A DIFFICULT JOURNEY 
merely from thirty-five to forty pounds each — the heavi¬ 
est load being the one I carried, so as to give a good 
example to my men. We had ample provisions to last 
us, with a little economy, three months. When the 
moment arrived to depart there was not one man who 
could stand up on his legs; the policeman with his in¬ 
jured foot could not even land from the boat, as it gave 
him so much pain. The chief of the Indians was so ill 
with the fever and the medicine he had taken that he 
really looked as if he might not survive. The other In¬ 
dians refused to leave their chief; while the Indian Miguel 
whom I had employed subsequently, flatly refused to 
come along. Much time was wasted talking, Mr. Nery, 
a fluent speaker, haranguing the men, who lay around 
helpless, holding their heads between their hands or roll¬ 
ing themselves on the ground. 
It is extraordinary how many ailments fright can 
produce. 
The accounts of the forest which I had heard in the 
neighbourhood were most conflicting. It was really im¬ 
possible to tell beforehand what the crossing overland 
between the Tapajoz and the Madeira rivers would be 
like. In order to encourage my own men I had once more 
increased their pay for the extra hard work I required of 
them on that occasion, and I promised them each a further 
present of money, if they succeeded in carrying all the 
loads safely as far as the Madeira River. 
They had agreed to do the work, but unfortunately 
they were the most unpractical men I have ever come 
across, and insisted on carrying the loads in a way which 
made it impossible for them to endure the weight for any 
long distance. For instance, one man insisted on carrying 
a heavy wooden packing-case slung on one side of the body 
just over the hip, in the fashion in which Italians carry 
barrel-organs in the streets of cities; another man sus¬ 
pended a case on his back by a strap which went round his 
289 
