ACROSS UNKNOWN SOUTH AMERICA 
rapid, because at the end of the rush of water stood up 
many rocks, which drove the water back again and 
eventually switched it off, curling over itself at a very 
sharp angle on one side and on the other. A diabolic 
looking whirlpool of great depth formed on the other side 
of those rocks. 
I fully realized that the strength of us seven men 
was hardly sufficient to hold the canoe, particularly as all 
of us were immersed waist-deep and could scarcely keep 
our footing in that great rush of water. It was only with 
the greatest care that we could possibly accomplish the 
feat, and of this I warned my men. In fact, the moment 
the canoe came down at an angle on the steep incline she 
gave such a mighty jerk that my men, with the exception 
of Alcides, let go the ropes. Some of them had the skin 
taken clean off their fingers. I saw the canoe give a great 
leap. To my horror, a moment after the canoe had passed 
me down the rapid — I was holding one of the ropes at 
the lower part of the rapid — I saw Alcides, who bravely 
had never let the rope go, being carried away in the 
current. I just managed to grab him as he was about 
to be drawn into the vortex, where most certainly he would 
have lost his life. I lost my footing too, and we were 
both thrown against a rock, which I grabbed with one 
hand while still holding on to Alcides. There we remained 
powerless for several minutes, swallowing a good deal of 
water, which went right over our heads with the resistance 
we made against the current, until Filippe the negro — 
with wonderful courage, since he was no swimmer — came 
to our rescue. 
Alcides was undoubtedly a brave man, but he certainly 
had a beastly temper. No sooner had he recovered from 
the accident than I heard some of the other men tell him 
that he had had a narrow escape and would have died had 
I not gone to his rescue. Shouting aloud so that I could 
hear his remark, he said to the men: “ Oh, the English- 
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