ACROSS UNKNOWN SOUTH AMERICA 
for the Territory of the Acre. I had met him in Rio de 
Janeiro a year before. I told him what had happened 
that day with the Governor and the Commandante of the 
flotilla. Dr. Maso immediately took the matter in hand. 
That same evening there was a meeting of the Asso- 
cia^ao Commercial do Amazonas, a most useful society 
in Manaos, composed of the cleverest and soundest busi¬ 
ness men of that place. I was presented to the President, 
Mr. J. G. Araujo, and to Dr. Bertino Miranda, the hon¬ 
orary secretary — the latter a man of letters of great dis¬ 
tinction, well known not only in his own country but in 
Latin countries all over Europe as well. 
I was received by these gentlemen and the other mem¬ 
bers of the Association with the greatest consideration, 
and before I left that evening they assured me that they 
would procure a launch for me with which to go and rescue 
my men. 
The next morning, in fact, I was taken to call on 
the Commandante of the Federal troops, who willingly 
and most courteously placed at my disposal his steam 
launch. A delay of several days took place, as unfortu¬ 
nately the steam launch had lost her propeller, and it was 
necessary to make a new one. Also the engine had to be 
repaired, and a crew had to be engaged — a task which 
gave all those concerned a considerable amount of extra 
trouble. 
I had, of course, to pay for the maintenance of the 
crew during the journey, and it cost me nearly a hundred 
pounds to fit her out with all the plates, knives, cooking 
utensils, and other paraphernalia necessary for her crew 
of sixteen men. In any other country three men would 
have been more than sufficient to run a launch of that 
size. 
I also had to employ at my own expense a pilot — 
no steamboat was allowed to go without one — whom I 
had to pay at the rate of £7 1 5s. sterling a day. A cook 
352 
