ir convenience every few moments when they were badly
indisposed.

We tossed about for the best part of two hours, until at last we reached
the opposite side of the lake. In a hurry to land, Alcides threw the
canoe over some rocks on which the water was breaking with fury. However,
the water was shallow at that point. We jumped out, and eventually,
trembling with cold, we beached the canoe on a most beautiful island,
where we made our camp for the night.

CHAPTER X

The Point of Junction of the Arinos and Juruena Rivers--Elfrida
Landor Island--Terrible Days of Navigation--Immense Islands--An
Old Indian Camp--A Fight between a Dog and an _Ariranha_--George
Rex Island--A Huge _Sucuriu_ Snake

THE spot where the two great rivers met was most impressive, especially
from the island on which we stood, directly opposite the entrance of the
two streams. The immense lake was spread before us, and beyond were the
two great rivers meeting at an angle. Great walls of verdant forest lined
all the banks and islands before us. Curiously enough, both in the Arinos
and in the Juruena two long narrow islands appeared parallel to the banks
of each stream. The islands resembled each other in size. The Juruena had
two islands near its mouth, one narrow and long, the other in the shape
of a quadrangle. The Arinos also showed a long and narrow island at its
mouth, and another ending in a point.

It was my intention to take soundings right across the mouth of the
Arinos and also across the mouth of the Juruena, but unluckily, owing to
the strong easterly wind which prevailed that day, it was quite
impossible for me to attempt such a task at the mouth of the Arinos, and
equally impossible was it to proceed back across the lake to the mouth of
the Juruena to measure the volume of water which came out of that river.
Without any attempt at mathematical accuracy I should say that the two
rivers carried an almost equal volume of water.

Where we landed there were two separate islands, one of which I named
after my sister--the Elfrida Landor Island; the other one, next to it, I
named Francesco Island. The Elfrida Landor Island--really most beautiful
to look at--was 800 m. long; Francesco Island was 1,200 m. in length but
not quite so broad.

There was a most picturesque channel 200 m. wide, with marvellous rocks
forming a barrier across it, on the right side of the river, between
Francesco Island and the right bank