ACROSS UNKNOWN SOUTH AMERICA 
the entire day among gigantic aguaso trees and wonder¬ 
ful ferns of great height, until we reached the Miriatiriami 
iamho, twenty-seven kilometres from Yessup. 
On January nineteenth we followed the river Azupizu 
along a narrow trail from 300 to 400 feet above the level 
of the river. Huge palms and ferns of indescribable beauty 
were to be seen all along, while waterfalls and streamlets 
constantly crossed the trail. 
We encountered that day deep mud all the way, the 
mules sinking up to their bellies in the slush. The trail 
along the mountain side was cut in the soft earth, and 
actually formed a deep groove only about two feet wide, 
the mud and slush being held by the solid transverse 
barriers which succeeded one another at short intervals. 
At Piriatingalini and Puchalini we found light cable 
suspension bridges, very shaky, which swung to and fro 
as you rode over them. Most of them were not more 
than four feet wide and had no parapet at all. I cannot 
say that I felt particularly happy when my mule — sure¬ 
footed, I grant — took me across, the bridge swinging, 
quivering, and squeaking with our weight on it, especially 
when we were in the middle. The rivers were extremely 
picturesque, with high mountains on either side, among 
which they wound their way in a snake-like fashion over 
a rocky bed, forming a series of cascades. We went that 
day twenty-five kilometres, and arrived at the tambo of 
Azupizu, which was in charge of a deserter from the 
French navy. He was an extraordinary character. He 
had forgotten French, and had learnt neither Spanish 
nor the local language of the Campas Indians. 
A tribe of those Indians was to be found near there 
— very handsome people, the men solidly built and 
muscular, with intelligent but brutal faces, with the 
yellowish-brown skin and slanting eyes of the Malay 
race. The eyes showed a great discolouration in the 
upper part of the iris. They possessed straight hair, 
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