280 THROUGH THE BRAZILIAN WILDERNESS 



over a sharply inclined sheet of rock. It was a lovely- 

 sight and we halted to admire it. Then on we went, until, 

 when we had covered about eight kilometres, we came on 

 a stretch of rapids. The canoes ran them with about a 

 third of the loads, the other loads being carried on the 

 men's shoulders. At the foot of the rapids we camped, 

 as there were several good canoe-trees near, and we had 

 decided to build two rather small canoes. After dark the 

 stars came out; but in the deep forest the glory of the stars 

 in the night of the sky, the serene radiance of the moon, 

 the splendor of sunrise and sunset, are never seen as they 

 are seen on the vast open plains. 



The following day, the 19th, the men began work on 

 the canoes. The ill-fated big canoe had been made of 

 wood so hard that it was difficult to work, and so heavy 

 that the chips sank like lead in the water. But these 

 trees were araputangas, with wood which was easier to 

 work and which floated. Great buttresses, or flanges, 

 jutted out from their trunks at the base, and they bore 

 big hard nuts or fruits which stood erect at the ends of the 

 branches. The first tree felled proved rotten, and more- 

 over it was chopped so that it smashed a number of 

 lesser trees into the kitchen, overthrowing everything, but 

 not inflicting serious damage. Hard-working, willing, and 

 tough though the camaradas were, they naturally did not 

 have the skill of northern lumberjacks. 



We hoped to finish the two canoes in three days. A 

 space was cleared in the forest for our tents. Among the 

 taller trees grew huge-leafed pacovas, or wild bananas. We 

 bathed and swam in the river, although in it we caught 

 piranhas. Carregadores ants swarmed all around our 



