\ 



Chap. VII. A^IOLENT STORM. 275 



deck aided in keeping her off and lengthened the cable. 

 We succeeded in getting free, and the stout-built boat 

 fell off into the strong current further away from the 

 shore, Joaquim swinging himself dexterously aboard by 

 the bowsprit as it passed the point. It was fortunate 

 for us that we happened to be on a sloping clayey bank, 

 where there was no fear of falling trees ; a few yards 

 further on, where the shore was perpendicular and formed 

 of crumbly earth, large portions of loose soil, with all 

 their superincumbent mass of forest, were being washed 

 away ; the uproar thus occasioned adding to the horrors 

 of the stonn. 



The violence of the wind abated in the course of an 

 hoar, but the deluge of rain continued until about three 

 o'clock in the morning ; the sky being lighted up by 

 almost incessant flashes of pallid lightning, and the 

 thunder pealing from side to side without interruption. 

 Our clothing, hammocks, and goods were thoroughly 

 soaked by the streams of water which trickled through 

 between the planks. In the morning all was quiet ; 

 but an opaque, leaden mass of clouds overspread the sky, 

 throwing a gloom over the wild landscape that had a 

 most dispiriting effect. These squalls from the west 

 are always expected about the time of the breaking up 

 of the dry season in these central parts of the Lower 

 Amazons. They generally take place about the begin- 

 ning of February, so that this year they had commenced 

 much earlier than usual. The soil and climate are 

 much drier in this part of the country than in the region 

 lying further to the west, where the denser forests and 

 more clayey, humid soil produce a considerably cooler 



t2 



