THE CARUPANAN RAPIDS 315 



tion with others. It is small wonder that they some- 

 times have difficulties with the tribes of utterly wild 

 Indians with whom they are brought in contact, although 

 there is a strong Indian strain in their own blood. 



The following morning, after the empty canoes had 

 been run down, we started, and made a rather short 

 afternoon's journey. We had to take the baggage by 

 one rapid. We camped in an empty house, in the rain. 

 Next day we ran nearly fifty kilometres, the river making 

 a long sweep to the west. We met half a dozen batelaos 

 making their way up-stream, each with a crew of six or 

 eight men, and two of them with women and children 

 in addition. The crew were using very long poles, with 

 crooks, or rather the stubs of cut branches which served 

 as crooks, at the upper end. With these they hooked 

 into the branches and dragged themselves up along the 

 bank, in addition to poling where the depth permitted 

 it. The river was as big as the Paraguay at Corumba ; 

 but, in striking contrast to the Paraguay, there were few 

 water-birds. We ran some rather stiff rapids, the 

 Infernino, without unloading, in the morning. In the 

 evening we landed for the night at a large, open, shed- 

 like house, where there were two or three pigs, the first 

 live stock we had seen other than poultry and ducks. 

 It was a dirty place, but we got some eggs. 



The following day, the 24th, we ran down some fifty 

 kilometres to the Carupanan rapids, which by observa- 

 tion Lyra found to be in latitude 7° 47'. We met 

 several batelaos, and the houses on the bank showed 

 that the settlers were somewhat better off than was the 

 case farther up. At the rapids was a big store, the 

 property of Senhor Caripe, the wealthiest rubber-man 

 who works on this river ; many of the men we met were 

 in his employ. He has himself risen from the ranks. 



