ACROSS UNKNOWN SOUTH AMERICA 
load, go to his assistance and persuade him to get up again. 
It was a most trying experience. 
After going some eight hours without finding a drop 
of water, our throats absolutely parched with thirst, we 
luckily came upon some solveira trees, which, when in¬ 
cised, exuded most excellent milk — only, of course, it 
dropped down tantalisingly slowly, while we were cruelly 
thirsty, especially my men in their feverish state. It was 
curious to see them all clinging to the tree with their 
mouths applied to the wounds in order to suck the milk. 
Some way farther on we came across some rubber 
trees — which fact made us joyful, as we knew water 
would then be near. In fact, a kilometre beyond, water 
of a deep reddish yellow colour was found in a streamlet 
ten metres wide, flowing north. 
We halted on the western bank. We had been cutting 
through the forest the entire day. My men were simply 
exhausted. I, too, was glad when I put down the bird 
and the monkey — particularly as they had a pungent 
odour, quite typical of wild animals of Brazil, which 
affected my nose for some hours afterwards. Also they 
were covered with parasites, which caused violent itching 
on my neck and shoulders, on which they had been resting. 
I had marched all the time, compass in hand, next 
to the man who, with the large knife, opened the way 
through the forest. We had travelled all day — cutting, 
cutting all the time — and by the evening we had gone 
about ten kilometres — that is to say, at the rate of a 
little over one kilometre an hour. 
The yellow water of the stream —it looked just like 
strong tea, and tasted of everything in the world except 
water — had not a beneficial effect upon my men. For 
some reason of their own the men, who seldom took a 
bath in the clean rivers, insisted on bathing in those 
coloured waters, which, I might also add, were just then 
stagnant in that particular section of the stream. 
250 
