The River of Doubt 277 



could do was to reach the branch. He reached, and 

 clutched it, and then almost lacked strength to haul him- 

 self out on the land. Good Trigueiro had faithfully 

 swum alongside him through the rapids, and now himself 

 scrambled ashore. It was a very narrow escape. Ker- 

 mit was a great comfort and help to me on the trip; but 

 the fear of some fatal accident befalling him was always 

 a nightmare to me. He was to be married as soon as the 

 trip was over ; and it did not seem to me that I could bear 

 to bring bad tidings to his betrothed and to his mother. 

 Simplicio was tmmarried. Later we sent to his mother 

 all the money that would have been his had he lived. 

 The following morning we put on one side of the post 

 erected to mark our camping-spot the following inscrip- 

 tion, in Portuguese: 



"In These Rapids Died Poor Simplicio." 



On an expedition such as ours death is one of the acci- 

 dents that may at any time occur, and narrow escapes 

 from death are too common to be felt as they would be 

 felt elsewhere. One mourns sincerely, but mourning can- 

 not interfere with labor. We immediately proceeded 

 with the work of the portage. From the head to the tail 

 of this series of rapids the distance was about six hundred 

 yards. A path was cut along the bank, over which the 

 loads were brought. The empty canoes ran the rapids 

 without mishap, each with two skilled paddlers. One 

 of the canoes almost ran intb a swimming tapir at the 

 head of the rapids; it went down the rapids, and then 

 climbed out of the river. Kermit accompanied by Joao, 

 went three or four miles down the river, looking for the 



