144 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA 



immediately sent to Soledad for one of his debtors, and 

 within a short time we had secured the contract for the 

 transportation needed. 



v On December 16 word reached us that the boat was 

 ready. We had spent the intervening days adding to the 

 stock of provisions brought from New York, and it might 

 be added that the shops of Ciudad Bolivar were well filled 

 with a splendid assortment of foodstuffs at reasonable 

 prices. 



The Hilo de Oro (Thread of Gold), for that was the name 

 of the sloop impatiently bobbing near the bank, was a boat 

 capable of carrying one hundred and fifty guintales, under 

 the command of one Pedro Solano; her crew consisted of 

 four men, and the captain's wife, whose position was that 

 of cook. To properly load the equipment and provisions 

 required half a day, and with the springing up of the eve- 

 ning wind we hoisted sail and, skirting the towering rocks 

 protruding from the centre of the river, glided easily to 

 the other side. As all the men came from Soledad, there 

 followed a night of the usual festivities of drinking and leave- 

 taking; but with the rising sun, the wind still holding out, 

 we started on the real voyage up the great river. 



Fortunately, the wind was favorable and continued to 

 blow intermittently all day long; by ten o'clock at night 

 we had covered about thirty miles and cast anchor at a 

 point called Boca la Brea. The width of the river averaged 

 .about one mile and a half, and the entire bed is strewn with 

 huge boulders, rendering navigation at night impossible. 



Next day, a favorable wind did not reach us until late 

 in the morning, and we had our first glimpse of wild life. 

 The crew, a piratical-appearing band with unshaven faces, 

 wearing short breeches only, and red and blue handker- 

 chiefs around their heads, landed a number of large striped 

 catfish; but their tackle was too light and others of greater 

 weight broke the lines and escaped. Numbers of caimans, 

 of crocodiles, floated lazily down-stream with only the eyes 

 and saw-like tails showing above the water; and a school 



