INQUISITIVE MONKEYS 
350 metres broad, was enchantingly beautiful, absolutely 
clear of obstacles as far as we could see. There was a 
stretch of 4,000 metres of placid waters, and we imagined 
that we had come to the end of our trouble. 
Monkeys played gaily among the trees, evidently 
taking the greatest interest in the canoe. They followed 
us for long distances, jumping from tree to tree, shrieking 
with excitement, and gazing at us with keen interest. We 
in the canoe suffered perfect torture from the millions of 
bees, gnats, and mosquitoes, which settled on us in abso¬ 
lute swarms and stung us for all they were worth. The 
lips, eyelids, nose, and ears seemed to be their favourite 
spots for drawing blood — perhaps because the remainder 
of the face and neck was already a mass of stings, and the 
skin had got hardened and parched by the broiling sun. 
The temperature was warm, 92° Fahrenheit in the shade, 
and 103° in the sun. 
At the end of the 4,000 metres another great mass of 
rocks was found extending from south to north right 
across the stream. Fortunately we found a channel 
sufficiently large for navigating our canoe exactly in the 
centre of the river. After turning to the west-northwest 
we found a charming little rocky islet with a solitary tree 
upon it, and one kilometre farther a larger island 400 
metres long and 300 metres wide in the shape of a triangle 
— Sylvia Island. This island was separated by a channel 
70 metres wide from an immense island, Guanabara 
Island, 6,400 metres long. The channel we followed, the 
river there flowing to the south-southwest, was 300 
metres wide. Great masses of rock were visible on the 
left side. Where the river flowed in a more westerly 
direction rocks formed a barrier right across from south¬ 
east to northwest. 
Then the river once more flowed in a south- 
southwesterly direction through a perfectly beautiful 
channel. A lovely sand and gravel beach extended from 
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