288 DOWN AN UNKNOWN RIVER [chap, ix 



river rushed through a wild gorge, a chasm or canyon, 

 between two mountains. Its sides were very steep, 

 mere rock walls, although in most places so covered 

 with the luxuriant growth of the trees and bushes that 

 clung in the crevices, and with green moss, that the 

 naked rock was hardly seen. Rondon, Lyra, and 

 Kermit, who were in front, found a small level spot, 

 with a beach of sand, and sent back word to camp there, 

 while they spent several hours in exploring the country 

 ahead. The canoes were run down empty, and the 

 loads carried painfully along the face of the chflEs ; 

 so bad was the trail that I found it rather hard to foUow, 

 although carrying nothing but my rifle and cartridge- 

 bag. The explorers returned with the information that 

 the mountains stretched ahead of us, and that there 

 were rapids as far as they had gone. We could only 

 hope that the aneroid was not hopelessly out of kilter, 

 and that we should, therefore, fairly soon find ourselves 

 in comparatively level country. The severe toil, on a 

 rather hmited food supply, was telling on the strength 

 as well as on the spirits of the men ; Lyra and Kermit, 

 in addition to their other work, performed as much 

 actual physical labour as any of them. 



Next day, April 3, we began the descent of these 

 sinister rapids of the chasm. Colonel Rondon had gone 

 to the summit of the mountain in order to find a better 

 trail for the burden-bearers, but it was hopeless, and 

 they had to go along the face of the cliffs. Such an 

 exploring expedition as that in which we were engaged 

 of necessity involves hard and dangerous labour, and 

 perUs of many kinds. To follow down-stream an un- 

 known river, broken by innumerable cataracts and 

 rapids, rushing through mountains of which the existence 

 has never been even guessed, bears no resemblance 



