314 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA 



had time to hurriedly gather our belongings and throw 

 them into the canoes a foam-capped, seething wall of 

 water was upon us, sweeping down the river and carrying 

 away everything in its path. As the tidal wave, several 

 feet high, dashed over the sand-bank, the imprisoned air 

 shot up from the great cracks and rents in the sun-baked 

 earth, and set the raging mass of muddy water to hissing 

 and boiling. In a few minutes only the higher mounds of 

 sand projected above the roaring inferno, and against these 

 hungry tongues of water lapped greedily until their bases 

 were undermined. Then the whole mass crumbled and 

 disappeared in the seething flood. Where our peaceful 

 camp had stood but a few minutes before there was now a 

 sea of agitated water. The explanation of this phenome- 

 non is simple: A heavy rain had fallen in the mountains 

 where the tributaries of the river rise, and the torrent of 

 water dashing down the precipitous slopes had rushed 

 into the lowlands. After this the water was so muddy 

 that it was unfit for use without special preparation. In 

 order to secure a supply for drinking and cooking we boiled 

 a quantity of it; the sand was quickly precipitated to the 

 bottom as the temperature rose, after which the clear 

 water could be poured off the top. In some instances the 

 amount of solid matter carried by the water was fully 50 

 per cent of the total volume. 



Animals were not abundant on the river-banks, although 

 we saw a deer or a small flock of curassows at infrequent in- 

 tervals. If we went into the forest a short distance, how- 

 ever, we were sure to find game in abundance. On one 

 occasion the Indians demonstrated their skill at calling up 

 monkeys. A large troop of cebus and squirrel-monkeys 

 were feeding in the tree-tops, but for some reason the men 

 did not give chase as they usually do; they concealed them- 

 selves in the thick lower growth and whistled a few plain- 

 tive kee-oows. In a short time the animals began to evince 

 a great deal of interest or curiosity, and many of them de- 

 scended to the lower branches. Then the hunters shot a 



