stream at the bottom of the
tableland. Unluckily we went on and on until the evening and we found no
more water at all. Only a torrential shower came upon us during the
night, and we were able to fill our cups with water to quench our thirst.
Men and baggage got soaked in that storm. The loads were much heavier to
carry the next morning.

On August 30th, when I called the men in order to make a start, two of
them were attacked severely by fever, their temperature being 103 deg.. They
seemed to be in agony, and had no strength left.

Mr. Julio Nery said that his duties called him back to his post, and he
must return with the Indians under his charge. He accompanied me up to
lunch-time, when we all together had a hearty meal. After lunch I gave
Mr. Nery and his men ample provisions to return to the river Tapajoz,
where the boat was awaiting them. Not only that, but I presented Mr. Nery
with a handsome rifle and a watch, in remembrance of his politeness to
me. In order that he might have a pleasant journey back I also gave him
the few tins of delicacies which I had brought for myself, the only four
tins of condensed milk I had been able to obtain in S. Manoel, and a few
tins of sardines which had remained from my provisions I had taken over
from England, and which he liked very much.

It was a great trial to me to see how my men wasted food all the time.
When I examined the loads once more I found that nearly the entire supply
of flour, _farinha_, rice, lard, and much of the tinned stuff had been
thrown away. We had been marching four and a half days, and out of the
three months' provisions we only had food enough left to last us a few
days.

With my reduced party of my six original men, the Indian Miguel and his
friend the carrier--eight altogether--I started once more in a westerly
direction, opening a _picada_--that is to say, cutting our way through
the forest.

We crossed two streamlets flowing north. After that we came upon a most
troublesome patch of swampy land with high reeds in it, the leaves of
which cut our hands like razors when we forced our way through them,
struggling in mud and slush up to our knees, sometimes as high as our
waists. A streamlet flowing north formed the marsh in that low place. The
moment we had got out of the marsh the men threw themselves down and said
they could go no farther. I pointed out to them that that spot was most
unhealthy, and tried to persuade them to go some distance fr