286 Through the Brazilian Wilderness 



the colonel read the orders reciting that by the direction 

 of the Brazilian Government, and inasmuch as the un- 

 known river was evidently a great river, he formally 

 christened it the Rio Roosevelt. This was a complete 

 surprise to me. Both Lauro Miiller and Colonel Rondon 

 had spoken to me on the subject, and I had urged, and 

 Kermit had urged, as strongly as possible, that the name 

 be kept as Rio da Duvida. We felt that the "River of 

 Doubt" was an unusually good name; and it is always 

 well to keep a name of this character. But my kind 

 friends insisted otherwise, and it would have been churl- 

 ish of me to object longer. I was much touched by their 

 action, and by the ceremony itself. At the conclusion of 

 the reading Colonel Rondon led in cheers for the United 

 States and then for me and for Kermit; and the cama- 

 radas cheered with a will. I proposed three cheers for 

 Brazil and then for Colonel Rondon, and Lyra, and the 

 doctor, and then for all the camaradas. Then Lyra said 

 that everybody had been cheered except Cherrie ; and so 

 we all gave three cheers for Cherrie, and the meeting 

 broke up in high good humor. 



Immediately afterward the walkers set off on their 

 march down-stream, looking for good canoe-trees. In 

 a quarter of an hour we followed with the canoes. As 

 often as we overtook them we halted until they had again 

 gone a good distance ahead. They soon found fresh 

 Indian sign, and actually heard the Indians ; but the latter 

 fled in panic. They came on a little Indian fishing vil- 

 lage, just abandoned. The three low, oblong huts, of 

 palm-leaves, had each an entrance for a man on all fours, 

 but no other opening. They were dark inside, doubtless 



