ACROSS UNKNOWN SOUTH AMERICA 
river described a large sweeping curve towards the north¬ 
east. 
Farther on, close to the right bank, an island 100 
metres long and five feet high, of yellow sand and gravel, 
showed brilliantly with its vivid colouring upon the blue 
waters of the river. For identification sake I named it 
Gravel Island on the map I was making of the river. 
I seemed to be in fairyland, but for the company of my 
men, as I floated down the stream, there 400 metres wide. 
We had gone hardly four kilometres when we came to 
another ideal island, Margherita Island, 400 metres long 
and 200 metres wide, with magnificent trees upon it. A 
small stream joined the Arinos on the left side. Lower 
down stream we had thin forest on both sides, with some 
remarkable oleo trees, with their minute grey leaves and 
the branches, laden with red berries, drooping, weeping- 
willow-like, right down in the water. 
Next we came to sand and gravel banks with islets 
one foot high emerging from the water in the centre of the 
river, all those little islets displaying verdant grass on 
their southern side and pure white sand on the northern 
side. 
The river was at that point flowing in a north-north¬ 
easterly direction. Then came a long straight line of 
6,000 metres of river flowing to 305° bearings magnetic. 
About half-way through this long stretch the stream 
divided into two large arms, one in direct continuation of 
the above bearings, the other in a curve, encircling an 
island 1,000 metres broad. The basin, as still as a lake, 
in which this island was situated was not less than 1,500 
metres across. The island, Charles Landor Island, was 
2,000 metres in length. It had plenty of rubber trees 
upon it, and plenty were to be seen also on the banks. 
We went some eight or ten kilometres farther that night, 
and at five o'clock we halted, having made poor progress 
that day, only sixty kilometres. 
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