ACROSS UNKNOWN SOUTH AMERICA 
ing place, preceded by the usual gravel mounds and beach, 
was passed in the afternoon. Small streamlets entered the 
main stream, one on each side, one six kilometres beyond 
Helena Island, the other one a little farther. 
The river maintained its average width of 200 metres 
nearly all the time. Late in the afternoon we passed on 
the left bank a hill 120 feet high, belonging to a range that 
extended from east-southeast to west-northwest at an 
angle to the river, which there flowed in a direction almost 
north. There was plenty of rubber of excellent quality 
near the water. 
Shortly after leaving this range we came to a lagoon, 
then to open campos behind a thin row of stunted trees 
on the left bank. The lagoon was situated at a point 
where the river described a curve from north to 70° 
bearings magnetic. Two small streamlets entered the 
Arinos on the right. We made camp near a small lagoon 
in the forest shortly after sunset. 
The distance we had travelled during the last two days 
was 86 kilometres 900 metres on July eleventh, and 76 
kilometres 600 metres on July twelfth, or altogether 163 
kilometres 500 metres. 
To anybody accustomed to travelling in equatorial 
countries it seems amazing, on returning to civilization, 
to find what curious notions people have of the tropical 
forest. Even in the case of writers of distinction I could 
quote many passages which are painfully ridiculous. One 
of the greatest modern Italian writers, for instance — 
who, by the way, in one of his latest novels, copied almost 
word for word many pages from my books — added the 
poetic touch that in the tropical forest flowers were found 
so large that they could not be picked, and fruit so enor¬ 
mous that no human tooth could bite it! Again, the 
majority of people believe that it is impossible to go 
through the forest without cutting your way all the time 
— the “ cutting a way through ” meaning to most people 
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