ACROSS UNKNOWN SOUTH AMERICA 
heard, except perhaps that of a crashing tree in the 
forest — a sound very familiar when marching across 
Brazil. 
The right bank of the Secundury River was high, 
not less than from thirty to forty feet, and extremely 
steep, formed of alluvial deposits with a thick surface 
layer of decayed vegetation, making a soft carpet. Two 
small tributary streams had cut deep grooves in the soft 
earth. In our weak condition we had the greatest trouble 
in going down the almost vertical banks and climbing 
up again on the other side. 
On September sixteenth we followed the river once 
more, crossing three tributaries, the largest of which was 
four metres wide. The forest was beautifully clean under¬ 
neath, just like a well-kept park. The stems of the 
trees were as clean as possible, up to a great height, the 
foliage forming a regular roof over us, through which 
little light and only exhausted air penetrated. 
Although we could find nothing whatever to eat, my 
men were not so depressed that day, as they expected to 
find some living people sooner or later. I did not like 
to disappoint them, although the fact that we could find 
no signs of human creatures having recently gone through 
that region showed me plainly that we were yet far away 
from salvation. 
Another formidable rain-storm came down upon us 
in the morning, the water descending in regular sheets. 
We were so exhausted that we did not care for anything 
any more. Whether we got wet or dry was quite im¬ 
material to us. 
I was so conscious of my utter exhaustion that I felt 
I could not last much longer under that heavy strain. 
Every fifty or a hundred metres I collapsed under my 
load, and had the greatest struggle to get up on my feet 
again. Those marches were most tragic, my men being, 
if possible, in a worse condition than mine, they, too, 
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