178 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA 



never saw our Indians again, but one afternoon two men 

 of the tribe visited our camp. They emerged silently from 

 the forest, having concealed their canoe somewhere above 

 or below, laden with baskets of plantains, sweet potatoes, 

 and bananas, and several cakes of cassava bread, also a 

 large, freshly killed curassow — enough provisions to keep 

 two men a week. I thought they wanted to stop with us 

 for the night, and showed them the fireplace. They paid 

 no heed to my implied invitation, but dropped their bur- 

 dens at our feet, reluctantly accepted a few fish-hooks 

 which were offered to them, and then departed as mys- 

 teriously as they had come. Perhaps they had been sent 

 by our erstwhile companions, who may have been con- 

 scientious enough to make some reparation for the theft of 

 the canoe. 



The rainy season advanced with such rapid strides that 

 further work was impossible. Vapor hung over the forest 

 like a pall for days at a time, and the river, rising with each 

 passing hour, was quickly inundating the lowlands. The 

 sight of the new canoe coming up the river was therefore a 

 welcome one, and it did not require many days to pack our 

 collections and outfit, stow them aboard, and steer a course 

 downward with the rapid current. It required only nine 

 days to reach San Fernando de Atabapo. 



The results of the expedition are surprising and interest- 

 ing. Duida is not the isolated "mountain island" it was 

 commonly supposed to be, but is connected with the moun- 

 tains -of the Ventuari and Parima by a series of hills, some 

 of which reach a height of over a thousand feet. Its ele- 

 vation is comparatively low, being less than that of the 

 Maravaca. To attempt its ascent from the Orinoco side 

 seems hopeless on account of the frowning precipices facing 

 the plains near Esmeraldas. The proper placing of the 

 Cunucunuma and an elaboration of the map of the region 

 are other results. 



It should be remembered that the dry season is much 

 shorter on the Upper Orinoco than on the lower river, and 



