pafiable ftate of the ground, We, therefore, again refumed our courfe
with, thelaffiftance o f poles, with which we pufhed onwards till .we came
^eneath a precipice, where we could not find any bottom:; fo that we.were
again obliged to have recourfe to the line, the managernent o f which
was rendered not only difficult but. dangerous, as the men employed in
tawing were under fcfe neceflity; ofpafibig on the ouifides of trees; dhat
grew- on the edge ©f the precipice.. We, haweveryfurmounted this difficulty;
as we had done many others, and th.e; people. who had been
walking over: land now joined usu, iThey alfo. had met witbtj#pir, ob-
ftacles in paffing the mountain. ,
It now became neceffaryFor ns-to make a traM(^fe,^he^itb^ fwat#
was. fo rapid, that fome of the people- ftripped themfelVes fo thpjr ftnrta
that they mightbe the. better; prepared for fwimming, in Gafe ,any;
dent happened to the canoe, which they ferioaffly .app^ehead%|if
Jfucceeded iaour attempt without any other inc©u.venjepp|j,,exeegt;th^t
o f taking in water-, ift W e now came, ftp. a; cafcadc^whenritlw^s iJjpugfot
neceffary fo take» put partof the. lading. At. noon we-ftopped to. taka an
altitude, oppofite, to a fmall river thatflowed jn, from theJeftawhile,I
was thus; engaged, themen went on there. to^faftenttfec^peiiibnt,^ the
current, wasnoti vejy ftijong, they had ..been negligent im
this office ;v it pyoyed, howeser»' infficientiy ^ppw^tfftl
and if it had not happened -that. the men.,from..abfp]iite fatignp
had remained and held the end; of the line, we fhcruld have , been, deprived
of every means o£ profecuting, our voyage, as well as of pre-
fent fubfiftenee. But notwithftanding the ftate of my mind otnfuch
an alarming circumftance, and an intervening cloud that interrupted
me, the altitude which: I took has been fince proved to be tolerably’
eorre61, and.gave 561 North latitude. Our laft c-ourfe was South-South-
Weft two miles and a quarter.
$, We pow continued our. toilfome and perilous prpg^s with the line
Weft by North, and as ’we proceeded the rapidity, of the current in-
.©reafed, fo that in the diftance of*two miles- we were- obliged to unload
four times, and carry everything but the canoe indeed, in many places,
bwaswith the utmoft difficulty that we cpuld prevent W bom being
dafhed to pkces„againft,the^toc|.s the violence of the eddies. At five
we had; proceeded to where the, ri yen was one continued rapid. Here
we again took eyery thing out of the canoe; in order to tow her up with
the line, though*the rocks were fo‘ fhelving as greatly to increafe the toil
and hazard of that .operation. **At length,, however^the: agitation o f the
jwater; was fo .great, yhat a wave finking »On the.ibow of thp eanoe-tbroke
the-line, and filled us with inexpreffible .difmay^a-s it appeared .impof-
fible that the veflel could efcape from, being dafhed to pieces, and thofe
who were in-her from peri&ing.-Anothcr wave,-: however; more propitious
than the former, drove her out of the tumbling water, fo that the
men were enabled to- bring her a fhore,- and thoqgh- fbechadbeen- carried
over rocks; by tbefe dwells -which left them naked a moment after, the
canoe had received-no material injury.' The men- were,-however, m fuch
,a ftate-from their, late alarm, that it wau|d not only havebeen'unavailing
but imprudent to have propofed any further progrefs at prefent, particularly
as the river above us, as far as we could fee, was one white- fheet-
of foaming water.-
CHAP.