ACROSS UNKNOWN SOUTH AMERICA 
tried to save the canoe from dashing now upon one rock 
then upon another. 
Below the rapids the three other islands were Dora 
Island, 200 metres long; Edna Island, 500 metres long; 
and Lucia Island, 700 metres long. 
The river was flowing in a westerly and southwesterly 
direction, the banks showing a quantity of rubber trees 
all along. A tiny islet 50 metres long had been eroded 
from the right bank, just above a strong corrideira , easily 
identifiable by later travellers who may visit it, since a 
huge rock stands there in the centre of the river. 
On the left side of the river foliated rock ten feet high 
was exposed for the length of one kilometre. Dense 
forest was to be seen on both sides of the river all along 
the rapids. 
Two more islands, each 100 metres in diameter, Romeo 
and Juliet Islands, close to each other, were then seen 
on one side of the main channel, which was 200 metres 
wide. 
From this point the river actually flowed in a south- 
southwesterly direction (230° bearings magnetic), and 
for 2,500 metres we had to negotiate strong and trouble¬ 
some rapids with variations of shallow water, usually with 
a bottom of sharp rocks. The water in many of those 
places, coming with great force, hit the bottom and was 
thrown up again in high waves which swamped our canoe 
each time we went through them. In one place we got 
stuck on a rock in the middle of the foaming waters, and 
had a hard job to get the canoe off again and prevent 
her sinking when we had done so. 
Where the river turned for another 2 kilometres 
500 metres more to the west, another elongated island 
rose on the left side of the stream. The island, Laurita 
Island, was only 80 metres broad, but had a total length 
of 1,800 metres. 
More rapids and shallow water above a bottom of red 
100 
