The River of Doubt 287 



as a protection against the swarms of biting flies. On 

 a pole in this village an axe, a knife, and some strings of 

 red beads were left, with the hope that the Indians would 

 return, find the gifts, and realize that we were friendly. 

 We saw further Indian sign on both sides of the river. 



After about two hours and a half we came on a little 

 river entering from the east. It was broad but shallow, 

 and at the point of entrance rushed down, green and 

 white, 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 radi- 

 ance 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 

 moreover it was chopped so that it smashed a number 

 of lesser trees into the kitchen, overthrowing everything, 



