1 86 IN THE GUIANA r ORE ST. 



made considerable headway, getting a good hold 

 in the mud, until now it bids fair, if not checked, 

 to close the passage altogether. You almost graze 

 it as your bateau is paddled through, and the 

 negroes cry, " Look out for pimpler (thorn), boss ! " 

 a warning by no means superfluous, as its long 

 needles might cause serious injury were they drawn 

 across the face. 



By and by the flood comes the channel is not 

 wide enough the water boils and eddies behind 

 the great root or clump, carrying off great masses 

 of clay and washing the roots clean. We can 

 almost fancy the palm standing up defiantly while 

 the flood is raging to get past. Something must 

 be done, and as the palm will not give way the 

 stream clears a passage behind and turns it into a 

 little island. Perhaps the flood is very high and 

 strong, and the palm clump stands in the midst 

 of a raging torrent, filled with floating logs and 

 uprooted bushes, which are checked by the 

 obstruction and piled one upon another until the 

 whole forms a dam, which raises the water behind 

 to the height of several inches. The stream is 

 running at the rate of six miles an hour, or even 

 more, and as it meets this check it rages behind, 

 foams at the top, runs through at accelerated speed, 

 and presses its tons of water against the barrier. 



