MORE DIFFICULTIES 249 



of this I was glad, because portaging is hard work, and 

 the men appreciated the meat. So far Cherrie had 

 collected sixty birds on the Duvida, all of them new to 

 the collection, and some probably new to science. We 

 saw the fresh sign of paca, agouti, and the small peccary, 

 and Kermit with the dogs roused a tapir, which crossed 

 the river right through the rapids, but no one got a 

 shot at it. 



Except at one, or perhaps two, points a very big 

 dugout, lightly loaded, could probably run all these 

 rapids. But even in such a canoe it would be silly to 

 make the attempt on an exploring expedition, where 

 the loss of a canoe or of its contents means disaster ; 

 and, moreover, such a canoe could not be taken, for it 

 would be impossible to drag it over the portages on the 

 occasions when the portages became inevitable. Our 

 canoes would not have lived half a minute in the wild 

 water. 



On the second day the canoes and loads were brought 

 down to the foot of the first rapids. Lyra cleared the 

 path and laid the logs for rollers, while Kermit dragged 

 the dugouts up the bank from the water with block 

 and tackle, with strain of rope and muscle. Then they 

 joined forces, as over the uneven ground it needed the 

 united strength of all their men to get the heavy dug- 

 outs along. Meanwhile the Colonel with one attendant 

 measured the distance, and then went on a long hunt, 

 but saw no game. I strolled down beside the river for 

 a couple of miles, but also saw nothing. In the dense 

 tropical forest of the Amazonian basin hunting is very 

 difficult, especially for men who are trying to pass 

 through the country as rapidly as possible. On such a 

 trip as ours, getting game is largely a matter of chance. 



On the following day Lyra and Kermit brought down 



