VOYAGE ON THE ATABAPO.
CHAPTER San
Fernando de Atabapo. — San
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XXII.
Balthasar. — The rivers Temi and
Tuamini. — Javita. — Portage from the Tuamini to the Rio Negro.
D U R I N G t h e n i g h t , w e had left, almost unperceived, t h e waters o f the O r i n o c o ; and at sunrise found ourselves as if transported t o a n e w c o u n t r y , on the banks of a river t h e name of which w e had scarcely ever heard p r o n o u n c e d , and which was t o c o n d u c t us, by the portage o f P i m i c h i n , t o t h e Rio N e g r o , on t h e frontiers of Brazil. " Y o u will g o u p , " said the president of t h e missions, w h o resides at San Fernando, " f i r s t the A t a b a p o , t h e n t h e T e m i , a n d finally, the Tuamini. W h e n t h e force of the current of ' b l a c k w a t e r s ' hinders y o u from advancing, Y O U will be c o n d u c t e d o u t of the b e d of the river t h r o u g h forests, w h i c h y o u will find inundated. T w o m o n k s only are settled in those desert places, between t h e O r i n o c o and t h e B i o N e g r o ; b u t at Javita y o u will b e furnished with t h e means of having y o u r c a n o e drawn o v e r land i n t h e c o u r s e of f o u r days t o C a ñ o Pimichin. I f it b e n o t b r o k e n t o pieces y o u will d e s c e n d the Rio N e g r o w i t h o u t any obstacle (from north-west t o south-east) as far as the little fort o f San C a r l o s ; y o u will go u p the Cassiquiare ( f r o m south t o n o r t h ) , a n d t h e n return t o San Fernando in a m o n t h , descending the U p p e r O r i n o c o from east t o w e s t . " Such was t h e plan traced for o u r passage, a n d w o carried it i n t o effect w i t h o u t danger, t h o u g h not w i t h o u t s o m e suffering, in the space o f t h i r t y three days. T h e O r i n o c o runs from its s o u r c e , o r at least from Esmeralda, as far as San F e r n a n d o de A t a b a p o . from east t o w e s t ; from San F e r n a n d o , ( w h e r e t h e j u n c t i o n o f t h e Guaviare and the A t a b a p o takes p l a c e , ) as far as t h e m o u t h o f the Rio A p u r e , it flows f r o m south to north, forming the G r e a t C a t a r a c t s ; and from t h e m o u t h of t h e A p u r e as far as A n g o s t u r a and the coast of the A t l a n t i c its direction is from west t o east. In the first part of its c o u r s e , where the river flows from east t o w e s t , it forms that celebrated bifurcation so often d i s p u t e d by geographers, of which I was the first enabled t o d e t e r m i n e t h e situation b y