ACROSS UNKNOWN SOUTH AMERICA 
firmly believed that in consequence of the great hardships 
his brain had slightly lost its balance. 
After that, strong eddies were again experienced at 
first, but, for some 3,000 metres beyond, the water looked 
beautiful and as placid as possible. The river was now 
flowing mostly in a northerly direction or with slight 
deviations, chiefly to the east. We came to a most won¬ 
derful island with a spur of lava on its southern side, 
in the shape of a dome, and highly glazed. On each side 
of that island was a waterfall of some beauty. The 
eastern channel was only twenty metres wide, and the 
water fell over a wall of rock some twelve feet high. 
Where this wall projected above the foaming water the 
shiny black carbonized rock showed a number of small 
grottoes in its horizontal strata, and a number of funnels 
like volcanic vents. The northwesterly and broader 
channel had three successive rapids, the central one some 
ten and a half feet high, with a terrific current rushing 
over it, and awe-inspiring whirlpools between the suc¬ 
cessive rapids. 
We took the canoe down by the central channel, and 
when we got to the higher step, shoved her along until 
she overhung the fall, as we had done the previous day, 
and then let her drop down with a bump. It was a difficult 
job to hold her when once she had dropped down, as the 
waves below were very high and tossed her about in a 
merciless manner. 
My men had by this time become a little more amen¬ 
able to reason, and in moments of suspense or danger 
always awaited my orders. 
Once more did we eventually pack in the canoe what 
remained of the baggage; once more did we start, this 
time across a large basin 1,200 metres broad, with hills 
on the east side of us on the right bank. On the right of 
us, on leaving the basin, we had a beautiful island, 300 
metres long, Ariadne Island, with a fine sand spit at its 
192 
