HEAVY STORM 
a hill 250 feet high upon it, the river turned to 30° bear¬ 
ings magnetic. The hill was made up of foliated rock 
lying in strata that varied from one inch to one foot in 
thickness. 
On the right side of the stream great cubic blocks of 
rock rested on the polished curves of a huge dome of 
granite. A quantity of debris stretched from south to 
north right across the basin, and caused a deviation in 
the stream. 
A terrific rapid with a sheer drop of three feet was 
situated here. A double whirlpool of great magnitude 
was formed at the bottom of the rapid, the water revolving 
with such force that the concavity was gradually depressed 
for some three feet and had a great hole in each centre. 
We shot that rapid. As Alcides on that occasion followed 
my instructions, the canoe shot past between the two 
whirlpools, and although even then she nearly capsized, 
we were able to continue, my men shrieking with merri¬ 
ment at what they now believed to be their invulnerability. 
We dodged the unpleasant eddies while we floated with 
great speed in the strong current. 
The river, which had contracted that day to 250 
metres, now expanded once more into a large basin 1,200 
metres wide and 1,800 metres long, with most troublesome 
eddies as we went through it. The river described a great 
turn from north-northeast to 180° bearings magnetic or 
due south. 
To add to the pleasures of our existence, we came in 
for a heavy rain-storm that day, with deafening thunder 
and blinding lightning. Notwithstanding the great dis¬ 
comfort it caused us, it pleased me very much because of 
the wonderful effects of light it produced on the river. 
Where the stream, in a course which had wriggled like 
a snake, turned once more due north to 360° bearings 
magnetic, it divided itself into two small channels. High 
waves were produced where the water, pushed by the wind, 
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