CHAPTER XVIII.
The sad and momentous era referred to at the close of the chapter preceding the last.
One sultry evening, many weeks after our trav- ellers had passed the uncomfortable night on the floating island in the Gapo, they came to a place where the banks of the river rose boldly up in rugged rocks and hemmed in the waters of the Amazon, which were by this time somewhat abated. Here they put ashore, intending to kindle their fire and encamp for the night, having been up and hard at work since daybreak.
The evening was calm and beautiful, and the troublesome insects not so numerous as usual- -prob- ably owing to the nature of the ground. One or two monkeys showed themselves for a moment, as if to inquire who was there, and then ran away screaming ; a porcupine also crossed their path, and several small bright snakes, of a harmless species, glided over the rocks, and sought refuge among the small bushes;
