MAKING CANOES 269 



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 radiance of the moon, the splendour 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 iU-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, 

 but not inflicting serious damage. Hard-working, 

 willing, and tough though the camaradas were, they 

 naturally did not have the skill of northern lumberjacks. 



We hoped to finish the two canoes in three days. A 

 space was cleared in the forest for our tents. Among 

 the taller trees grew huge-leaved pacovas, or wild 

 bananas. We bathed and swam in the river, although 

 in it we caught piranhas. Carregadores ants swarmed 



