It Was Generally From Three To Four Hundred Yards
Broad, And In The Middle About Seventeen Feet Deep.
The
rapidity of the current, which in its whole course runs at
the rate of from four to six knots an hour, is perhaps its
most remarkable feature.
The water is of a fine blue colour,
but with a slight milky tinge, and not so transparent as at
first sight would have been expected. It flows over a bed of
pebbles, like those which compose the beach and the surrounding
plains. It runs in a winding course through a
valley, which extends in a direct line westward. This valley
varies from five to ten miles in breadth; it is bounded by
step-formed terraces, which rise in most parts, one above the
other, to the height of five hundred feet, and have on the
opposite sides a remarkable correspondence.
April 19th. - Against so strong a current it was, of
course, quite impossible to row or sail: consequently the
three boats were fastened together head and stern, two hands
left in each, and the rest came on shore to track. As the
general arrangements made by Captain Fitz Roy were very
good for facilitating the work of all, and as all had a share
in it, I will describe the system. The party including every
one, was divided into two spells, each of which hauled at the
tracking line alternately for an hour and a half. The officers
of each boat lived with, ate the same food, and slept
in the same tent with their crew, so that each boat was
quite independent of the others. After sunset the first level
spot where any bushes were growing, was chosen for our
night's lodging. Each of the crew took it in turns to be
cook. Immediately the boat was hauled up, the cook made
his fire; two others pitched the tent; the coxswain handed
the things out of the boat; the rest carried them up to the
tents and collected firewood. By this order, in half an hour
everything was ready for the night. A watch of two men
and an officer was always kept, whose duty it was to look
after the boats, keep up the fire, and guard against Indians.
Each in the party had his one hour every night.
During this day we tracked but a short distance, for there
were many islets, covered by thorny bushes, and the channels
between them were shallow.
April 20th. - We passed the islands and set to work. Our
regular day's march, although it was hard enough, carried
us on an average only ten miles in a straight line, and perhaps
fifteen or twenty altogether. Beyond the place where
we slept last night, the country is completely _terra incognita_,
for it was there that Captain Stokes turned back. We saw
in the distance a great smoke, and found the skeleton of a
horse, so we knew that Indians were in the neighbourhood.
On the next morning (21st) tracks of a party of horse
and marks left by the trailing of the chuzos, or long spears,
were observed on the ground.
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