AN ADDITIONAL TORTURE 
perplexed, because the more dangers we surmounted the 
greater seemed the dangers confronting us. They were 
beginning to lose the nerve they had temporarily acquired, 
and were now so scared at the vicious waters that they 
tried to keep the canoe all the time close to the banks or 
islands, the river being so deep that they thought this was 
the best way of saving their lives in case we had a bad 
accident. The current was extraordinarily swift, and to 
make things worse a strong northeasterly wind blew with 
great fury, driving us back and producing such high waves 
that our canoe was constantly filled with water. The 
result of keeping so close to the bank, and having our 
heads continually brushed by the foliage which overhung 
the stream, was that each time we came in contact with 
the branch of a tree thousands of ants would drop on to 
the canoe and upon us, and would bite us furiously. This 
was most trying and an additional torture to that we had 
to endure of being stung all over by other insects which 
followed the canoe in swarms. 
We had not gone much farther along when within 
1,000 metres we came to three nasty rapids in succession, 
over barriers of great rocks intersected by interesting veins 
of quartz. From that point the river was fairly straight 
for seven kilometres. We had that morning encountered 
five troublesome rapids, which had given us endless work. 
When we halted we were simply ravenous. We were 
fortunate enough to get plenty of fish for lunch, and 
while my men were enjoying a hearty feast I took the 
usual astronomical observations, eaten all over as I was 
by mosquitoes and piums J while bees innumerable had 
settled on my face and arms. The latitude was 9° 40'.4 
south; the longitude 58° 34' west. The bees had a most 
peculiar pungent odour, which they seemed to leave on 
one's skin when they had walked on it. We kept our 
heads wrapped up in towels; but even then we suffered 
a great deal. 
VOL. II. — 10 
145 
