THE ARIPUANAN 267 



it must have a big drainage ' basin. He thought that 

 the Duvida was probably one of its head streams — 

 although every existing map represented the lay of the 

 land to be such as to render impossible the existence of 

 such a river system and drainage basin. The rubber- 

 gatherers reported that they had gone many days' 

 journey up the river, to a point where there was a 

 series of heavy rapids with above them the junction- 

 point of two large rivers, one entering from the west. 

 Beyond this they had difficulties because of the hos- 

 tility of the Indians ; and where the junction-point was 

 no one could say. On the chance Colonel Rondon had 

 directed one of his subordinate officers, Lieutenant 

 Pyrineus, to try to meet us, with boats and provisions, 

 by ascending the Aripuanan to the point of entry of its 

 first big affluent. This was the course followed when 

 Amilcar had been directed to try to meet the explorers 

 who in 1909 came down the Gy-Parana. At that time 

 the effort was a failure, and the two parties never met ; 

 but we might have better luck, and in any event the 

 chance was worth taking. 



On the morning following our camping by the mouth 

 of the Rio Kermit, Colonel Rondon took a good deal of 

 pains in getting a big post set up at the entry of the 

 smaller river into the Duvida. Then he summoned 

 me and aU the others to attend the ceremony of its 

 erection. We found the camaradas drawn up in line, 

 and the Colonel preparing to read aloud " the orders of 

 the day." To the post was nailed a board with " Rio 

 Kermit " on it ; and the Colonel read the orders reciting 

 that by the direction of the Brazilian Government, and 

 inasmuch as the unknown river was evidently a great 

 river, he formally christened it the Rio Roosevelt. This 

 was a complete surprise to me. Both Lauro Miiller 



