e passed also being of great height and forming picturesque
scenes, especially against the gorgeous tints of the sky at sunset.

I was interested in observing the wonderful regularity of the sky-line
along the forest. It looked as if the trees had been trimmed artificially
in a perfectly straight line. The fleet which Col. Brazil was taking down
the river consisted of eight large boats. I was much impressed by the
force of mind of Col. Brazil, together with his great charm and
thoughtfulness when not at work. His men were in mortal fear of him, and
trembled all over when he spoke to them.

No serious obstacle to navigation was encountered as we proceeded on our
journey, although rocks were plentiful, great red domes and boulders
galore showing through the water and along the coast-line. Whitish
vertical cliffs were noticeable along the higher hills. The most
impressive things I saw in that part of the river were the extensive
beaches of beautiful reddish sand extending for hundreds and hundreds of
metres at a time. Those beaches were often 10 to 20 ft. high.

The river was most interesting, especially near the beach of Curassa,
with Crato in the distance; then the great meadow of "Mission Nova"
extending in a north-westerly direction on the left bank, along the
tributary of the same name. In the same direction extended also the rocky
barrier at the beginning of the Mangabel rapid. The rapid was formed by
a rocky barrier extending from north-west to south-east. We had hilly
and undulating country all the way along, and the river wound about a
great deal.

Col. Brazil was steering the first boat of the fleet carefully as we went
through the tortuous channel, the entire fleet following us in good
order. Picturesque islands of truly tropical appearance were to be seen,
covered with tall burity palms, 30 to 40 ft. high, with narrow channels
between.

The heavy clouds which had collected to the north suggested an
approaching storm, but, as luck would have it, the sky cleared at sunset.
As we wound our way among the many rocks reflected in the now still
waters of that vast river, the scene was really beautiful.

The channel through which Col. Brazil navigated his boat was only 10 m.
wide, with dangerous submerged rocks. Mangabel, taken as a whole, was an
immense basin, 1,000 to 1,500 m. broad from west to east, interspersed
with elongated, rounded and flattened rocks. It was indeed a most
picturesque sight, especially wh