Down the^Cotinga to the Junction. 
233 
not to disturb the equilibrium at all by any imprudent jolt. With 
frantic swiftness we sped on to the sloping surfface : the savage roar came 
closer: one's blood warmed by the mental strain, and heart about to 
burst, a movement quick as thought, then an up and down oscillation 
of the frail vessel, a joyous shout from the paddlers — and we wwn safely 
past the dangerous rapids. Tlie falls of the Essequil)o \\'()uld liave to be 
engineered in this same manner: the very thoughts of it already nuide 
our pulses beat. We were less fortunate in running the second series 
of cataracts. One of the misehievous rocks escaped tlie l)(>wman"s notice: 
tlie ])oat grazed it, and a strong jolt that threw him into the raging 
current, from which he only rescued himself by his (■omi»letc mastery of 
swimming, made us for the moment fear for the safety of bofli <'i-ew ;ind. 
boat: fortunately the corial bad struck the rock but lightly, and the 
captain's presence of mind saved it. The same fate awaited my boat on 
the following morning when I lost the whole of my menagerie, except 
a parrot, because, before we could fish the cages, that had lieen immersed 
by the violence of the shock, from out of the stream, the occupants had 
got drowned. It was and still remained incompreliensiblp to us that 
the vessel was not smashed into thousands of splinters or overturned, 
because she staggered here and there for quite a minute. 
523. By evening of the 18th we had reached our torture chamber at 
the junction of the Cotinga and Zuruma, where we found the kaiman's 
skeleton most excellently prepared, though there was unfortuliately 
wanting a piece from the backbone that prolialdy a jaguar had 
swallowed. 
524. We travelled down the river next m<»rniug with the speed of 
an arrow, greeted the formidable granitic massif of Maikaug Yepatori and 
Arawanna just as we were saluted by the waving fiag on tne former that 
was fluttering gaily in the evening breeze, passed without further mishap 
the remaining series of cataracts, and at the moutii of the Mawitzi 
halloa'ed to Mr. Goodall, who had already got there the evening before. 
A fox, the Warere of the Macusi, that an Indian of Goodall's party had 
wounded and caught, caused us much amusement. They had tied it to a 
cord, and if anyone ap])roached, it went into a downright rage. Several 
bees' nests that were found on the Curatella trees of the savannah' 
su])plied something very choice for the evening. 
525. On the morning of 20th Decendier. we paid off the Indians who 
had accom])ani(^d j\lr. Goodall here, and after finding room in the corial 
for the astronomical instruments, resumed our journey, when, owing to 
the captain's carelessness, we almost met with sudden death at the 
Aratiai'i Ifapids, the last tliat we Imd to shoot. 
520. About 2 o'clock we reached W'arami Milage, but saw nothing 
more of our young tapir whieh, accoi-ding to the statements of the 
Indians, must have died: this seemed far less probable than that they 
had been unable to withstand the craving for sueh tasty flesh. Our 
absconders had also spent the night here, and had likewise taken the 
corial with the promise to send it back as quickly as possible, a promise 
of which the owner did not entertain the slightest doubt. 
