258 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA 



from beyond the veil that obstructed our further view came 

 the ominous roar of a great cataract, growing in intensity 

 as we drew near. The landing was about a hundred yards 

 above the brink of the first fall) but the current proved to 

 be too strong for the launch's little engine, and we were in 

 danger of being swept past; the moments that followed 

 were exciting, but fortunately we managed to reach the 

 bank. This same thing had occurred but a short time 

 before, but the result had been disastrous; the boat was 

 swept over the faUs, and, of the thirty-one men aboard, 

 twenty-seven were never seen again. The portage aroimd 

 these rapids, called Sao Vicente, was about a mile and a 

 half in length and led over gently undulating country, 

 all heavily forested. In many places the bed-rock had been 

 imcovered by the torrential rains. This consisted of fine- 

 grained, dark granite; usually there was a shallow layer 

 of sand on the rock, with a thick covering of rich black 

 mould. From the top of a high knoU we had a fairly good 

 view of the falls and of the rapids below; after leaping over 

 a twenty-foot ledge the river rushes through a narrow rock- 

 filled gorge; enormous boulders tower out of the channel 

 like so many black, unvanquished monarchs. Tongues of 

 spray leap to a height of forty feet, and clouds of vapor 

 rise in a constant stream. With the exception of the Salto 

 Bello of the Rio Sacre and \Jtiarity Falls of the Papagaio, 

 we had seen nothing to compare with Sao Vicente during 

 our entire journey across Brazil. 



That night we reached the first settlement, a small vil- 

 lage named Doze de Novembro. We arrived tired and 

 wet, for it had rained the greater part of the afternoon, 

 but we congratulated ourselves upon having performed a 

 remarkable day's work. 



The place was overrun with ants, not the comparatively 

 harmless carregador ants, which are content to carry away 

 your clothing piecemeal while you sleep, but with endless 

 armies of the fierce black carnivorous species that prey 

 upon every living being. These ants are one of the scourges 



