d not know how much longer she might last.
Whatever may be said of them, my men must be given credit for their
courage in going along in that canoe. I do not believe that there are six
other men in Brazil--or perhaps in any other country--who would have
ventured to go across even the most placid pond in a similar craft.

After the rapids came a great basin 1,000 m. long, 800 m. wide. There the
river described an angle from 20 deg. b.m. to 45 deg. b.m., and we perceived two
parallel ranges before us to the N.N.E., the farther one much higher than
the one nearer. Some 5 kil. beyond was yet another rapid, but not so
troublesome a one this time. The river there diverged from north-east to
a direction due west. A hill range, from 150 to 250 ft. high, extended
from W.S.W. to E.N.E. An isolated hill, 300 ft. high, could be seen to
the E.N.E.

We suffered agony that day from regular clouds of _borrachudos_, terrible
little sand mosquitoes which made life an absolute burden in that region.
Our faces, arms, and legs were a mass of ink-black marks left by the
stings of those vicious brutes. Particularly when our hands were occupied
in holding the canoe going down rapids, or busy with dangerous jobs, did
swarms of those little rascals attack us with indomitable fury.

[Illustration: Pushing the Canoe Uphill through the Forest.

(Notice men with heads wrapped owing to torturing insects.)]

Another basin was met, 700 m. wide, quite shallow, and with rapids over a
barrier of rock extending across it from south-west to north-east. That
barrier was most interesting, because in many places great lava-flows
were visible; in other places masses of ferruginous rock could be
observed, with most extraordinary patterns upon them--triangles,
rectangles, trapeziums, and all kinds of other angular geometrical
patterns, such as we had met before on the high plateau of Matto Grosso.

We stopped in the middle of the day on an island 1,200 m. long, from
which we obtained a fine view of the hill range looming before us from
W.S.W. to E.N.E. on the right bank.

I was having great trouble with my chronometer, which the many jerks,
falls, and baths did not seem to improve. I checked it whenever I could
by observations of local time and by other watches which I carried. But
all my instruments were beginning to feel the effects of that journey
very much. The wonder to me was that they had got so far in as good
condition as they were, considering all