he 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 deg. 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 tr