WATER TRAIL FROM GEORGETOWN TO AREMU. 277 



had a merry dinner, Mr. Fowler telling us many an inter- 

 esting story of his early days in the colony. 



The jungle around our camp was alive with sound all night 

 — frogs chiefly; the wing-beating fellows, the heavily loaded 

 freight engines, the bleating calves and a new kind which 

 raised its loud and continuous voice in choking roars. One's 

 imagination pictured death struggles between man-like mon- 

 keys and other creatures, the qualities of human and bestial 

 voices were so blended in this utterance. Vampires flew 

 about back and forth under our shelter but none bit us. So 

 strange and wonderful was this night in the "bush" that 

 for many hours sleep was impossible. 



Early next morning a light rain fell for an hour and through 

 it we photographed our night's camp. As the sun shone 

 dimly through the mist a chorus arose — Woodhewers, Par- 

 rots, Macaws and in the distance the ever thrilling moan of 

 the red " baboons." 



The last black pushed off with his pole about eight o'clock 

 and we settled ourselves for our last day of river travel. 

 The stream became narrower and more diversified, in places 

 being not more than twenty-five feet from bank to bank, 

 then spreading out to twice that width with strange keel- 

 like sharp rocks projecting from its surface. We elbowed 

 our way through a perfect maze of dovetailed tacubas and 

 slanting tree-trunks, which we went around or rubbed along 

 or scraped over. Sometimes we all had to crouch flat down 

 to the level of the gunwale to pass under a low trunk, or 

 again even to climb out on to the log and down into the 

 ballyhoo on the other side. Now and then a pole would 

 be wrenched from a negro's hand as the current or impetus 

 of the boat twisted it to one side, or the man himself would 

 be flicked overboard amid roars of laughter from his mates, 

 who, when he climbed dripping on board again, would inquire 

 the cause for the sudden desertion of his post. 



