50 
THE GOLDEN RIVER. 
her crew of twelve, and had never been seen 
again. Higher up the river were the great 
Falls of Guayra, which we had journeyed all 
these miles to see. So few have seen them that 
they have almost achieved a legendary fame. 
To reach them one must travel through the 
forest, then go by boat for some hours, and then 
again cross some miles of monte. We stood at 
the water’s edge and looked back on the winding 
way we had come; then above our heads, to the 
tiny settlement of Puerto Mendez, perched on 
the edge of the cliff and looking across to Para¬ 
guay. The Parana forms the boundary between 
that country and Brazil, and sometimes we 
had anchored by one bank, and sometimes by 
another. 
A kind of funicular for the loading of yerba 
climbed the steep cliff, and already a small 
platform was creeping down, like a spider on a 
thread, to fetch us. On to this, with our scanty 
luggage, we climbed; and slowly the river fell 
away below us, and the launch dwindled to a 
scrap of a thing out of a toyshop. It was very 
hot. The sun poured down upon us, and great 
yellow butterflies sailed past on outspread 
wings. We were so dazzled by the light that 
when we reached the shed at the top we could 
see nothing at first in the sudden gloom. It was 
a wooden shed, and was filled with sacks ready 
to be sent down the river. Men were at work 
unloading them from an open truck, passing 
