t was no use, as it
only led to a row. Absolutely disgusted with the whole crowd of them,
late that afternoon of August 26th I made ready to start on our difficult
journey.

CHAPTER XVIII

Starting across the Virgin Forest--Cutting the Way incessantly--A
Rugged, Rocky Plateau--Author's Men throw away the Supplies of
Food--Attacked by Fever--Marching by Compass--Poisoned--Author's
Men break down--Author proceeds across Forest endeavouring to
reach the Madeira River--A Dramatic Scene

BY three o'clock in the afternoon I had been able to induce the Indian
Miguel, his friend the carrier, and three other Apiacar Indians to come
along with us for a few days in order to carry the heavier packages as
far as possible into the forest, so that I could spare my men.

It was some relief to me--although I saw plainly that we should surely
have disaster sooner or later--when one after the other my men took up
their loads and started off. I gave them the correct direction with the
compass, almost due west; in fact, to make it easier for them I told them
that afternoon to travel in the direction of the sun.

With Filippe the negro at the head my own men started off at a rapid
pace, the others following, while I was at the tail of the procession in
order to see that no stragglers remained behind. For a short distance we
found an old _picada_ which went practically in the direction we wanted,
so my men followed it, only cutting when necessary the vegetation which
had grown up here and there.

I had only gone a few hundred metres when I saw the ground a little way
off our track covered with some white substance. With my usual curiosity
I went to see what it was, and found to my disgust a large quantity of
rice which had evidently been scattered about there a few moments before.
A few yards farther was another patch of white upon the ground, as if it
had snowed. A whole sack of flour had been emptied and scattered about in
such a way that it could not be recovered.

I well knew what was happening. My men were throwing away everything in
order to make the loads lighter. So relieved of the weight, they had got
far ahead, while the Apiacar Indians who had remained behind were
behaving in so strange a fashion that I had to stay in charge of them, so
that they should not escape with the boxes of instruments and collections
which they were carrying for me.

We went that afternoon some 6 kil. through fairl