es, we came on a
stretch of rapids. The canoes ran them with about a third of the
loads, the other loads being carried on the men's shoulders. At the
foot of the rapids we camped, as there were several good canoe trees
near, and we had decided to build two rather small canoes. After dark
the stars came out; but in the deep forest the glory of the stars in
the night of the sky, the serene radiance of the moon, the splendor of
sunrise and sunset, are never seen as they are seen on the vast open
plains.

The following day, the 19th, the men began work on the canoes. The
ill-fated big canoe had been made of wood so hard that it was
difficult to work, and so heavy that the chips sank like lead in the
water. But these trees were araputangas, with wood which was easier to
work, and which floated. Great buttresses, or flanges, jutted out from
their trunks at the base, and they bore big hard nuts or fruits which
stood erect at the ends of the branches. The first tree felled proved
rotten, and moreover it was chopped so that it smashed a number of
lesser trees into the kitchen, overthrowing everything, but not
inflicting serious damage. Hardworking, willing, and tough though the
camaradas were, they naturally did not have the skill of northern
lumberjacks.

We hoped to finish the two canoes in three days. A space was cleared
in the forest for our tents. Among the taller trees grew huge-leafed
pacovas, or wild bananas. We bathed and swam in the river, although in
it we caught piranhas. Carregadores ants swarmed all around our camp.
As many of the nearest of their holes as we could we stopped with
fire; but at night some of them got into our tents and ate things we
could ill spare. In the early morning a column of foraging ants
appeared, and we drove them back, also with fire. When the sky was not
overcast the sun was very hot, and we spread out everything to dry.
There were many wonderful butterflies round about, but only a few
birds. Yet in the early morning and late afternoon there was some
attractive bird music in the woods. The two best performers were our
old friend the false bellbird, with its series of ringing whistles,
and a shy, attractive ant-thrush. The latter walked much on the
ground, with dainty movements, curtseying and raising its tail; and in
accent and sequence, although not in tone or time, its song resembled
that of our white-throated sparrow.

It was three weeks since we had started down the River of Doubt