French Scientific Mission to the Pampa del Sacramento. 127 
ingly, and placing myself at their head, asked each to state his 
opinion, in the order of their ages, beginning with the youngest. All 
were agreed as to the gravity of our circumstances. I then proposed 
the following questions: 1st, Is there any possibility of continuing 
the expedition, without sacrificing the baggage ? 2d, Can it be pro- 
secuted at the expense of separation from the baggage ? 
The answer to the former of these questions was given with one 
voice in the negative, and as for the latter, two voices only declared 
the impossibility of prosecuting the expedition under any circum- 
stances ; one being that of M. D’Osery, who, aware that I had fully 
resolved to send back the baggage to Lima under his safeguard, could 
not think of encouraging his companions to subject themselves to risks 
which he knew he would not have to share with them. I refrain 
from saying who the other was, and who exclaimed that it would be 
running into certain death, and would fain have had us recall the 
resolution we had taken, alleging that the junior officers had misap- 
prehended the question ; and, finally, declaring that it meant that a 
part of the expedition might continue, but that nothing bore that it 
ought to be continued. 
I immediately broke up the council, and it was resolved, that leav- 
ing all our instruments, and almost all our baggage under charge of 
M. D’Osery and a Peruvian officer, we should forthwith proceed with 
our voyage in the canoes. It was agreed that our comrade should 
rejoin us by the land route, on the Amazon. Our separation in such 
circumstances caused one of the saddest moments of my life, and I 
stept into the canoe, hardly able to suppress my tears. 
No sooner had we set off than we enterd a succession of danger- 
ous rapids in which three of our canoes were upset; the men con- 
trived to escape with their lives, but a bag of rice,—our main supply 
of food,—was lost, and we found ourselves reduced to forty pounds 
of chocolate for the support of so many people in unknown wilds. 
Almost all our powder, too, had been swept away by the water. In 
the evening we arrived at the mouth of the river Sirialo; here we 
had for supper only some green bananas and a little wet and mouldy 
biscuit. An extraordinary rise of the river took place that night. 
The water rushed upon us instantaneously, and a furious storm fol- 
lowing next morning, drenched us thoroughly. This storm lasted 
till noon of the 19th, and the rest of the day was spent in drying our 
clothes and other articles. The bank of the river presented a very 
odd sight for the time. Here were spread out coats and uniforms ; 
there lay priest’s ornaments and sacramental cups. We did our ut- 
most to dry the chocolate, hut already it had become sour. But this 
day I met with a much worse loss,—that, namely, of my chrono- 
meter, into which the water had found its way and stopped its move- 
ments. 
Among our Indians there was one that had particularly distin- 
guished himself by his activity and willingness to be of use. This 
