VOYAGE ON THE TAP A JOS. 



321 



lowed me unwillingly. We passed a part of the third day in the midst 

 of rugged and inundated forests, where I twice sank in mud to the 

 waist. 



" The hunter could kill nothing; and when, towards the evening, I 

 wished to take some food, I could only find a half-gnawed leg of monkey. 

 The Indians had not left me even a grain of farinha. Being near a 

 stream, I grated some guarana in a calabash and drank it without sugar, 

 for they had left me none. 



" Not daring to rest, for fear of being unable to rise, we immediately 

 resumed our journey. Having again walked two hours across forests of 

 vines, which caused me to stumble at every step ; or crawling under 

 large fallen trees, which constantly barred our way; or in the midst of 

 large prickly plants, which larcerated my hands, I arrived, torn and 

 bruised, at a small river, where we stopped. 



" After drinking another portion of guarana, I swung my hammock, 

 but was soon obliged to rise, because a storm had gathered above us and 

 now burst forth. 



" If there is an imposing scene to describe, it is that of a storm which 

 rages at night over an old forest of the New World. Huge trees fall 

 with a great crash ; a thousand terrific noises resound from every side ; 

 animals, (monkeys and tigers,) whom fear drives to shelter, pass and 

 repass like spectres ; frequent flashes of lightning ; deluging torrents of 

 rain — all combine to form a scene from which the old poets might have 

 drawn inspiration to depict the most brilliant night of the empire of 

 darkness. 



"Towards midnight the storm ceased; all became tranquil, and I 

 swung my hammock anew. The next day I awoke with a fever. I 

 drank guarana made more bitter than usual, and we started. The hun- 

 ter met a band of large black monkeys. He killed five of them. The 

 Indians recovered courage; for myself, I could proceed no further, so 

 great were the pains I suffered from my feet to my knees. The fever 

 weakened me so much that I carried my gun with difficulty ; but I 

 would not abandon it. I had only that to animate my guides and de- 

 fend myself with. 



"By frequently drinking guarana, the fever had left me; but towards 

 the evening of the fifth day, finding we were still wandering, and the 

 forests becoming deeper, I lost courage and could not proceed. The 

 hunter swung my hammock and gave me guarana. The two others, 

 perfectly indifferent, were some paces from me, employed in broiling a 

 monkey. I knew if I had not strength to continue the journey the next 



21 



