ees 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