The River of Doubt 283 



in the upper part of the swift water and had to run the 

 first set of rapids in consequence. 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 the skin of our 

 teeth, and managed to make the bank and moor our 

 dugouts. It was a narrow escape from grave disaster. 

 The second pair of lashed dugouts profited by our experi- 

 ence, and made the run — ^with risk, but with less risk — 

 and moored beside us. Then all the loads were taken 

 out, and the empty canoes were run down through the 

 least dangerous channels among the islands. 



This was a long portage, and we camped at the foot 

 of the rapids, having made nearly seven kilometres. Here 

 a little river, a rapid stream of volume equal to the Du- 

 vida at the point where we first embarked, joined from 

 the west. Colonel Rondon and Kermit came to it first, 

 and the former named it Rio Kermit. There was in it 

 a waterfall about six or eight feet high, just above the 

 junction. Here we found plenty of fish. Lyra caught 

 two pacu, good-sized, deep-bodied fish. They were de- 

 licious eating. Antonio the Parecis said that these fish 

 never came up heavy rapids in which there were falls 

 they had to jump. We could only hope that he was 

 correct, as in that case the rapids we would encounter in 

 the future would rarely be so serious as to necessitate 

 our dragging the heavy dugouts overland. Passing the 

 rapids we had hitherto encountered had meant severe 

 labor and some danger. But the event showed that he 

 was mistaken. The worst rapids were ahead of us. 



