1 IN HUMBOLDT'S COUNTRY 421 
The current is rarely strong, and we had only once to use ropes 
(save on raudales) a little way within the mouth. The bed was 
mostly so shallow that we could get along with poles. 
Jan. 4, 1854. — This morning early we left 
Tussari's pueblo. He accompanied me to the 
piragoa, where I paid him for his goods. About 
noon I started on our downward voyage and pro- 
ceeded safely till the first raudal. The curiara was 
sent ahead and the men reported the waters to 
be much fallen, and nowhere depth of water for 
the piragoa to float ; still, it was thought that by 
keeping a firm hand on the helm, she might shoot 
the fall in safety though she scraped the rocks. 
We ventured, and reached the edge of the fall, 
where the impetuous current bore us irresistibly 
along. A scrape and a bump and we were down 
the fall, but unfortunately we leaped off one rock 
only to light on another. The vessel swung round 
and fell over first to one side and then the other 
amongst the roaring breakers which prevented us 
hearing one another's voices. We thought she 
would inevitably be swamped, but at length she 
righted with her prow to the falls, and there stuck. 
I took the helm and the men all leaped into the 
water and applied their shoulders to the prow, but 
could not push her off the rock — a smallish round- 
backed one which had caught her amidships while 
the prow and stern swung free. We had then 
to disembark the cargo by little and little in the 
curiara, and convey it with great risk to a flat 
rock on the right margin below the fall. After 
two hours of labour we succeeded in getting the 
piragoa off the rock, and fortunately her bottom 
had received no damage. By the time we got 
