314 



THE GAPO. 



region in his canoe, passing through small streams, lakes, and 

 swamps, scraping the tree trunks, and stooping to pass be- 

 tween the leaves of the prickly palms, now level with the 

 water — though raised on stems forty feet high — while every- 

 where round him stretches out an illimitable waste of waters, 

 but all covered with the lofty virgin forest. Tn this trackless 



inimw is pi \ hit \ nts of Tin: GAPO 



maze, by slight indications of broken twigs or scraped bark, 

 he finds his way with unerring certainty. 



" This curious region," says Wallace, ''extends from a little 

 above Santarem to the confines of Peru, a distance of about 

 1700 miles ; and varies in width on each side of the river 

 from one to ten or twenty miles." 



