
cooking pans, which were about to disappear. His first impulse was to
shout that we must go and get them!
It was with some relief that we were able to extricate ourselves, and
eventually reached the outer edge of the whirlpool, where the water
changed direction, and the canoe was swung violently, entering a patch of
comparatively placid water. Paddling with our hands we slowly reached the
bank, and nearly an hour later--it having taken us all that time to go
about 150 m.--we baled the water out of the canoe and proceeded to
examine the amount of our loss.
Nearly all the cooking utensils, as I have said, had disappeared; two
boxes of tinned provisions had gone overboard and were lost for ever; a
bag of flour and a bag of rice had vanished in those terrible waters; a
package containing a great part of my clothes had also gone for ever, as
well as some of the clothing of my men. What was worse than all for me,
my camp-bed and all my bedding were lost, which would compel me in the
future to sleep either on the ground--which was practically impossible in
that region owing to the number of ants and other insects--or else do as
I did, sleep on four wooden packing-boxes, which I placed in a line. They
made a most uneven and hard bed, as I had, of course, no mattress and no
covering of any kind. A despatch-box, with some money, a lot of important
official letters and other documents, were lost, and also my mercurial
artificial horizon and one of my chronometers. A number of other things
of less importance were also gone and quite beyond recovery.
We worked hard all that afternoon and the greater part of the night in
shaping new paddles out of trees we had cut down with the axes, which
were fortunately not lost. The new paddles were even more primitive and
clumsy than those we had before.
We dried what remained of our baggage in the sun during the afternoon.
The beautiful sandy beach on which we had landed looked very gay with all
the articles I had spread out from some of my trunks, including a
dress-suit which I hung on a young palm, and other such articles, which
looked rather incongruous in that particular region. All the white linen
clothes I possessed had gone, and there only remained some good serge
clothes which I had kept for my arrival in civilized places again. My
water-tight boxes had been knocked about so much that they had got
injured and let in a good deal of moisture.
One of my valuable cameras was badly damaged in the accident, and one of
my sextants was soaked to such an extent that it took me the best part of
two hours to clean it all up again. I saved the negatives which were in
the damaged camera by developing them at once during the night while they
were still wet.
My men were greatly excited over the accident, especially the two who had
fallen into the water. In a way I was glad it had happened, as I was in
hopes it might be a good lesson to them and they might be a little more
careful in the future. Had Alcides obeyed my orders we should have gone
through safely. I pointed that out to him, but it was no use; even then
he maintained that in order to be safe you must steer right into the
whirlpool and not out of it--which really made me begin to feel rather
nervous, as I fully expected, as we went along, to find worse rapids than
those we had negotiated so far, since we still had to get down from 1,000
ft. or so to the sea level.
We halted for the remainder of the day. I spent a miserable night
sleeping on the packing-boxes, now that my bed had gone for ever. I did
not deserve that bit of ill-luck, for indeed my camp-bed was the only
thing I possessed which gave me a little comfort. After working hard all
day and the greater part of the night, a few hours spent lying down flat
on the stretched canvas of the bed were most enjoyable; although never,
throughout the entire journey, was I able to sleep soundly, as I always
had to be on the alert, never knowing what might happen.
[Illustration: A Cataract in the River Arinos.]
[Illustration: Author's Canoe among Great Volcanic Rocks.]
The night of July 22nd was fairly cool, the minimum temperature being 58°
F. When we proceeded on our journey in the morning we passed an island
1,500 m. long--Arabella Island. The river was now flowing due west. Again
we came upon rocks in the centre and upon the right side of the river,
with a strong _corrideira_ and with dangerous submerged rocks close to
the surface. There was an islet 150 m. long on the right side in a basin
500 m. broad. A hill 100 ft. high stood on the left side of the stream,
while a hill range 300 ft. high was now visible to the W.N.W.
We had little time to admire the beautiful scenery, for we soon found
ourselves upon another great barrier with a terrible-looking rapid. I
asked my men if they preferred to shoot it, as the exertion of loading
and unloading the canoe was certainly heavy.
"No, no, no, no!" they all cried in a chorus.
We therefore unloaded the canoe, and with considerable trouble and waste
of time we led her down the rapid by means of ropes. Even led in that
fashion with the greatest care, the canoe was entirely filled with
water.
Islets of rock of considerable beauty rose from the river on the
right-hand side. As we got a little way farther, slightly more to the
north-west, another hill range, perhaps a little higher than the one we
had already observed, began to disclose itself to the north-west, on the
right side of the river. As we advanced I further ascertained that the
first range extended in a general direction from south-west to
north-east. The river had actually eroded its way through this range.
Strong rapids were again met with at that point, the channel being strewn
with innumerable sharp-edged rocks, most unpleasant if you were to come
in contact with them.
A small islet with a picturesque spur of rock on the north side was here
seen; then a larger island, 300 m. long--Evelina Island--also on the left
side. The river flowed for 3,000 m. in a N.N.W. direction, and at the end
of that distance a rectangular island, 200 m. long and 80 m. wide--Eileen
Island--embellished it. Like most of the islands in that particular
portion of the river it had a beautiful spur of rock on its eastern side,
preceded by a little islet also of rock. We passed to the left of this
island. It was separated by a channel 80 m. wide from another narrow
island, 200 m. to the west of it--Diana Island.
Just before getting to a third range extending from south-west to
north-east, and, like the other two, about 300 ft. high, we came upon a
long barrier of rock spreading diagonally for about 1,000 m. from
south-west to north-east. A long narrow island (200 m. long)--Bertha
Island--began from that point close to the right bank, and another had
been separated by the water from the bank itself. A tributary 2 m. wide
was observed on the left side. We kept close to the left bank and passed
on our right an island 300 m. long--Sophia Island.
So numerous were the islands following one another that I was beginning
to have great difficulty in supplying sufficient names for them all.
More rapids were reached, and were of terrific force--especially in the
centre of the river. It took me some little time to find a suitable
passage, but at last I found a channel 25 m. wide through which I got the
canoe among innumerable rocks. We went over a great _filare_--by which
word the Italians cleverly define an extensive alignment in the
stratum--of rock of extreme hardness which had evidently been fractured
in some violent commotion of the earth, and had left sharp edges which
cut just like knives close to the surface of the water. This rocky
obstacle extended as usual from south-east to north-west.
A tiny streamlet entered the river on the left not far from the hill
range on that same side. The trees in that particular region had a most
peculiar appearance: their high, perfectly straight stems, quite free
from branches or leaves up to their very summit, looked like so many
columns, mostly of a whitish colour. Many, however, were encircled,
others absolutely smothered with creepers. The scenery was really
beautiful; it was like travelling through fairyland.
In the centre of the basin 400 m. wide to which we next came was an
island, 80 m. in diameter--Gingillo Island--and to the south-west of it a
small islet with an extensive beach and accumulation of rocks in a
northerly direction. On the southern side of the river a sand beach,
interspersed with rocks, spread almost across, as far as the latter
island.
I took 55 astronomical sights in order to get the exact latitude and
longitude (lat. 10° 30'·7 S.; long. 58° 19' W.), and to check the time of
the second chronometer, which still remained in my possession. We had
made poor progress that day as far as the distance went--only 17 kil. 100
m.
We had come to some nasty rapids, which at first looked quite impassable
by water, some of the waves shooting up so high in the air as to make it
out of the question for any canoe to go through.
There was another extensive _filare_ of rock, so beautifully polished
that it looked almost as if it had been varnished over. It was evidently
an ancient flow of lava, with great holes in it here and there. The flow
spread from south-west to north-east, was of a brilliant shining yellow,
and most beautiful to look at.
I had to make my camp on the rocks near this rapid, where we unloaded the
canoe in order to take her down by means of ropes by the eastern
channel--very narrow and very unpleasant, but it was the only one
possible. It was all we could do to hold the canoe as she tobogganed down
the incline, and we had some nasty falls on the slippery rock trying to
hold her.
We had a dangerous bit of work to do the moment we had descended the
rapid, for we had then to navigate the canoe right across the basin,
where whirlpools of some magnitude were formed, directly over a waterfall
of some height and pouring down great volumes of water with a terrific
roar on the north-east side of the basin; then along the really
terrifying rapid on the south-west side. It was necessary to do that, as
I had observed that it was only on the opposite side of the river that we
could possibly take the canoe down, and no other course was open to us
than to go across that dangerous spot.
We had to be smart about it, or we certainly should have perished. My men
behaved splendidly. We had reloaded the canoe. The quarter of an hour or
so which it took us to cross that basin was somewhat exciting, as we
struggled through the various whirlpools, the current all the time
dragging us closer and closer to the waterfall, while my men were
paddling with all their might and Alcides was steering right against the
current in order to prevent the fatal leap.
I urged the men on, and they paddled and paddled away, their eyes fixed
on the fall which was by that time only a few metres away from us. They
were exhausted in the frantic effort, and their paddles seemed to have no
effect in propelling the canoe. The men, who were always talkative, were
now silent; only the man X exclaimed, as we were only eight or ten metres
from the fall: "Good-bye, father and mother! I shall never see you
again!" The other men gave a ghastly grin.
[Illustration: Preparing to descend a Rapid.]
[Illustration: A Cataract in the Arinos River.]
"Go on! Row! row!--For God's sake row!" I shouted to them, as I saw they
had given themselves up for lost. "Row!" I shouted once more; and as if
the strength had suddenly come back to them they made a frantic effort.
The canoe went a little faster for a minute or two--just enough for us to
clear the waterfall and to drift alongside some rocks which stood in
the centre of the stream. We were saved.
My men were so exhausted that we had to rest there for some time before
we could proceed to cross the dreadful rapid down the other portion of
the barrier.
I was glad we had had that experience, because it showed me that after
all it was possible to make brave men of men who were absolutely
pusillanimous before. When I mentioned that we still had to go over the
other dangerous part, they said, much to my delight:
"We are Brazilians--we are afraid of nothing! We will come with you." And
what is more, they did.
They smoked a few cigarettes. I had always supplied them with ample
tobacco in order to keep them in a good temper. Then when I gave the
order to start they jumped gaily into the canoe, shouting again:
"We are Brazilians! We are afraid of nothing!"
So we began negotiating the second portion of that nasty crossing. There
is nothing I admire more than courage. My men went up in my estimation
that day at least a hundred per cent.
The second part of our crossing was just as dangerous as the first
part--perhaps more so. The men, however, behaved splendidly, and rowed
with such vigour that we got through safely and quickly above the most
difficult portion, and eventually landed upon a mass of rocks on the
opposite side of the stream.
There we had a busy time, as we had once more to unload the canoe, cut a
way through the forest in order to convey the baggage overland to a spot
about half a mile farther down stream; then we had to come back to take
the canoe by means of ropes down the rapid itself.
It was necessary for one of us to be inside the canoe in order to steer
her while being led down. Alcides, who was indeed an extraordinarily
brave man, would not hand over his job to anybody else, and insisted on
being allowed to steer the canoe. It was with great reluctance that I
allowed him, as he could not swim. When we proceeded to let the canoe
down by the small western channel, the foaming waters and high waves
rolling back upon themselves with great force were most troublesome to
negotiate. The canoe was repeatedly lifted right out of the water, and
gave us holding the ropes such violent jerks that we were flung in all
directions. When I got up again, still holding on to the rope, Alcides
had disappeared. He had been pitched clean out of the canoe. Fortunately,
a moment later I saw that he was clinging to the steering gear, which we
had made extra fast in order that it might stand the great strain.
We managed to pull the canoe and Alcides close to the rocks. Eventually
we all had to go into the water up to our necks and lead the canoe by
hand with the greatest care in the swift current for the remaining
distance. Once or twice we were nearly overpowered by the current, and we
were glad when, nearly two hours later, our job was finished, and,
absolutely exhausted, we made camp for the night on the rocks.
The men were so excited that during the entire night they sat up
commenting on the experience of the day. Their remarks were quite
amusing, especially their imitations of the rush of the water, the
bumping of the canoe, and Alcides' sudden disappearance and narrow escape
from drowning.
The waterfall and rapids spread across the river at that spot for some
650 m. During the night of July 24th the thermometer showed a minimum
temperature of 62° F.
I noticed a small streamlet 1 m. wide on the left bank, and to the W.S.W.
a conical hill rising over a gently sloping undulating range 350 ft.
above the river level--that is to say, about 1,400 ft. above the sea
level.
A strong wind sprang up, which caught us sideways and produced such high
waves breaking over the canoe, and so severe a motion, that my men became
ill. We had to stop, until the wind abated, on a small charming island.
As we were approaching the island Alcides sent us right over a rock which
was sticking some 2 ft. above water. The bottom of the canoe was so
scraped in the violent collision that a good deal of the stuffing with
which we had filled the longitudinal crack was torn off, and she quickly
filled with water. When we halted more garments had to be destroyed in
order to fill up the aperture to the best of our ability.
When the storm was over we continued our journey, going over some rapids
in quite a novel way. The men were quarrelling among themselves and had
stopped paddling, the paddles being waved in the air in a threatening way
as they spoke violently to one another. Alcides had also left the
steering gear, and in his fury against the other men had seized his
rifle in order to give force to his words. We were approaching the rapid.
I advised them to continue their quarrel after we had gone through, but
they would not listen to me. The prow of the canoe, just as we were about
to enter the rapid, was caught in a rock, and the canoe swung right
round, so that we shot the rapid floating down stern first. We shipped a
lot of water, the refreshing bath somewhat cooling the excitement of my
men, who, realizing the danger when we entered the whirlpool, took to
paddling again.
I discovered from their conversation during the night that my men were
imbued with the idea that I had a guardian angel attending my person, and
that no matter what happened while they were with me they would have no
mishap.
The river gradually turned northwards again. I noticed on the right side
a hill-range 350 ft. high, extending from south-west to north-east.
The wind came up again, tossing the canoe about considerably. My men once
more became seasick owing to the rolling. The new paddles we had made
from fresh wood after our accident in the rapids did not prove much of a
success, the wood splitting badly. We had to keep the various pieces
together by tying them with string. I could not help laughing when I
looked at my men paddling. One paddle had a quadrangular blade; another
formed an elongated oval; a third had originally been circular but was
then reduced to the shape of a half-moon, the other half having been
washed away.
[Illustration: Lake formed where the Arinos and Juruena Rivers meet.]
[Illustration: Going through a Rapid.]
For 4,000 m. the river had flowed due west, then it turned to 310°
b.m. Two large islands in succession--one 400 m. long and 350 m.
wide--Pericles Island; the second of an equal width to the first, and 700
m. long--Aspasia Island--were seen.
A high wind from the north-east and east continued the entire day, and
broke into occasional severe gusts that were most troublesome to us.
Heavy rain-clouds hung over our heads. My men felt cold and shivery and
quite miserable in the choppy waters, which made them extremely ill.
Their faces were green and yellow, their eyes had a pitiful expression in
them. They looked as if they were all being led to execution. The
temperature of the atmosphere was only 75° F.
Shortly before sunset, after a beautiful stretch of river of 4,000 m. to
335° b.m. (N.N.W.), followed by one of 4,000 m. 5° farther to the north,
we came to an immense basin--a regular lake--4,000 m. long, 1,500 m.
wide, with two lovely islands in its northerly part. It was there that
the great River Juruena, coming from the south-west, joined the Arinos.
We had the greatest difficulty in crossing the big, deep lake, because of
the high wind which was blowing at the time. The waves were high and
caught us on one side; the rolling was so heavy that on many occasions we
shipped a great deal of water and nearly capsized. When we got into the
centre of the lake the wind increased in fury. My men were very ill and
much scared--for we had a great expanse of water on all sides and we
could not bale the water out of the canoe fast enough, so quickly was she
filling. I urged on the men all the time and took an extra paddle myself
to encourage them. We made slow progress, the men suffering greatly. I
had to wait for their convenience every few moments when they were badly
indisposed.
We tossed about for the best part of two hours, until at last we reached
the opposite side of the lake. In a hurry to land, Alcides threw the
canoe over some rocks on which the water was breaking with fury. However,
the water was shallow at that point. We jumped out, and eventually,
trembling with cold, we beached the canoe on a most beautiful island,
where we made our camp for the night.