SLOW PROGRESS THROrGH THE FOREST 255 



which commanded so fine a view of Arawa. There is a 

 small rapid just below it, which we shot without difficulty. 

 Although I did not expect to come up with the party in 

 the forest so early, I told Maite to blow the horn. To 

 our surprise we were answered by a faint halloo from 

 the shore a little ahead of us. Was it possible that the 

 men had only travelled that distance, or had something 

 happened to one of them, and had he been left behind for 

 us to pick up ? Maite blew another blast, and again we 

 were answered, this time by several shouts from different 

 parts, showing that the men were not together, but were 

 straggling loosely through the forest. We paddled on 

 until we got well in front of the foremost of the 

 stragglers, then we made for an open mass of rock, where 

 we landed. Maite blew the horn several times to let the 

 men know we had stopped and were waiting for them. 

 ' The Pirate ' was the first to arrive ; the others dropped 

 in singly or by twos. They described the march through 

 the forest as having been most trying. Steep hills and 

 deep gullies clothed with thorny shrubs and a tangled 

 growth of creepers was the sort of country they had 

 traversed. They were fagged out and disheartened. 



May 1. — Many of the men complained of being so 

 footsore this morning as to be unable to walk any distance. 

 They said that we would never reach Para at the rate we 

 were going, and I could not but agree with them. They 

 then held a consultation and decided to build a raft. 

 Although I felt certain that no construction of the kind 

 would have the barest chance of getting through the 

 rapids and over the falls ahead of us, I did not like to 

 offer any adverse opinion on a matter upon which they 

 appeared to have made up their minds. From where we 

 were we could see on the opposite bank some Yagrumo 



