e southern aspect of the range was an
almost vertical wall.

The river was proceeding mostly in a westerly and north-westerly
direction for long stretches of 3,500 m., 4,000 m., 2,000 m., until we
came to an equilateral-triangular island, 300 m. each side--Erminia
Island. A small channel not more than 20 m. across separated this from
an irregularly-shaped island, 600 m. long--Niobe Island. After this came
a low island of sand and gravel 5 ft. high and 300 m. long, with merely a
few trees upon it, whereas the other two islands were covered with dense
and most beautiful vegetation. The main channel of the river was 400 m.
wide.

_Araras_ (macaws) of great size and of a beautiful vermilion colour flew
overhead, shrieking wildly at the sight of us. We began to find a great
many _jacares_ (_Caiman fissipis_) or crocodiles. I saw one sleeping
placidly on an islet of gravel. I landed and photographed it,
subsequently waking it with a start by throwing a stone at it. My men,
who were following cautiously behind me, opened a fusillade and killed
it.

It was really amusing to watch the astonishment of the few animals and
birds we met in that deserted part of Brazil, as none of them had seen a
human being. They evidently did not know what to make of us. They
generally looked with curiosity and surprise, and my men could fire shot
after shot before they would attempt to run, or, if they were birds, fly
away.

There were in that region some fine specimens of the _cigana_
(_Opisthocomus cristatus_) and of the _jacu_ (_Penelope cristata_). The
_cigana_ was beautiful to look at, with brown and yellow stripes, not
unlike a pheasant, and a tuft of bright yellow feathers on the head. All
of a sudden we came upon great numbers of these birds, and they supplied
us with good meals.

[Illustration: Terrifying Rapid shot by Author and his Men in their
Canoe.]

There were again plenty of rubber trees in the forest, plenty of fish in
the river. The climate was not too hot--merely 87 deg. F. in the shade, 105 deg.
in the sun--the insects not too troublesome; so that it seemed to us a
paradise on earth.

We had now before us a great expanse of 5,000 m. of straight river to
345 deg. b.m., with two parallel ranges of hills extending from west to east.
The second range was the higher of the two--some 600 ft., whereas the
first was only 200 ft. high.

What I took to be a great river coming from 75 deg. b.m. (N.E.), 250 m. wide,
joined the