CHAPTER XIII.Bad arrangements of the Bolivian patrons for rationing their men—The rapid of Misericordia—Tradition attached thereto—Meeting with canoes from Bolivia—The Madeira rapids and the junction of the river Beni—Nomenclature of the river Madeira in its different sections—The rapids of Layes—Wild cocoa trees—The Falls of Pao Grande.
Bad arrangements of the Bolivian patrons for rationing their men—The rapid of Misericordia—Tradition attached thereto—Meeting with canoes from Bolivia—The Madeira rapids and the junction of the river Beni—Nomenclature of the river Madeira in its different sections—The rapids of Layes—Wild cocoa trees—The Falls of Pao Grande.
On the 23rd, in Ribeirão, we woke up all hands at daybreak, and got the last canoe over to the upper side. I would have liked to have stopped for the day at this fall, so as to give the men a few hours’ leisure, that they might fish in the quiet water of the river Ribeirão, wash their clothes and rest a bit; but the Bolivian patrons were for going ahead, so we passed the cargo over and got ready for a start by about 2 p.m. We were to proceed that day as far as the next rapid, called Misericordia, and there delay while hunters were sent to try for some wild pigs or other fresh meat, as the stocks of that article remaining to the Bolivian patrons were getting rather low.
It appears to be the custom with Bolivian patrons to start with barely sufficient provisions for the time they expect the journey to take; they don’t provide any surplus in case of delay. Then during the first days of the journey they give the men excessively large rations, in order that they may be well satisfiedat starting, and so for the last two weeks of the run the men have to be put on half, or even less than half, rations. For instance, one of the Bolivian patrons advised me that the ration of rice should be half a pound daily, besides farinha; at this rate one could not carry enough rice for all the journey. And certainly the quantity is more than necessary; from three to four ounces per man daily being quite enough to thicken the “chupe,” or soup, which is the stock dish of the Bolivian peon. This system is quite characteristic of Bolivians, both Indians and Carayanas (i.e., those having Spanish blood in their veins), for they cannot take anything by degrees; they must finish it all at once. Thus a bottle of wine or cachaça must be drunk at one sitting, and the next day they will go without. So also with their chicha-drinking; they will prepare a huge quantity, and get through it in one evening, then go without until another “fiesta” day or other suitable occasion calls for a fresh brew. At starting it was reckoned that we should do the journey up the rapids, and to the village of Exaltacion, in about five weeks; but a month has now passed, and we have at least another week’s work to get through before we get out of the rapids. At this time I still had provisions in farinha and charqui for three weeks further, and had been able to spare four “alquieres” (bundles of 1 cwt. each) of farinha, and treat the men of the other canoes to cachaça every day for some time past. Charqui was somewhat scarcer, for we had counted upon game, but had only met with a few pavas, there being no time available for sending the men into the woods.
We got to Misericordia at 4 p.m., and unloaded half the cargoes, passing two canoes before dark up a creek on the right bank, at the end of which there was a very steep bit of rock, with very little water on it upon which to get the canoe over. This cachuela is especially dangerous, although at first sight it appears a mere corriente; but the river swirls over a point of rock and forms a succession of whirlpools from which, they say, a canoe, if once drawn in, can never escape. In ascending, this rapid must be passed by the creek on the right bank; but at low water it is said that the rapid does not offer much obstacle, although I am inclined to think that this information is very uncertain. The aforesaid channel on the right bank offers no obstacles that cannot be overcome by hard work in unloading or hauling, and is therefore preferable. The descent should be made almost in mid-channel, while, if anything, steering to the left rather than to the right bank. There is a tradition that the name of Misericordia was given to this rapid after a dreadful occurrence that is said to have happened in the early part of this century, when a party of Brazilian soldiers from the province of Mato Grosso descending the rapids, one of their canoes wrecked in mid-stream; some of the men succeeding in temporarily escaping to the rock, on which, their comrades being unable to afford them any help by ropes, or approach them with canoes, they were starved to death in sight of, but absolutely out of the reach of, their comrades. If this story be a true one, it is difficult to determine whose fate was the hardest; that of those who perished seeing their end approaching by slow but sure degrees, or thatof their sorrowing comrades on the mainland, who were unable to afford any help to the sufferers on the dreadful rock. With this fearsome tale attached to the spot, well may the Bolivian Indian, on nearing the cachuela, fervently chant the solemn “Misericordia! Misericordia! livra nos siempre de todo mal.”
On the 24th, we found that the canoes left the night before below the rapid had grounded from the fall of the river, and we had to take a little more cargo out so that they might float, when we got them hauled up the creek over the rocks, and reloaded by eight o’clock. Just as we were starting, we saw three canoes coming down the river from Bolivia, and got news that the country was in a state of revolution. This was a bad augury for the success of my journey through the Republic; but there was no help for it but to go ahead, and take things as they might be. We also learned that the Brazilian consul in the Beni provinces had recently been assassinated by one of his own Brazilian servants in his estancia, a few leagues below the village of Exaltacion. I was pleased to find that this outrage had not been committed by Bolivian Indians, who are, as a rule, much quieter and more tractable than the mixed races of Brazil. Proceeding onwards from Misericordia, our canoes kept on the right bank, arriving at nightfall at a good stopping-place, after having passed over four strong currents, and leaving the main part of the next cachuela to be passed on the following morning with the canoes half unloaded.
The whole of the 25th was occupied in passingthe principal fall of the Madeira Rapid and the currents above it. The junction of the river Beni occurs amongst the currents above the principal fall, and from this circumstance the fall has been named the “Cachuela de Madeira,” as below the junction the Madeira River is said to commence. From the junction of the Beni to that of the Itenez, the river is by some called the Rio Grande, by others the Itenez, and it is only above the latter junction that the Mamoré reigns. Above the Madeira Fall, and in the neighbourhood of the junction of the Beni, the river is much broken up by islands, and consequently the navigation of this stretch is almost, if not quite, as bad as that of the “Rabo do Ribeirão.” At the junction of the river Beni, the river appears as though it divided itself into two parts, and they seemed to me to be almost of equal width and volume of water. This day the south wind blew very strong and cold, and all the men complained greatly, as they had to be constantly in the water.
Early morning of the 26th the expedition continued the ascent of the river, arriving at the rapids of “Layes” about 11.30 a.m. These rapids are formed by two small falls with a current below them, and were passed with canoes half unloaded. Near the fall, but below it, is a wide stream on the right side of the river, and we halted for breakfast here, so as to allow the men time to fish; but they had no luck in consequence of the south wind, which, it is said, hinders the fish from taking the baits. We got clear of the fall and canoes reloaded by about 4 p.m., and, though late, determined to endeavour to overtake the canoes that had got ahead of us, andwhich we saw up stream above us; but we were only able to get about a quarter of a mile or so when it got dark, and we had to pull up and make fast for the night. This cachuela gave us more trouble than was anticipated; but I fancy that it is better at low water, for the channels then would be better defined: now the channels are amongst rocks, and very difficult to find and to keep the canoes in. In this part of the river I noticed a great many wild cocoa trees, which, although growing almost universally on the banks of the Madeira and Mamoré, are hereabouts more thickly collected together. The fruit of these trees is of very superior quality, and it would require very little labour to organize an excellent plantation.
The 27th we started at daybreak, and got out of the last of the Layes currents by eight o’clock, and came in sight of the bluffs and highlands of the next cachuela, called “Pao Grande,” at which we arrived by 9.30 a.m., pulling up in a capital little port with a good sandbank, but only room for about four canoes at a time. Here we overtook the other canoes that had got ahead, and had to unload all our cargoes, as the fall is impassable with loaded canoes at any season of the year. The channel we passed up is on the right or Brazilian side of the river, and to look at seems to be one of the worst passes amongst the rapids, having two “saltos,” or jumps, each of about four feet in height, up which one would hardly fancy that canoes could be made to ascend. It was wonderful to see how well the Bolivian Indians managed to make the heavy canoes ascend these almost perpendicular falls. They would first seek out a part of the fall that, as well as havingplenty of water going over it—say about eighteen inches in depth—should have a good supply of weeds growing on the rocks, as over these weeds the bottom of the canoe slides easily. Then the bulk of the men are set to pull steadily on the two ropes that are attached to the bow, these ropes being spread out as much as possible on either side, so that a pull can be put on right or left as circumstances require. A rope is also kept on the stern, but only requires the attention of a couple of good men, while in the canoe the captain at the helm directs all the workers, and two of the best men in the bows keep the canoe off the rocks as she answers to the pull of the men on shore. In this manner three heavy canoes were passed up this fall in about a couple of hours. On the land side of the channel the rocks stand up about twenty feet above the water, and it was rather an exciting scene to stand on one of these rocks and see the men pulling and shouting down below. My canoe shipped a good deal of water by slewing round as it was being pulled up one of the jumps. This was caused by one of the head ropes being allowed to slacken at this inopportune moment; but, as she was empty, it did not much matter. The path over which the cargoes are carried is about a quarter of a mile in length, and goes over very rocky ground. At dark we had nearly all our cargo over, so stopped work for the night. Weather dull and cold, the wind being still southerly and chilly. The men are, however, improving in health, slight attacks of fever with one or two of them being the only complaints.