ACROSS UNKNOWN SOUTH AMERICA 
long and 3% feet wide, of heavy solid wood, her bottom 
being over a foot thick, her sides from 3 to 5 inches in 
thickness, her stern and prow, roughly carved out, of great 
thickness also. I calculated her weight at over 2,000 
pounds, which was well under her actual weight. 
I spoke to my men, and told them that we must take 
the canoe over the hill range. They had been very morose 
since our arrival at that spot, as they expected me to 
give ourselves up for lost when we came to what they 
believed to be an insuperable obstacle. They mutinied 
at once and took to their rifles, saying that they would not 
follow a lunatic any farther — a man who asked them to 
take a canoe over a hill. 
“ Do you not know,” said one of them to me, with a 
fierce grin of contempt upon his face, “ that canoes are 
made for the water and not to travel over mountains?” 
“ Do you not know,” shouted Alcides, shaking his fist, 
“ that it would take a hundred strong men to lift that 
canoe one inch above the water? and we, including you, 
are only seven men, tired and worn. ... You believe 
that because you are English you can do what you like. 
You will next ask the moon to come and row in our canoe 
so that we may get along! You have gone insane.” 
“ Yes, he is mad! ” they all said in a chorus. “We 
want the balance of our pay and we will leave you at once. 
Give us our money and we will go — we want to go.” 
I told them that they could have their money as soon 
as the canoe had gone over the hill and down the other 
side, and certainly not before. They could shoot me if 
they liked, but that would not help them very much, as 
I knew the way to get on and they did not. If they shot 
me they would perhaps die of starvation themselves soon. 
I agreed that it was a beautiful spot to die in, and perhaps 
they could hasten their departure by jumping into the 
fall, and thus end all the hardships, and, at least, 
arguments. 
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