Down an Unknown River 325 



a newly built house in a little planted clearing; and we 

 cheered heartily. No one was at home, but the house, 

 of palm thatch, was clean and cool. A couple of dogs 

 were on watch, and the belongings showed that a man, a 

 woman, and a child lived there, and had only just left. 

 Another hour brought us to a similar house where dwelt 

 an old black man, who showed the innate courtesy of the 

 Brazilian peasant. We came on these rubber-men and 

 their houses in about latitude 10° 24'. 



In mid-afternoon we stopped at another clean, cool, 

 picturesque house of palm thatch. The inhabitants all 

 fled at our approach, fearing an Indian raid; for they 

 were absolutely unprepared to have any one come from 

 the unknown regions up-stream. They returned and 

 were most hospitable and communicative ; and we spent 

 the night there. Said Antonio Correa to Kermit: "It 

 seems like a dream to be in a house again, and hear the 

 voices of men and women, instead of being among those 

 mountains and rapids." The river was known to them 

 as the Castanho, and was the main affluent or rather the 

 left or western branch, of the Aripuanan ; the Castanho 

 is a name used by the rubber-gatherers only; it is un- 

 known to the geographers. We were, according to our 

 informants, about fifteen days' journey from the conflu- 

 ence of the two rivers ; but there were many rubber-men 

 along the banks, some of whom had become permanent 

 settlers. We had come over three hundred kilometres, 

 in forty-eight days, over absolutely unknown ground ; we 

 had seen no human being, although we had twice heard 

 Indians. Six weeks had been spent in steadily slogging 

 our way down through the interminable series of rapids. 



