58 Travels and Adventures 



hands with them. Some of the fishing villages present 

 quite a lively scene, and possess quite a fleet of canoes, 

 which are very peculiar in appearance, each one being 

 hollowed out of a single tree, of from twenty to twenty- 

 five feet in length, two and a-half feet in depth, and 

 from three to five feet in breadth. It is no unusual 

 thing to see whole families floating dreamily down the 

 river in one of these unpretentious craft, taking with 

 them a load of fish, poultry, and fruit for sale at the 

 mouth of the river ; and as they probably occupy from 

 a fortnight to three weeks, according to the state of 

 the river, they must of course take on board both toilet 

 and culinary requisites. Though each boat is provided 

 with short, spoon-like oars, they are only used in 

 crossing the river. The ascent is made by means of 

 long, stout sticks about twenty feet in length. The 

 boatman places his stick firmly on the root of a tree or 

 in the sand of a bank, and then walks sharply back to 

 the stern of the boat half-a-dozen paces, and is followed 

 in turn by his neighbour. Sometimes as many as six 

 men are required, on account of the strong currents, 

 and they continue this arduous labour for a week 

 together, creeping slowly up the side of the river, day 

 after day, under a burning sun. 



The traveller on the Ma^dalena River will not 

 fail to notice many curiosities of the animal as well 

 as the vegetable world. Hordes of enormous alii- 



