as surrounded by a
giant crown of pyramidal rocks of great height emerging in sharp points
from the water. We had gone but 6,000 m. of that distance when we came to
an island on the right side with a gorgeous spit, also of musical sand,
300 m. long. The island itself was only 700 m. long including the
sand-spit--Kuvera Island. We were then in an immense basin with leaden
waters as still as those of a pond.

We made our camp in a most picturesque spot, an immense beach forming
innumerable indentations, really like small dunes of sand deposited by
water. The accurate elevation of that place was, according to the
observations taken with the hypsometrical apparatus, 967 feet, water
boiling at that spot at 210 deg. 33/4, and the temperature of the atmosphere
being 721/2 deg. F. The indented beach, not unlike a giant double-comb, was at
the beginning of a great island which I named James Dewar Island, in
honour of the great discoverer of liquid air. The minimum temperature
during the night of July 29th was 55 deg. F.

Since we had come to the enormous sand accumulations along the stream the
troublesome insects which worried us day and night seemed to have doubled
or trebled in numbers, and we suffered positive torture from them,
especially when we landed anywhere.

[Illustration: A Narrow Passage in the Arinos River.]

[Illustration: Treble Vortex.

(The water revolved in three different directions in succession.)]

We left fairly early in the morning, finding soon afterwards a group of
sharply pointed rocks, some above the surface of the stream, some--most
dangerous--just under the surface. Another basin, 1,000 m. broad, was
crossed, which contained two islets and a number of rocks forming a
barrier from south-west to north-east. Two kilometres farther along
another immense barrier of rocks and numberless islets obstructed the
river from south-west to north-east, so that for a little time we could
not see which way the stream flowed out of it at all. Sharply-pointed
rocks, ugly and fearsome-looking, stood up everywhere. When eventually we
did perceive a channel, down which we went, we found terrifying rapids
followed by fearful eddies and a most alarming whirlpool.

I could not measure the exact width of the basin there, as there was a
regular maze of islands and I could not well see from the canoe where the
banks exactly were.

A great island, 2,000 m. long--Normand Island--presently divided the
river into two grea