ACROSS UNKNOWN SOUTH AMERICA 
into a pool, scooped out of an immense block of such 
hardened rock that even the force of that violent stream 
seemed to have had but little erosive effect upon it. The 
edges of it were as sharp as possible, instead of being worn 
smooth and rounded by the constant, rapid flow of water. 
The rock had been hard baked, and was of a shiny black 
colour, almost as lustrous as crystal. At the bottom of 
those picturesque rapids was a circular, volcanic vent, the 
periphery of which had been blackened by the action of 
fire. The Cambayuvah followed a general course of 
southeast to northwest. 
We camped near that enchanting spot, most pic¬ 
turesque, but terrible for my animals, as the grazing was 
poor. My mules, when let free at the end of the march, 
stood helpless around the camp, looking reproachfully at 
us, and making no effort to go far afield in order to get 
something to eat. The poor things were quite exhausted. 
I saw well that they could not last much longer. My men 
were constantly worrying me, and saying that we were 
going to sure perdition. They had become painfully 
homesick, and had they not been dead-tired, too — more 
so, perhaps, than the mules and horses — I should have 
expected great trouble from them. As it was, to lead on 
those men with persuasion and kindness was an exhausting 
mental effort for me. Once or twice the suggestion was 
made that if I did not agree to go back the way we had 
come I might perhaps get killed, and they would return 
alone. When I enquired whether any of them could find 
their way back alone, they said “no”; so I suggested 
that perhaps it would be to their advantage to let me live. 
I might eventually see them out of that difficulty. 
In all my travels I have seldom come across men more 
helpless at finding their way about, or realizing in which 
direction they had travelled. Barring Alcides, none of 
them had any more idea whether we had travelled south, 
north, east, or west of Goyaz, than the man in the moon. 
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