stream, especially as Filippe and
Benedicto could not swim.

The next day, September 19th, we proceeded to ford the stream, having
scarcely the strength to keep erect, especially in the middle of the
river with the water up to our necks. We were carrying our loads on our
heads, so that they should not get wetter than possible. My negatives
were fortunately in air-tight cases, or else they certainly would have
been destroyed altogether on that disastrous march across the forest.

We got safely to the other side. The bank was very high. A broken-down
canoe had been left on the shore. We worked many hours trying to mend her
so that we could proceed down the river. But we wasted the entire day,
working feverishly for six or seven hours, trying to stop up great holes
as big as my fist, one sleeve of my coat being used for the purpose, and
replacing a plank at her stern which was missing.

When we at length summoned our last atom of strength to launch her, she
immediately filled with water and went to the bottom like a piece of
lead. That was the end of the canoe. We had not the strength to float her
again.

Building a raft was impossible, as no wood was found that floated. In
reconnoitring round the hut, to our great joy we discovered some _caju_
and some _guyaba_ trees; also some more roots of _mandioca_ now become
wild.

That was our sixteenth day of fasting, and it can well be imagined how
quickly we devoured what little unripe fruit was hanging from the trees.
Once more we tried the experiment of cooking the _mandioca_ roots. We had
now only five matches left. It was curious to note with what care we
prepared dried wood and leaves so that no chance would be lost in getting
a flame. Fortunately the first match struck did its work well, and we
soon had a big fire inside the hut, on which we roasted the _mandioca_.

As I have explained elsewhere, the fruit of the _caju_ has an outward
nut which has highly caustic properties, and is deadly poisonous to eat
uncooked but quite edible when roasted. After eating all the fruit we
kept those nuts and put them on the fire; in the evening we sat down to
what seemed to us a luxuriant meal.

We had not patience to wait for the _caju_ nuts to be properly roasted.
When I ate them my nose, lips, tongue and fingers became badly burned by
their caustic juice. No sooner had we eaten that meal than we all became
violently ill. I dropped down unconscious, rejecting everything and
qua