A DANGEROUS JOB 
In the afternoon we began with the second part of 
the dangerous task of endeavouring to take the canoe 
through the current in a northeasterly direction. The 
channel in that cut was 200 metres long and only fifty 
metres wide. 
The rock was laminated in layers six feet thick, which 
had been subsequently baked into a solid mass. The 
lower portion, of beautiful black and quite shiny, threw 
up by contrast the vivid red colour of the upper 
part. 
We had an exciting time when we started the canoe 
with ropes down that rapid. We ran with bare feet upon 
the sharp broiling rocks. We could not possibly stand on 
them with our shoes on. We ran along for all we were 
worth, in order to prevent the canoe escaping. We 
climbed up and down great cuts from ten to thirty feet 
high in the rock, never letting go the ropes. Our agility 
that day was remarkable. Even poor Alcides, whose foot 
I had wrapped up with a piece of my shirt, was coming 
along pluckily, regardless of the pain which he certainly 
suffered. Once or twice when we remained slightly behind 
in that awful race, the canoe nearly pulled us into the 
water from our high point on the rocks some thirty to 
fifty feet above. 
Those 200 metres of channel seemed miles long to us. 
Eventually, the canoe was brought out safely at the other 
end. With bleeding feet and hands we returned once 
more to our point of departure in order to convey our 
baggage upon our backs. After two or three jour¬ 
neys back and forth, we were able to proceed a short 
distance down the river, where we could find a suit¬ 
able camping-place to rest our weary bones for the 
night. 
On leaving the rapids the river took a direction of 
310° bearings magnetic. There was a high hill to the east 
and another, equally high, to the west. The chain of hills 
167 
