314 THROUGH THE BRAZILIAN WILDERNESS 



minutes we ran down the swift, twisting river, the two 

 lashed canoes almost coming to grief at one spot where a 

 swirl of the current threw them against some trees on a 

 small submerged island. Then we came to another set of 

 rapids, carried the baggage down past them, and made 

 camp long after dark in the rain — a good exercise in pa- 

 tience for those of us who were still suffering somewhat 

 from fever. No one was in really buoyant health. For 

 some weeks we had been sharing part of the contents of 

 our boxes with the camaradas; but our food was not very 

 satisfying to them. They needed quantity, and the main- 

 stay of each of their meals was a mass of palmitas; but on 

 this day they had no time to cut down palms. We finally 

 decided to run these rapids with the empty canoes, and they 

 came down in safety. On such a trip it is highly undesirable 

 to take any save necessary risks, for the consequences of 

 disaster are too serious; and yet if no risks are taken the 

 progress is so slow that disaster comes anyhow; and it is 

 necessary perpetually to vary the terms of the perpetual 

 working compromise between rashness and overcaution. 

 This night we had a very good fish to eat, a big silvery 

 fellow called a pescada, of a kind we had not caught 

 before. 



One day Trigueiro failed to embark with the rest of us, 

 and we had to camp where we were next day to find him. 

 Easter Sunday we spent in the fashion with which we were 

 altogether too familiar. We only ran in a clear course for 

 ten minutes all told, and spent eight hours in portaging 

 the loads past rapids down which the canoes were run; 

 the balsa was almost swamped. This day we caught 

 twenty-eight big fish, mostly piranhas, and everybody had 



