78 PYGMIES AND PAPUANS 



to take the place of the hideous mud of the lower river, 

 and after spending, as frequently happened, many 

 weeks at Wakatimi, where the smallest pebble would 

 have been an object of wonder, it was a peculiar pleasure 

 to feel the grit of stones under your feet again. At 

 the same time the cocoa-brown water became clear 

 and sparkling and one drank it for the very pleasure 

 of drinking. Going further we came to rapids, where 

 the river ran over stones, or piled-up barriers of faUen 

 trees. Passages were cut through many of these 

 obstacles, but every succeeding flood brought down 

 more trees and new barriers were formed. 



When the river was low, the last four miles to 

 Parimau were covered by wading and hauling the canoes 

 over or under the great logs. Every man had to get 

 out of the canoe and do his share of the work, and 

 sometimes we had to take the cargo out as well, when 

 the canoe had to be dragged over a particularly high 

 obstacle. When the river was in flood, the last day's 

 journey was the most arduous of all, and it sometimes 

 took twelve or fourteen hours' hard labour to accom- 

 plish it. The water was then too deep for pohng, and 

 the current was so swift that vigorous paddling hardly 

 did more than prevent the canoe from following the 

 stream, and it was only by dodging from one side of 

 the river to the other and by hauling on overhanging 

 branches that progress was made. 



Considering the want of skill of the coolies and 

 the great number of journeys that were made up and 

 down the river, it was wonderful that no accidents of 

 any consequence occurred. It is true that a good 



