THE RIVER OF DOUBT 275 



But to the camaradas, most of whom went barefoot or 

 only wore sandals — and they never did or would wear shoes 

 — the effect was more serious. They wrapped their legs 

 and feet in pieces of canvas or hide; and the feet of three of 

 them became so swollen that they were crippled and could 

 not walk any distance. The doctor, whose courage and 

 cheerfulness never flagged, took excellent care of them. 

 Thanks to him, there had been among them hitherto but 

 one or two slight cases of fever. He administered to each 

 man daily a half-gram — nearly eight grains — of quinine, 

 and every third or fourth day a double dose. 



The following morning Colonel Rondon, Lyra, Kermit, 

 Cherrie, and nine of the camaradas started in single file 

 down the bank, while the doctor and I went in the two 

 double canoes, with six camaradas, three of them the in- 

 valids with swollen feet. We halted continually, as we 

 went about three times as fast as the walkers; and we 

 traced the course of the river. After forty minutes' ac- 

 tual going in the boats we came to some rapids; the un- 

 loaded canoes ran them without difficulty, while the loads 

 were portaged. In an hour and a half we were again under 

 way, but in ten minutes came to other rapids, where the 

 river ran among islands, and there were several big curls. 

 The clumsy, heavily laden dugouts, lashed in couples, were 

 unwieldy and hard to handle. The rapids came just round 

 a sharp bend, and we got caught in the upper part of the 

 swift water and had to run the first set of rapids in conse- 

 quence. We in the leading pair of dugouts were within an 

 ace of coming to grief on some big bowlders against which 

 we were swept by a cross current at the turn. All of us 

 paddling hard — scraping and bumping — we got through by 



