Across Unknown South America Part 56

After a hearty breakfast on the part of my men--my own being limited to a small box of sardines, some twenty or thirty boxes still remaining in my supply of provisions--we resumed our journey down the troublesome rapid.

We had to do that with ropes, Alcides, with his extraordinary way of thinking, actually going to the trouble of s.h.i.+fting a big rock out of the water, which took him the best part of an hour, rather than let the canoe go round it--in absolutely placid waters in that particular spot. I let him do it rather than have a quarrel, as I firmly believed that in consequence of the great hards.h.i.+ps his brain had slightly lost its balance.

After that, strong eddies were again experienced at first, but, for some 3,000 m. beyond, the water looked beautiful and as placid as possible.

The river was now flowing mostly in a northerly direction or with slight deviations, chiefly to the east. We came to a most wonderful island with a spur of lava on its southern side, in the shape of a dome, and highly glazed. On each side of that island was a waterfall of some beauty. The eastern channel was only 20 m. wide, and the water fell over a wall of rock some 12 ft. high. Where this wall projected above the foaming water the s.h.i.+ny black carbonized rock showed a number of small grottoes in its horizontal strata, and a number of funnels like volcanic vents. The north-westerly and broader channel had three successive rapids, the central one some 10 ft. high, with a terrific current rus.h.i.+ng over it, and awe-inspiring whirlpools between the successive rapids.

We took the canoe down by the central channel, and when we got to the higher step, shoved her along until she overhung the fall--as we had done the previous day--and then let her drop down with a b.u.mp. It was a difficult job to hold her when once she had dropped down, as the waves below were very high and tossed her about in a merciless manner.

My men had by this time become a little more amenable to reason, and in moments of suspense or danger always awaited my orders.

Once more did we eventually pack in the canoe what remained of the baggage; once more did we start--that time across a large basin 1,200 m.

broad, with hills on the east side of us on the right bank. On the right of us, on leaving the basin, we had a beautiful island, 300 m.

long--Ariadne Island--with a fine sand-spit at its southern end, and gorgeous vegetation upon it. Barring a few boxes of sardines, we had no more provisions of any kind, as all the food had been wasted, or lost in our various accidents.

When I look back upon that journey, I am amazed to think how Providence did help us all along. That day my men were clamouring for food, and were most unpleasant, putting the entire blame upon me and not upon their own lack of common-sense. They refused to go on. We pulled up along some rocks, baking hot from the sun, which simply roasted our naked feet when we trod upon them.

Some of the men took to their rifles and said they had had quite enough of exploring. The more we went down that river the worse things seemed to get. They would not go a metre farther. They claimed the balance of their salaries at once--I always paid them punctually every month--and said they would start on foot and try to get somewhere, if G.o.d would help them.

I agreed to pay them their salaries and let them go, taking a few minutes to distribute the money, as I wished to go to a secluded spot, not caring to undo the large packages of banknotes before them.

I was walking along the rocks, saying to my men that I would be back in a few minutes, when a huge _cachorra_, or dog-fish, weighing some thirty pounds, leapt out of the water and fell on the rocks, wriggling and bounding convulsively. I called the men, who hastily arrived, and with the b.u.t.ts of their rifles killed the fish. While they were busy dissecting it, Alcides, who had not taken part in the quarrel, but had gone to the forest some little way off, hearing the noise, reappeared with a huge monkey he had killed.

I left the men to prepare an excellent and plentiful meal while I retired to a distant spot to count out their salaries. When I returned and handed them the money--after their appet.i.tes had been fully satisfied, and they had left next to nothing for me--they said I could keep the money, as they did not want it; they were sorry for what they had said, and would go on wherever I ordered them to go. They said that I certainly must have a guardian angel watching over me, and they were sure that as long as they were in my company they would never die of starvation.

"I have never seen anything like it!" exclaimed the man X, who was the humorist of the party. "We want food and cannot get it, and there _el senhor_ strolls a few yards away from us and a huge fish jumps almost into his arms in order to be eaten."

I never cared to let them know of my own surprise at the extraordinary occurrence.

I was rather pleased that day, because my men, in an outburst of friendliness, said they knew that if ever we did die of starvation it would not be my fault, because had they been careful we would still have had three or four months' supply of provisions left. They themselves said how foolish they had been; the provisions we carried had only lasted us thirty days. Nearly three weeks before I had warned Alcides to economize, and the result was that, instead of sorting out food twice a day to the men, he sorted it out four times a day and in double quant.i.ties.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Distant View showing Both Falls at the Salto Augusto.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Launching the Canoe after its Journey over a Hill Range.]

That day we were really in great luck. We had the good fortune to find a _bacopari_ tree simply laden with delicious yellow fruit, not unlike unripe cherries, and we absolutely feasted on them.

To show how unpractical my men were, it is sufficient to tell that, unlike any other human beings on the face of the globe when under a fruit-tree, they did not proceed to shake the cherries down by throwing sticks or by climbing up the tree. No, indeed; but they cut down the huge tree, which required about an hour and a half of very hard work. Anyhow, we got the cherries, and that was the princ.i.p.al thing.

We continued our journey over a small rapid with a low hill range spreading from west to east on the left bank. The river here was 300 m.

wide. A hill range from 100 to 200 ft. high was also to be seen on the right bank, running parallel with that on the left. Five or six kilometres farther another high range of a gorgeous cobalt-blue colour and extending from south-west to north-east, stood in front of us. The river in that stretch was most beautiful, and was 900 m. wide. A charming little island 300 m. long was reflected in the water, which looked as still as oil in that particular part, although it actually ran swiftly.

Although that scene was of great placidity, we believed there was more danger ahead of us, for we could hear in the distance the loud roar of another rapid or waterfall. Judging by the noise we knew it must be a big one. Soon afterwards we reached the rapid.

We had the greatest difficulty in approaching this, owing to the strong current we encountered in a small channel we followed near the right bank. The rapid was 400 m. wide and 400 m. long, with a drop of from 4 to 5 ft. Although we expected trouble at that spot, we shot the rapid with comparative ease, but we were badly knocked about, and s.h.i.+pped a considerable amount of water in the high waves thrown violently against the rocks. We camped that night near the rapid, having travelled in the day 26 kil. We made our camp in the forest, and we experienced stifling heat, the minimum temperature (August 9th) being 73 F., with heavy rain which came down upon us through the foliage in regular bucketfuls.

We had nothing to eat in the evening. In the morning our breakfast consisted of two sardines each. We went on in a half-hearted way, my men grumbling all the time, and looking out for birds or monkeys. Seven thousand five hundred metres from our camp we came to a waterfall, where we had endless trouble. The princ.i.p.al channel led to 50 b.m., but the river split up into innumerable channels among islands, islets and rocks that formed a regular maze. The river was in that particular spot 1,200 m. wide, and contained great ma.s.ses of volcanic rock, much fissured, and having great holes in them. This ma.s.s of rock extended from north-east to south-west. There were large cracks, where the ma.s.s had split, and had subsequently been eroded by the rush of water. The rock had cutting edges everywhere like those of razors. With endless difficulty we had managed to drag the canoe along nearly to the bottom of that dangerous place, when we were suddenly confronted by a drop of 12 ft. with a terrific rush of water over it. It was impossible for us to negotiate that point, for below was a whirlpool absolutely impa.s.sable. We had therefore the tiresome work of dragging back the canoe for some 350 m. up the rapid once more, in order that we might find a more suitable channel. To make things more lively for us, a violent thunderstorm broke out, soaking all our baggage but making little difference to us, as we were soaked already. We had spent that entire day in the water, struggling to take the canoe down the rapid and up once more. By eight o'clock at night we were still working, endeavouring to save the canoe.

We had had no lunch, and now had no dinner. My men felt perfectly miserable, and in their speech did not exactly bless the day they had started with me on that expedition. We had worked hard, and had only covered a distance of 7,500 m. in twelve hours. At sunset, while the storm was raging, we beheld a most wonderful effect of light to the west, very much like a gorgeous aurora borealis. The sky, of intense vermilion, was streaked with beautiful radiations of the brightest lemon-yellow, which showed out vividly against the heavy black clouds directly above our heads. The river reflected the red tints, so that we appeared to be working in a river of blood.

As we had nothing to eat, I thought I would spend my time in taking the correct elevation of that place with the boiling-point thermometers. The man X, the humorist of the party, remarked that if I were killed and went to Heaven or some other place, the first thing I should do would be to take the exact elevation with what he called "the little boiling stove"

(the hypsometrical apparatus).

We had a minimum temperature of 62 F. during the night of August 10th.

Next morning I sent my men to reconnoitre, in order to see if they could get some edible fruit. As they stayed away a long time I knew they had found something. In fact, they came back quite in a good humour, as they had found some _jacoba_ or _jacuba_ trees, with abundant fruit on them, most delicious to eat.

In the meantime I had gone exploring the rapids endeavouring to find a more suitable channel. Eventually, on the east side of the stream, I found a place where we could take the canoe down. There too was a fall of 9 ft., down which we let the canoe with considerable difficulty; then it had to pa.s.s over a number of smaller terraces and down winding channels, where we sweated for some hours before we got through our work.

Innumerable channels separated by sand-mounds 20 to 30 ft. high had formed along that rapid and also through the vertical wall of cutting volcanic rock which formed a barrier across the stream. Below the fall were two long sand-banks, one with some _burity_ palms upon it.

The river flowed 20 west of north for some 4,000 m. We had gone but 2,000 m. of that distance when we came to another rocky barrier, spreading from south-west to north-east, on approaching which we heard the thundering roaring of another rapid. On the left bank we had a hill range all along. The noise of the rapid got louder and louder, and we were soon confronted by a terrifying rush of water at a spot where three arms of the river met with such force that the clas.h.i.+ng waters shot up in the air, forming a wave some 40 or 50 ft. high with a foaming crest. The backwash from this great wave was so violent against the rocky banks of the river--very narrow there--that it was quite impossible for the canoe, even empty, to be let down by means of ropes.

My men were in absolute despair, for the farther we went the more insurmountable became the obstacles which confronted us. They said they had agreed to go on a journey of exploration, but surely I was taking them direct to Hades--if we had not got there already. I could not well contradict them, for certainly that particular spot was the nearest possible approach to it.

It does not do ever to lose courage. While my men, in the lowest state of depression, sat on the volcanic rocks, I went about exploring on the right bank until I found a place where the river had eroded a channel but had afterwards filled it with an immense acc.u.mulation of rocks. If we could only move those rocks away--several hundreds of them--I saw that it would be possible to push the canoe along the channel which would thus be formed. The work would require a great deal of hard labour.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A Most Dangerous Rapid navigated by Author and his Men.]

You should have seen the faces of my men when I took them to the spot and asked them to remove all the big boulders. In order to set them a good example, I myself started moving the rocks about, the smaller ones for preference. We worked and worked hour after hour, jamming our fingers and feet all the time as we pushed the rocks to one side and the other of the little channel, only 4 ft. wide, which we were making. The language of my men was pretty enough, but as long as they worked I had to put up with it. Alcides, who was really a great worker, and whose princ.i.p.al fault was that he would never save himself, worked with tremendous vigour that day.

Somehow or other the men seemed to think the work hard.

When we had taken the canoe safely to the end of the rapid through the channel we had cleared, I went back to the top of the rapid to gaze once more on the wonderful sight where the two princ.i.p.al channels met. The water dashed against a rock in the centre with most impressive fury.

On returning to the bottom of the rapid where I had left the canoe, another most impressive sight was to be seen. In the vertiginous waters emerging from the channel high waves--most unpleasant-looking and in the greatest confusion--clashed against one another for a distance of over 500 m. below the rapid.

My men would not camp that night near the rapid, which they said was the devil's home, so during the night we went 2 kil. down the stream, where, simply worn out, we made our camp. We never could get any fish from the stream now. We had gone only 6,000 m. that day. I reckoned that, travelling at that rate, I should perhaps reach my goal, Manaos, in five or six years' time--and all the provisions I had left for seven men, all counted, were now eight tins of sardines.

We had a minimum temperature of 64 F. on the night of August 11th.

We had halted just above another big and beautiful waterfall, 20 ft.

high, and of immense width. The great rush of water curled over a gigantic dome of volcanic rock with many big holes and fissures. The waterfall was followed by a ghastly rapid 500 m. long. It was impossible to go over the fall, and the only way left us--a most dangerous one--was to let the canoe down a small channel 50 to 80 m. wide, cut among the vertical rocks on the right side of the waterfall. The water in the channel flowed in steeply sloping cascades. The channel twisted round abruptly in two or three places, and in one spot went through a rocky neck 35 m. wide, where the force of the current was so great that I was really perplexed as to how we could take the canoe down without getting her smashed to atoms.

Providence came to my help again. In looking round I discovered an ancient channel, now almost dry and strewn with innumerable rocks, by which it might be possible to take the canoe overland until we could find a smooth place in the water below the rapid. On further exploring that channel, as I was quick enough in noticing its possibilities, I found at the end of it what the Brazilians call a _recanto_--that is to say, a backwater which the river had there formed, and which would be a great help to us in floating the canoe once more.

This plan involved a great deal of hard work, as not only had we to s.h.i.+ft many large rocks out of their position, but we had to construct a railway with felled trees and rollers upon them. We could not get perfectly horizontal rails, so that the effort of moving the canoe along inch by inch with levers was trying, especially as we had had insufficient food for many days and our strength was fast failing.

To make matters worse, Alcides that day broke out in revolt. He had, like many ignorant people, the misfortune of believing that he knew everything better than anybody else. I had given him instructions to place the rails and rollers in a certain position, so that the canoe could be s.h.i.+fted over some unpleasant rocks. He, however, insisted on placing the rollers in the wrong place and on using the levers in the wrong spots, so that they not only did not act helpfully, but actually had the contrary effect on the canoe from that which we wanted to obtain. I remonstrated, and showed the men once more how to do it. They agreed with me, except Alcides, who became enraged to such an extent that his eyes bulged out of their orbits in his fury. He brandished one of the big levers in the air, and, shouting at the top of his voice, proceeded to give a long harangue stating that Araguary--his native town--produced greater men than England or any other country, and inciting the other men to open revolt against me.

This was a serious affair and most unexpected, as so far I had counted on Alcides to stand by me, no matter what happened. The other men were undecided. Although they were always ready to revolt, they had more confidence in the brain of an Englishman than in that of an Araguary man. Alcides suggested that they should take possession of the canoe and everything, and that I should be left on the rocks. He shouted to the men to take the canoe along, and he himself pushed with all his might, the canoe not budging the tenth part of an inch.

I sat down on a rock. I merely said that the canoe would not move until I wished it to move. This statement I made because I saw that in their stupidity they had placed some pieces of wood under the canoe which acted as wedges instead of rollers; one piece in particular--a roller which had split in two--could not possibly move along the rough wooden rails. The men pushed and worked with all their might for over three hours, the canoe remaining still like a solid rock. At last they came to me and asked me to show them how to move it. I placed the rollers where they would be effective, removing the wedges which were impeding her journey, and with very little effort the canoe moved along.

With wild yells of excitement the men proclaimed this a miracle, always excepting Alcides, who, with a fierce expression on his face, stood now on one side, fondling his rifle. The other men chaffed him, and even insulted him, saying that he had made them struggle for nothing, as he did not know what he was about. When the rails and the rollers were placed right the canoe slid along the distance which remained to be covered, and eventually glided gracefully once more into the water.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Letting the Canoe jump a Rapid.]

It was too bad that Alcides--one of the bravest of men--should possess such a mean mind and such an ungrateful nature. Twice I had saved his life when he came within an ace of peris.h.i.+ng in dangerous rapids, but never had he given thanks to me--never had he shown the slightest sign of recognition. Never, during the entire time he was in my employ, did he--or any of my other men--say "Good morning" to me when we rose, or "Good night" when we retired to sleep. Two or three nights before this last adventure, during a heavy rainstorm, I had deprived myself of my own tent in order to shelter him and the other men, while I myself got drenched.

"He only does it," said he, "because he needs to keep us alive to do the work, or else he would not do it."

I only received offensive words for any kindnesses I showered on him and the others.