ACROSS UNKNOWN SOUTH AMERICA 
difficult to take the canoe down by ropes, especially as the 
summit of those rocks was much cut up, and we, above, 
could not keep pace with the canoe as she floated swiftly 
down the rapid. By fastening together a lot of ropes 
which we had removed from round the different packages 
we managed to make them just long enough to undertake 
the dangerous task. 
The hill range, a section of which could be seen at that 
spot, clearly showed that it was made up of gigantic blocks 
piled on the top of one another up to a height of 100 feet. 
At high water the river level must reach, as was evident 
by the erosion and other signs upon those rocks, nearly 
to the summit of the range; in fact, when I climbed to the 
top I found plenty of debris among the rocks, un¬ 
doubtedly left there by the stream. On the north side the 
range was made up entirely of gigantic slabs of lava some 
fifteen feet thick and lying at an angle of 60° with a dip 
northward. On the south side of the range I had found, 
instead, great boulders, which had evidently travelled 
there and were much eroded. It can easily be understood 
that when the water rose it must be held up by the hill 
range, and form a big lake. 
We wasted an entire day trying to find a way to take 
the canoe over the hills, as we did not dare risk sending her 
down by water. My men were positively disheartened 
and on the verge of revolt, as they contended that it was 
all my fault that I had taken them to a diabolical place 
like that. I plainly told them that if I gave them such 
high wages it was because I knew there was a great deal 
of risk, as I had explained to them at the beginning of 
the expedition, and I expected them to do some hard work 
in return. 
“ But,” said the philosopher of the party, “ what is the 
use of money to us if, after working hard for months and 
months, we are going to be killed? ” 
I told them that that was not the moment to argue, 
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