ACROSS UNKNOWN SOUTH AMERICA 
I was in great pain, and could not observe much. 
Also, most of the time we were at a great distance from 
the banks, and the river was so wide that it was almost like 
being in mid-ocean. 
On November fourteenth we passed Obidos, at the 
mouth of the Rio Trombetas, the narrowest point, where 
the river went through a channel only 2,000 metres broad, 
but of extreme depth. The channel was formed by a 
depression between two hillocks 250 feet high or so. The 
settlement of Obidos consisted of two long white buildings 
near the water, and a series of stores. To the left of the 
village, as we looked at it, was a high cliff extending 
for some 2,000 metres up stream over a beautiful beach. 
The cliff showed patches of red and yellow rock of a 
brilliant colour, the lower strata being of a deep red and 
clearly defined, the upper ones of a raw sienna colour, the 
dividing-line between the two colours being somewhat un¬ 
dulating. There was dense forest on the summit of the 
cliff. A good deal of vegetation had crept down and was 
clinging to the side of the cliff. 
A little white church with a pointed spire stood on 
the highest point of the cliff, close to the town. Behind 
the cliff rose a hill of some height, upon which the better 
houses, with red-tiled roofs, were situated. A wide road 
led up to them. 
The water of the stream was of a dirty yellow, and 
very turbulent owing to the strong wind that was blowing 
and the violent current. Proceeding up stream, we then 
came to a hill 300 feet high on the right, which ended 
abruptly in an almost vertical red and yellow cliff, 
plunging into the water. On the opposite side of the 
river, along the narrow neck, were lowlands, quite open 
and scantily wooded, over which rose great columns of 
black smoke, caused by the natives burning down the 
forest in order to prepare the land for their plantations. 
It was at this point that the entire volume of the Amazon 
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