., for my photographic work, and a number of
valuable trinkets I had collected. Much to my sorrow I had also to
abandon the geological collection, which was too heavy to be carried any
farther. Then I had to abandon all the books which were necessary for
working out my astronomical observations, such as Norrie's _Navigation_
and _The Nautical Almanac_, and all possible articles which were not
absolutely necessary.

After I had gone to the great trouble of unpacking everything in order to
make the loads lighter, I was surprised to discover, a few minutes later,
that the men had appropriated most of the stuff and shoved it back in
their loads--in order, perhaps, to sell it when they got to Manaos.

I said nothing, as it suited me very well. I should have gladly
repurchased the things from them on the way. One man opened a tin of
powdered hyposulphite and, believing it to be powdered sugar, proceeded
to pour it down his throat. Had I the bad habit of making puns, I should
say that I just saved him in time from being "fixed" for good. As it was
he swallowed some, and became very ill indeed for some hours.

We luckily killed a big _mutum_ and two monkeys before leaving that camp,
but my men were so ill that they left them on the ground, saying they had
not the strength to carry them so that we might eat them for dinner. Well
knowing what was in store for us, I proceeded to carry the huge bird
(much larger than a big turkey) and one of the monkeys (as big as a child
three years old) upon my shoulders.

It was all I could do to struggle along under the heavy load, as I
already carried upon my person some 24 lb. in weight of gold, silver,
other moneys, and instruments, while on my shoulders hung a weight of
some 40 lb. Add to that the big bird and the monkey, and altogether the
weight was certainly not less than 90 lb. I was simply smothered under
it.

We suffered a good deal that day from lack of water and from the intense
heat. There seemed to be no air in the forest, and our breathing was
heavy. Each time a man fell down and refused to go on I had to put down
my load, go to his assistance and persuade him to get up again. It was a
most trying experience.

After going some eight hours without finding a drop of water, our throats
absolutely parched with thirst, we luckily came upon some _solveira_
trees, which, when incised, exuded most excellent milk--only, of course,
it dropped down tantalizingly slowly, while we were