ACROSS UNKNOWN SOUTH AMERICA 
little tributary (on the right side) came next, 7,000 metres 
farther down stream. The vegetation was there so dense 
and so entangled that we could find nowhere a suitable 
spot on which to land for our midday halt. About noon, 
however, chapada and open country again appeared on 
the right bank for a distance of some 2,000 metres. 
There we indulged in a plentiful lunch, the country 
round being as still as death. Not a sign could be seen 
anywhere of a human being; not a column of smoke 
indicating the presence of man rose anywhere in the clear 
sky. Nowhere did we meet disturbed vegetation; no¬ 
where did we notice a trail or a passage through the vege¬ 
tation coming to the water; nowhere did we meet 
abandoned camps or any signs whatever that human 
beings had ever lived there. There was no animal life 
of fair size on the surface; no parrots, no monkeys, no 
mammals of any kind, only millions of insects, which made 
one’s life a burden. 
It was not so with the river, which was swarming with 
innocent fish, only too ready to be killed and supply us 
with excellent meals. The reason, of course, that the 
river was so full of fish, and that the fish displayed such 
delightful simplicity, was because there were no human 
beings there. 
Soon after leaving camp, all the happier for an 
excellent lunch, we came once more to thick, beautiful, 
clean forest on both sides. Again rubber was plentiful, 
and absolutely untouched by the collector’s hand. The 
river was getting amazingly beautiful, 200 metres wide all 
along, the water like a faultless silver mirror irreproach¬ 
ably reflecting each leaf, each branch of the motionless 
trees on both banks. There was not a breath of wind to 
disturb the tranquillity of that deliciously restful scene. 
Yet one more gorgeous island, Alastar Island, 300 
metres long and 80 to 100 metres wide, was seen. It was 
preceded on the southeast side by innumerable gravel 
56 
