Across Unknown South America

by Arnold Henry Savage Landor

The canoe, I might remind the reader, was 42 ft. long and 3½ ft. wide, of heavy solid wood, her bottom being over a foot thick, her sides from 3 to 5 in. in thickness, her stern and prow, roughly carved out, of great thickness also. I calculated her weight at over 2,000 lb., which was well under her actual weight.

I spoke to my men, and told them that we must take the canoe over the hill range. They had been very morose since our arrival at that spot, as they expected me to give ourselves up for lost when we came to what they believed to be an insuperable obstacle. They mutinied at once and took to their rifles, saying that they would not follow a lunatic any farther, a man who asked them to take a canoe over a hill.

"Do you not know," said one of them to me, with a fierce grin of contempt upon his face, "that canoes are made for the water and not to travel over mountains?"

"Do you not know," shouted Alcides, shaking his fist, "that it would take a hundred strong men to lift that canoe one inch above the water?—and we, including you, are only seven men, tired and worn.... You believe that because you are English you can do what you like. You will next ask the moon to come and row in our canoe so that we may get along! You have gone insane."

"Yes, he is mad!" they all said in a chorus. "We want the balance of our pay and we will leave you at once. Give us our money and we will go—we want to go."

I told them that they could have their money as soon as the canoe had gone over the hill and down the other side, and certainly not before. They could shoot me if they liked, but that would not help them very much, as I knew the way to get on and they did not. If they shot me they would perhaps die of starvation themselves soon. I agreed that it was a beautiful spot to die in, and perhaps they could hasten their departure by jumping into the fall, and thus end all the hardships, and, at least, arguments.

After those words, which I had spoken with gentleness, I turned, and—for the first time since they had been with me—in a stern tone of voice I ordered Filippe and Antonio to take their big knives and proceed to cut down ten or twelve of the straightest trees they could find. They refused. I quietly walked to the rifle which I generally used for shooting game, and inserted in it a clip of five cartridges. I cocked the rifle, and, placing my watch before me on a stone, gave the men five minutes to decide whether they would cut the trees or be shot. I also said that if any of them moved their rifles they would have a bullet put through them.

Filippe and Antonio dropped their rifles on the ground, reluctantly took the knives and walked away, I pointing out to them the tall trees which I wanted cut. I then ordered Alcides to take one of the axes and cut thirty rollers, each about 5 ft. long. The men were silent and yellow-faced with rage.

The trees in that region were easily cut down. After a few minutes down came a tree with a crash, and shortly after another. I walked to the men and patted them on the back, assuring them again that if they obeyed my orders we should soon proceed on our journey and should certainly arrive safely at a point where they could return home and be happy.

Alcides thereupon turned round asking me whether I intended them to cut down the entire forest and then request them to pierce a tunnel through the hill range—or perhaps I might want the whole hill range flattened down for my convenience!