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Cornugaya Directory 08
Page 01
However, thanks to the great civility of the managers of the Booth Line
at Manaos, and to the extreme thoughtfulness of the captain of the
_Atahualpa_, I was made quite comfortable in the chart-room of the ship,
which was as far away as possible from the noise. We were most of the
time in mid-stream. The river was so wide that we could not see anything
on either side. We steamed up day after day, occasionally passing islands
of some beauty rising above the muddy waters of the Solimoes. Navigation
of that river was difficult, as the navigable channels were constantly
changing, islands disappearing and new islands forming all the time.
Elich Island, in the Timbuctuba group, was fast disappearing, while
another island was forming just below it.
Next morning, all as happy as possible, we steamed down full speed on our
way back to Manaos. We came in for dirty weather all the time, which
obliged us to halt for several hours and put into Itaquatiara for
shelter. A few hours later we were once more in the capital of the
Amazonas, in the city of jewellers' shops and filthy food. On landing I
found Maxim guns and artillery on one side of the principal square, with
police troops in charge of them ready to fire; while on the other side
were the Federal troops, also with their artillery ready for battle. It
was with some concern that I found myself obliged to pass between those
warlike bodies in order to enter the hotel. I was not so anxious for
myself as I was for my photographic negatives and note-books, after I had
taken all that trouble to save them.
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