ack to the shore, and try
to find another way of crossing. Here, mates, let's set to work and
collect as many dry rushes as we can pull. I've seen the Indians cross
much broader and more rapid rivers than this on a few bundles of
rushes."

I told him, so had I; and I did not know how it was that I did not think
of it before. Ned had a large clasp knife, with which he cut away the
rushes at a great rate, while, as Pedro and I had had ours taken from us
in the prison, we were obliged to tear them up by the roots, or to break
off the dry ones. When we had made a large heap of them, Ned gave me
his knife.

"There," he said, "you go on cutting, while I begin to build our craft."

There were some young trees growing near, one of which about ten feet
long he had cut down. This he said was to serve as a keel, to make the
craft somewhat ship-shape. He first fastened the rushes together in
small bundles, and these he secured along the pole on either side, one
outside the other. He placed smaller bundles at the ends, and fastened
them together; thus forming in a few minutes a very respectable-looking
canoe, which, though not water-tight, would have enabled us to perform a
much longer voyage than we had to undertake. By placing some bundles at
intervals across the canoe, we hoped to be able to keep ourselves dry,
having our feet only in the water. Our next care was to cut some long
poles, by which we proposed to pole ourselves across. Ned Gale said a
couple would be sufficient, one for him and another for me. Having cut
them, we launched our canoe into shallow water, so that we could step
easily into it; and then, seizing our poles, we shoved out into the
stream. Our canoe kept us well out of the water, though it had a
tendency to turn over, which we were well able to counteract with our
poles as long as we could reach the bottom. We had got more than half
way across, when the water deepened so much that we were obliged to use
them as oars, or rather paddles, to get across; and we had floated some
way down the stream before we again could find the bottom. At last we
landed, and drew up our canoe. I proposed leaving it, to make the
natives wonder at the strange contrivance.

"No, no," said Gale. "Never mind what the natives may think about it.
I say, let us stop and pull it to pieces, or some of the Spaniards may
chance to see it, and it will show them which way we are gone. It is a
foolish notion people have of