e of the ropes which had got loose
and was dangling from the canoe in the foaming waters. We tied Filippe
with a rope which we removed from one of the packing-cases we had
previously landed, and let him down the rapid until he was thrown
violently against the canoe. There the plucky fellow was able to get
inside and recover the ropes, which he, after repeated attempts, flung on
to us. We pulled and pulled for several hours, but the canoe was so
jammed between the rocks, and the current was so strong, that we were not
able to get her off.

Night had come on, and we were still waist-deep in the water and
trembling with cold, trying to save the canoe. She would not move in any
direction. It was with some concern that I had seen several articles
which had been loose in the canoe being washed out into the water and
disappearing in the whirlpool. Then came a worse accident still. While
trying to unload two heavy cases of provisions--a ticklish job--the men
lost their footing in the current and one after the other the
packing-cases also disappeared in the whirlpool.

All these disasters following one another within a few hours were rather
trying to us, the loss of the provisions particularly giving me a great
shock, as I realized now that we had practically nothing else left to
eat except what we could find by shooting or fishing.

When the canoe had been made lighter we succeeded by constantly jerking
her in moving her slightly, and eventually, at two o'clock in the
morning--the accident having occurred at half-past four in the
afternoon--we were able to release her and bring her to safety along the
bank.

A great hole had been opened in the side of the canoe where she had
struck the rock, and we had to beach her in order to keep her afloat till
the morning. Then came the heavy task of taking all the baggage from the
rocks in the centre of the stream along the great barrier of sharp
cutting stones as far as the bank.

[Illustration: The Salto Augusto from Above.]

We were prostrate with fatigue when we had accomplished all the work. I
lay down on the ground to rest; my men fortunately had saved their
hammocks, as they were the first things they always took care to save
whenever there was a calamity. Not once during the whole journey did my
men offer me one of their hammocks when they saw me sleeping with great
discomfort on packing-cases or on the ground. Certainly I was too proud
to ask them for any favour.

I had h