242 THE MARUN-KUNKA. Chap. XV. 



inceuse-coUectors from Bolivia, who wander through these 

 wilds. Towards sunset it began to pour with rain, and con- 

 tinued through the night. 



From this point to the Tambopata valley the road was 

 unknown to my Indians, and had not been traversed since 

 the time of the bark-trade, which came to an end fifteen 

 years ago. It was supposed that any path which might once 

 have existed would be entirely choked up by the forest, and 

 I therefore started early in the morning, with Andres Yilca, 

 to reconnoitre. The backbone of the ridge along which we 

 travelled was not level, but up and down like a saw, and 

 very rough work. After walking for a league the ridge 

 ended where a transverse range of hills, at a lower elevation, 

 connects the mountains on the further sides of the rivers 

 of San Lorenzo and Laccani, and, closing up the ravines, 

 contains their sources. This range, at right angles with the 

 one over which we had journeyed, is called the Marun-kunJca, 

 and is covered with dense forests. It was necessary to force 

 our way through this formidable obstruction, and we plunged 

 into it at once. Our progress was vigorously opposed by 

 closely matted fallen bamboos for the first few hundred 

 yards, and afterwards we followed the com-se of a torrent, 

 deeply cut in the rock, and forming a passage four to six 

 feet deep, and about three feet across, with masses of ferns 

 and the roots of enormous forest-trees interlacing across 

 overhead, and two feet of exceedingly tenacious yellow mud 

 underfoot. In many places it was almost dark at midday, 

 while in others the rays of the sun succeeded in forcing their 

 way through the ferns, and throwing a pale light across the 

 otherwise gloomy passage. It was a weird unearthly scene. 

 After several hours of very labopious travelling we at length 

 forced our way across the Marun-kunka, and came out upon 

 another pajonal, on the eastern side, whence there was a 

 grand view of the forest scenery towards Tambopata, and 



