en going on for some time under thick, overhanging boughs, when
suddenly the bright shining waters of a lake opened out before us; and,
greatly to our satisfaction, shortly afterwards we found ourselves free
of the narrow igarape, or channel, through which we had been so long
passing. The bright sunlight and the free air of the lake raised our
spirits, and made us feel as if all our difficulties were over. Happily
we did not then think of the many we had still to encounter. A slight
breeze was blowing from the northward, and I suggested that we should
try to rig a sail, with one of the poles as a mast and another as a
yard. We had but scanty materials for forming it; but we all
contributed our handkerchiefs, and Sambo offered his shirt! With some
of the line we had prepared for fishing we stitched the whole together,
and then secured it to the yard. A strong breeze would quickly have
blown our sail into its original constituents of shirt and
handkerchiefs; but the gentle air which favoured us served to send on
the raft as fast as we could paddle it. The people on the other raft
followed our example, and we saw two shirts stretched out, with a large
handkerchief to form a topsail. Under this strange sail we glided
smoothly over the calm surface of the lake.

We had carefully preserved our fishing-lines and hooks, and Uncle Paul
now distributed them between the two rafts. We got out ours as we went
along, the rate at which we were moving not preventing us from having
hopes that we might catch some fish. We were not disappointed. Before
long I got a bite. The fish pulled lustily, but as the tackle was
strong, it could not break away; and after it had been pretty well
drowned by being towed, Sambo assisted me to haul it in. When we had
got the fish up to the raft, the black stooped down, and, at no little
risk of toppling off into the water, lifted it on board. It must have
weighed at least several pounds, and it resembled in shape the black
fish of our northern regions. Kallolo afterwards told me that this fish
is called the tambaki, and is one of the best in this part of the world.
The only pity was that we could not cook it till we reached dry land.
As, however, we hoped to do so before long, we again threw out our
lines. In a few minutes we caught another fish of the same species, not
quite so large. The Indians on the other raft had, in the meantime,
caught three fish of similar size, but of a different