French Scientific Mission to the Pampa del Sacramento. 129 
rapids followed each other in such close succession as to admit of no 
intervals long enough for the drying of our clothes in the sun. 
Another boat was swamped on the 22d. Some time after, a large 
Howling monkey was killed; but, hungry as I was, I could not prevail 
on myself to eat of an animal so much resembling a child. Already 
we were without shoes, and when proceeding by land, the pebbles 
and rocks, heated intensely by the sun, scorched our feet, and caused 
acute suffering ; in addition to which, we were frightfully cut by the 
sharp stones over which we had to walk. In the evening we halted 
at an Indian hut: there was nobody in it, but we found a few green 
bananas. I had suspended my hammock from the posts which sup- 
ported the frail edifice; in the course of the night down came the 
whole with a crash, and I barely escaped being crushed by the roof, 
from which I found it no easy matter to disengage myself. Here 
we remained all next day for the purpose of drying our powder and 
other articles that had escaped our successive disasters. Having 
killed a hocco and some red aras, this secured us a dinner. ‘The 
latter we found very common here, and the bright plumage of these 
magnificent birds forms a charming contrast with the deep green of 
the palm trees on which they perch in large flocks. 
On the 24th my canoe was swamped in a rapid, and with it 
perished a large part of my effects. Such accidents were now mat- 
ters of daily occurrence, and are mentioned merely to give an idea of 
the miseries we had to encounter. 
Next day, having nothing left but chocolate, we tried to swallow 
a little, but found it as sour as vinegar. We then, with great diffi- 
culty, passed the Fall of Montalo. Here the whole formation is 
schistous, but among the boulders on the banks of the river we found 
much of the debris of granite and red sandstone. We were com- 
pelled to go more than half a league by land, over rocks shelving so 
rapidly that we had often to support ourselves by holding by the 
branches. During the whole afternoon we were exposed to a violent 
storm. 
Our supper consisted of a coati, an animal that lives in the woods, 
and much resembles in appearance a large rat, and of roots gathered 
from among the rocks. At nightfall some Indian women brought 
us bananas. 
The 26th was a sad day to our party. The canoe that conveyed 
Father Bousquet was carried over a fall, and the poor missionary was 
drowned; a prayer to God being the last words he was heard to 
utter. The old man had adopted a child, who accompanied him ; 
and it is impossible to describe the despair of poor Franchito on see- 
ing his benefactor perish. He implored us to allow him to search 
for his dead body, a favour which the pressure of hunger compelled 
us, alas! to refuse. Such was the death of a man who had spent 
fifty years in the wilds of America, On the same occasion we sus 
VOL. XLVIII. NO. xCV.— JAN. 1850. I 
