In the Hands of Providence--A Mutiny--Another
Mutiny--Foodless--Hard and Dangerous Work--A Near Approach to
Hades--Making an Artificial Channel among Thousands of
Boulders--An Awe-inspiring Scene--The Fall of S. Simão--A Revolt
WE all slept soundly that night, I taking good care to fasten the canoe
well, so that we should not find her gone next morning.
We had a minimum temperature of 63° F. on the night of August 8th.
In the morning my men killed another big monkey, with the most human face
I have ever seen on a quadruman--just like a negro's countenance. It came
very near us in its curiosity to see what we were doing, and, though shot
at several times, remained there watching us, as it had never heard the
report of a rifle before. When it fell down it put its hand on the wound
across its chest and cried just like a child. I moved away while my men
banged it on the head to finish it off.
[Illustration: Author's Canoe being made to travel across the
Forest.]
After a hearty breakfast on the part of my men--my own being limited to a
small box of sardines, some twenty or thirty boxes still remaining in my
supply of provisions--we resumed our journey down the troublesome rapid.
We had to do that with ropes, Alcides, with his extraordinary way of
thinking, actually going to the trouble of shifting a big rock out of
the water, which took him the best part of an hour, rather than let the
canoe go round it--in absolutely placid waters in that particular spot. I
let him do it rather than have a quarrel, as I firmly believed that in
consequence of the great hardships his brain had slightly lost its
balance.
After that, strong eddies were again experienced at first, but, for some
3,000 m. beyond, the water looked beautiful and as placid as possible.
The river was now flowing mostly in a northerly direction or with slight
deviations, chiefly to the east. We came to a most wonderful island with
a spur of lava on its southern side, in the shape of a dome, and highly
glazed. On each side of that island was a waterfall of some beauty. The
eastern channel was only 20 m. wide, and the water fell over a wall of
rock some 12 ft. high. Where this wall projected above the foaming water
the shiny black carbonized rock showed a number of small grottoes in its
horizontal strata, and a number of funnels like volcanic vents. The
north-westerly and broader channel had three successive rapids, the
central one some 10½ ft. high, with a terrific current rushing over it,
and awe-inspiring whirlpools between the successive rapids.
We took the canoe down by the central channel, and when we got to the
higher step, shoved her along until she overhung the fall--as we had done
the previous day--and then let her drop down with a bump. It was a
difficult job to hold her when once she had dropped down, as the waves
below were very high and tossed her about in a merciless manner.
My men had by this time become a little more amenable to reason, and in
moments of suspense or danger always awaited my orders.
Once more did we eventually pack in the canoe what remained of the
baggage; once more did we start--that time across a large basin 1,200 m.
broad, with hills on the east side of us on the right bank. On the right
of us, on leaving the basin, we had a beautiful island, 300 m.
long--Ariadne Island--with a fine sand-spit at its southern end, and
gorgeous vegetation upon it. Barring a few boxes of sardines, we had no
more provisions of any kind, as all the food had been wasted, or lost in
our various accidents.
When I look back upon that journey, I am amazed to think how Providence
did help us all along. That day my men were clamouring for food, and were
most unpleasant, putting the entire blame upon me and not upon their own
lack of common-sense. They refused to go on. We pulled up along some
rocks, baking hot from the sun, which simply roasted our naked feet when
we trod upon them.
Some of the men took to their rifles and said they had had quite enough
of exploring. The more we went down that river the worse things seemed to
get. They would not go a metre farther. They claimed the balance of their
salaries at once--I always paid them punctually every month--and said
they would start on foot and try to get somewhere, if God would help
them.
I agreed to pay them their salaries and let them go, taking a few minutes
to distribute the money, as I wished to go to a secluded spot, not caring
to undo the large packages of banknotes before them.
I was walking along the rocks, saying to my men that I would be back in a
few minutes, when a huge _cachorra_, or dog-fish, weighing some thirty
pounds, leapt out of the water and fell on the rocks, wriggling and
bounding convulsively. I called the men, who hastily arrived, and with
the butts of their rifles killed the fish. While they were busy
dissecting it, Alcides, who had not taken part in the quarrel, but had
gone to the forest some little way off, hearing the noise, reappeared
with a huge monkey he had killed.
I left the men to prepare an excellent and plentiful meal while I retired
to a distant spot to count out their salaries. When I returned and handed
them the money--after their appetites had been fully satisfied, and they
had left next to nothing for me--they said I could keep the money, as
they did not want it; they were sorry for what they had said, and would
go on wherever I ordered them to go. They said that I certainly must have
a guardian angel watching over me, and they were sure that as long as
they were in my company they would never die of starvation.
"I have never seen anything like it!" exclaimed the man X, who was the
humorist of the party. "We want food and cannot get it, and there _el
senhor_ strolls a few yards away from us and a huge fish jumps almost
into his arms in order to be eaten."
I never cared to let them know of my own surprise at the extraordinary
occurrence.
I was rather pleased that day, because my men, in an outburst of
friendliness, said they knew that if ever we did die of starvation it
would not be my fault, because had they been careful we would still have
had three or four months' supply of provisions left. They themselves
said how foolish they had been; the provisions we carried had only lasted
us thirty days. Nearly three weeks before I had warned Alcides to
economize, and the result was that, instead of sorting out food twice a
day to the men, he sorted it out four times a day and in double
quantities.
[Illustration: Distant View showing Both Falls at the Salto Augusto.]
[Illustration: Launching the Canoe after its Journey over a Hill Range.]
That day we were really in great luck. We had the good fortune to find a
_bacopari_ tree simply laden with delicious yellow fruit, not unlike
unripe cherries, and we absolutely feasted on them.
To show how unpractical my men were, it is sufficient to tell that,
unlike any other human beings on the face of the globe when under a
fruit-tree, they did not proceed to shake the cherries down by throwing
sticks or by climbing up the tree. No, indeed; but they cut down the huge
tree, which required about an hour and a half of very hard work. Anyhow,
we got the cherries, and that was the principal thing.
We continued our journey over a small rapid with a low hill range
spreading from west to east on the left bank. The river here was 300 m.
wide. A hill range from 100 to 200 ft. high was also to be seen on the
right bank, running parallel with that on the left. Five or six
kilometres farther another high range of a gorgeous cobalt-blue colour
and extending from south-west to north-east, stood in front of us. The
river in that stretch was most beautiful, and was 900 m. wide. A charming
little island 300 m. long was reflected in the water, which looked as
still as oil in that particular part, although it actually ran
swiftly.
Although that scene was of great placidity, we believed there was more
danger ahead of us, for we could hear in the distance the loud roar of
another rapid or waterfall. Judging by the noise we knew it must be a big
one. Soon afterwards we reached the rapid.
We had the greatest difficulty in approaching this, owing to the strong
current we encountered in a small channel we followed near the right
bank. The rapid was 400 m. wide and 400 m. long, with a drop of from 4 to
5 ft. Although we expected trouble at that spot, we shot the rapid with
comparative ease, but we were badly knocked about, and shipped a
considerable amount of water in the high waves thrown violently against
the rocks. We camped that night near the rapid, having travelled in the
day 26 kil. We made our camp in the forest, and we experienced stifling
heat, the minimum temperature (August 9th) being 73° F., with heavy rain
which came down upon us through the foliage in regular bucketfuls.
We had nothing to eat in the evening. In the morning our breakfast
consisted of two sardines each. We went on in a half-hearted way, my men
grumbling all the time, and looking out for birds or monkeys. Seven
thousand five hundred metres from our camp we came to a waterfall, where
we had endless trouble. The principal channel led to 50° b.m., but the
river split up into innumerable channels among islands, islets and rocks
that formed a regular maze. The river was in that particular spot 1,200
m. wide, and contained great masses of volcanic rock, much fissured, and
having great holes in them. This mass of rock extended from north-east to
south-west. There were large cracks, where the mass had split, and had
subsequently been eroded by the rush of water. The rock had cutting edges
everywhere like those of razors. With endless difficulty we had managed
to drag the canoe along nearly to the bottom of that dangerous place,
when we were suddenly confronted by a drop of 12 ft. with a terrific rush
of water over it. It was impossible for us to negotiate that point, for
below was a whirlpool absolutely impassable. We had therefore the
tiresome work of dragging back the canoe for some 350 m. up the rapid
once more, in order that we might find a more suitable channel. To make
things more lively for us, a violent thunderstorm broke out, soaking all
our baggage but making little difference to us, as we were soaked
already. We had spent that entire day in the water, struggling to take
the canoe down the rapid and up once more. By eight o'clock at night we
were still working, endeavouring to save the canoe.
We had had no lunch, and now had no dinner. My men felt perfectly
miserable, and in their speech did not exactly bless the day they had
started with me on that expedition. We had worked hard, and had only
covered a distance of 7,500 m. in twelve hours. At sunset, while the
storm was raging, we beheld a most wonderful effect of light to the west,
very much like a gorgeous aurora borealis. The sky, of intense vermilion,
was streaked with beautiful radiations of the brightest lemon-yellow,
which showed out vividly against the heavy black clouds directly above
our heads. The river reflected the red tints, so that we appeared to be
working in a river of blood.
As we had nothing to eat, I thought I would spend my time in taking the
correct elevation of that place with the boiling-point thermometers. The
man X, the humorist of the party, remarked that if I were killed and went
to Heaven or some other place, the first thing I should do would be to
take the exact elevation with what he called "the little boiling stove"
(the hypsometrical apparatus).
We had a minimum temperature of 62° F. during the night of August 10th.
Next morning I sent my men to reconnoitre, in order to see if they could
get some edible fruit. As they stayed away a long time I knew they had
found something. In fact, they came back quite in a good humour, as they
had found some _jacoba_ or _jacuba_ trees, with abundant fruit on them,
most delicious to eat.
In the meantime I had gone exploring the rapids endeavouring to find a
more suitable channel. Eventually, on the east side of the stream, I
found a place where we could take the canoe down. There too was a fall of
9 ft., down which we let the canoe with considerable difficulty; then it
had to pass over a number of smaller terraces and down winding channels,
where we sweated for some hours before we got through our work.
Innumerable channels separated by sand-mounds 20 to 30 ft. high had
formed along that rapid and also through the vertical wall of cutting
volcanic rock which formed a barrier across the stream. Below the fall
were two long sand-banks, one with some _burity_ palms upon it.
The river flowed 20° west of north for some 4,000 m. We had gone but
2,000 m. of that distance when we came to another rocky barrier,
spreading from south-west to north-east, on approaching which we heard
the thundering roaring of another rapid. On the left bank we had a hill
range all along. The noise of the rapid got louder and louder, and we
were soon confronted by a terrifying rush of water at a spot where three
arms of the river met with such force that the clashing waters shot up in
the air, forming a wave some 40 or 50 ft. high with a foaming crest. The
backwash from this great wave was so violent against the rocky banks of
the river--very narrow there--that it was quite impossible for the canoe,
even empty, to be let down by means of ropes.
My men were in absolute despair, for the farther we went the more
insurmountable became the obstacles which confronted us. They said they
had agreed to go on a journey of exploration, but surely I was taking
them direct to Hades--if we had not got there already. I could not well
contradict them, for certainly that particular spot was the nearest
possible approach to it.
It does not do ever to lose courage. While my men, in the lowest state of
depression, sat on the volcanic rocks, I went about exploring on the
right bank until I found a place where the river had eroded a channel but
had afterwards filled it with an immense accumulation of rocks. If we
could only move those rocks away--several hundreds of them--I saw that it
would be possible to push the canoe along the channel which would thus be
formed. The work would require a great deal of hard labour.
[Illustration: A Most Dangerous Rapid navigated by Author and his Men.]
You should have seen the faces of my men when I took them to the spot and
asked them to remove all the big boulders. In order to set them a good
example, I myself started moving the rocks about, the smaller ones for
preference. We worked and worked hour after hour, jamming our fingers and
feet all the time as we pushed the rocks to one side and the other of the
little channel, only 4 ft. wide, which we were making. The language of my
men was pretty enough, but as long as they worked I had to put up with
it. Alcides, who was really a great worker, and whose principal fault was
that he would never save himself, worked with tremendous vigour that day.
Somehow or other the men seemed to think the work hard.
When we had taken the canoe safely to the end of the rapid through the
channel we had cleared, I went back to the top of the rapid to gaze once
more on the wonderful sight where the two principal channels met. The
water dashed against a rock in the centre with most impressive fury.
On returning to the bottom of the rapid where I had left the canoe,
another most impressive sight was to be seen. In the vertiginous waters
emerging from the channel high waves--most unpleasant-looking and in the
greatest confusion--clashed against one another for a distance of over
500 m. below the rapid.
My men would not camp that night near the rapid, which they said was the
devil's home, so during the night we went 2 kil. down the stream, where,
simply worn out, we made our camp. We never could get any fish from the
stream now. We had gone only 6,000 m. that day. I reckoned that,
travelling at that rate, I should perhaps reach my goal, Manaos, in five
or six years' time--and all the provisions I had left for seven men, all
counted, were now eight tins of sardines.
We had a minimum temperature of 64° F. on the night of August 11th.
We had halted just above another big and beautiful waterfall, 20 ft.
high, and of immense width. The great rush of water curled over a
gigantic dome of volcanic rock with many big holes and fissures. The
waterfall was followed by a ghastly rapid 500 m. long. It was impossible
to go over the fall, and the only way left us--a most dangerous one--was
to let the canoe down a small channel 50 to 80 m. wide, cut among the
vertical rocks on the right side of the waterfall. The water in the
channel flowed in steeply sloping cascades. The channel twisted round
abruptly in two or three places, and in one spot went through a rocky
neck 35 m. wide, where the force of the current was so great that I was
really perplexed as to how we could take the canoe down without getting
her smashed to atoms.
Providence came to my help again. In looking round I discovered an
ancient channel, now almost dry and strewn with innumerable rocks, by
which it might be possible to take the canoe overland until we could find
a smooth place in the water below the rapid. On further exploring that
channel, as I was quick enough in noticing its possibilities, I found at
the end of it what the Brazilians call a _recanto_--that is to say, a
backwater which the river had there formed, and which would be a great
help to us in floating the canoe once more.
This plan involved a great deal of hard work, as not only had we to
shift many large rocks out of their position, but we had to construct a
railway with felled trees and rollers upon them. We could not get
perfectly horizontal rails, so that the effort of moving the canoe along
inch by inch with levers was trying, especially as we had had
insufficient food for many days and our strength was fast failing.
To make matters worse, Alcides that day broke out in revolt. He had, like
many ignorant people, the misfortune of believing that he knew everything
better than anybody else. I had given him instructions to place the rails
and rollers in a certain position, so that the canoe could be shifted
over some unpleasant rocks. He, however, insisted on placing the rollers
in the wrong place and on using the levers in the wrong spots, so that
they not only did not act helpfully, but actually had the contrary effect
on the canoe from that which we wanted to obtain. I remonstrated, and
showed the men once more how to do it. They agreed with me, except
Alcides, who became enraged to such an extent that his eyes bulged out of
their orbits in his fury. He brandished one of the big levers in the air,
and, shouting at the top of his voice, proceeded to give a long harangue
stating that Araguary--his native town--produced greater men than England
or any other country, and inciting the other men to open revolt against
me.
This was a serious affair and most unexpected, as so far I had counted on
Alcides to stand by me, no matter what happened. The other men were
undecided. Although they were always ready to revolt, they had more
confidence in the brain of an Englishman than in that of an Araguary
man. Alcides suggested that they should take possession of the canoe and
everything, and that I should be left on the rocks. He shouted to the men
to take the canoe along, and he himself pushed with all his might, the
canoe not budging the tenth part of an inch.
I sat down on a rock. I merely said that the canoe would not move until I
wished it to move. This statement I made because I saw that in their
stupidity they had placed some pieces of wood under the canoe which acted
as wedges instead of rollers; one piece in particular--a roller which had
split in two--could not possibly move along the rough wooden rails. The
men pushed and worked with all their might for over three hours, the
canoe remaining still like a solid rock. At last they came to me and
asked me to show them how to move it. I placed the rollers where they
would be effective, removing the wedges which were impeding her journey,
and with very little effort the canoe moved along.
With wild yells of excitement the men proclaimed this a miracle, always
excepting Alcides, who, with a fierce expression on his face, stood now
on one side, fondling his rifle. The other men chaffed him, and even
insulted him, saying that he had made them struggle for nothing, as he
did not know what he was about. When the rails and the rollers were
placed right the canoe slid along the distance which remained to be
covered, and eventually glided gracefully once more into the water.
[Illustration: Letting the Canoe jump a Rapid.]
It was too bad that Alcides--one of the bravest of men--should possess
such a mean mind and such an ungrateful nature. Twice I had saved his
life when he came within an ace of perishing in dangerous rapids, but
never had he given thanks to me--never had he shown the slightest sign of
recognition. Never, during the entire time he was in my employ, did
he--or any of my other men--say "Good morning" to me when we rose, or
"Good night" when we retired to sleep. Two or three nights before this
last adventure, during a heavy rainstorm, I had deprived myself of my own
tent in order to shelter him and the other men, while I myself got
drenched.
"He only does it," said he, "because he needs to keep us alive to do the
work, or else he would not do it."
I only received offensive words for any kindnesses I showered on him and
the others.
It is seldom one could find a man with a more unpractical mind. He spent
most of his energy working uselessly--and, mind you, very hard
indeed--for nothing, but he could never be made to apply his strength in
a sensible way. If I asked him to cut me a tooth-pick, he would proceed
to cut down one of the largest trees in the neighbourhood and work for an
hour or two until he had reduced a big section of it into the needed
article. He wasted hours daily, and ruined all our axes and cutlery into
the bargain, in scraping flat surfaces on rocks and on the hardest trees,
on which he subsequently engraved his name and that of his lady-love whom
he had left behind. He was really marvellous at calligraphy, and could
certainly write the best hand of any man I have ever known.
He quarrelled all the time with all the other men, and to enforce his
words was constantly producing his automatic pistol fully loaded or else
his rifle.
When I first employed him I had the misfortune to send him on some
messages to two or three people, with the result that those former
friends became my bitterest enemies, as he had insulted them. He was one
of the men who cannot open their mouths without offending. Wasteful to an
incredible degree, his only ambition was to show how much he could
spend--especially when he was spending other people's money--a most
trying thing for me when we were, months before, near any shop. When you
mentioned anything to him he immediately said that it was impossible to
do it, no matter how simple the matter was. He spent hours looking at
himself in a small pocket mirror he carried on his person, and would
grumble for long hours over the stings of mosquitoes and gnats which had
dared to spoil his features. He used violent language against the
impudent rocks which had injured his feet.
His brutality to men and beasts alike was most hurtful to me. He once
abandoned his favourite dog on an island, simply because he had kicked it
viciously the day before and the dog would not respond to his calls and
enter the canoe. He now proposed to kill the other dogs, as he said they
had finished their work as watch-dogs, since we never came across any
Indians, and it was no use taking them along.