failing strength could do
was to reach the branch. He reached, and clutched it, and then almost
lacked strength to haul himself out on the land. Good Trigueiro had
faithfully swum alongside him through the rapids, and now himself
scrambled ashore. It was a very narrow escape. Kermit was a great
comfort and help to me on the trip; but the fear of some fatal
accident befalling him was always a nightmare to me. He was to be
married as soon as the trip was over; and it did not seem to me that I
could bear to bring bad tidings to his betrothed and to his mother.

Simplicio was unmarried. Later we sent to his mother all the money
that would have been his had he lived. The following morning we put on
one side of the post erected to mark our camping-spot the following
inscription, in Portuguese:

"IN THESE RAPIDS DIED POOR SIMPLICIO."

On an expedition such as ours death is one of the accidents that may
at any time occur, and narrow escapes from death are too common to be
felt as they would be felt elsewhere. One mourns sincerely, but
mourning cannot interfere with labor. We immediately proceeded with
the work of the portage. From the head to the tail of this series of
rapids the distance was about six hundred yards. A path was cut along
the bank, over which the loads were brought. The empty canoes ran the
rapids without mishap, each with two skilled paddlers. One of the
canoes almost ran into a swimming tapir at the head of the rapids; it
went down the rapids, and then climbed out of the river. Kermit
accompanied by Joao, went three or four miles down the river, looking
for the body of Simplicio and for the sunk canoe. He found neither.
But he found a box of provisions and a paddle, and salvaged both by
swimming into midstream after them. He also found that a couple of
kilometres below there was another stretch of rapids, and following
them on the left-hand bank to the foot he found that they were worse
than the ones we had just passed, and impassable for canoes on this
left-hand side.

We camped at the foot of the rapids we had just passed. There were
many small birds here, but it was extremely difficult to see or shoot
them in the lofty tree tops, and to find them in the tangle beneath if
they were shot. However, Cherrie got four species new to the
collection. One was a tiny hummer, one of the species known as
woodstars, with dainty but not brilliant plumage; its kind is never
found except in the deep,