In Hostile Territory, Part 1 - The Scramble for the Amazon and the Lost Paradise of Euclides da Cunha - page 244

WehadanticipatedtheendofsteamnavigationatthemouthoftheChandless,afterwhichweknew
we would not be able to take advantage of our fleet because even the minimal draught of the vessels
was too great for the shallowness of the waters. But exactly on the day on which we hoped to arrive
at the confluence, when we found ourselves in the curve of São Braz, a disastrous accident happened
and changed the entire course of the expedition.
. . .
The passage at São Braz, unlike the others we had already crossed, offered the alternatives of be-
coming either shipwrecked or stranded—we could seek the convex side of the breach, which had the
powerful current shooting over shallow sands, or we could navigate on a chute of the concave part
of the banks, where the advantage of greater depth was completely annulled by the profusion of logs
whose threatening trunks could be avoided only with great difficulties. In weighing the dangers, we
naturally preferred the latter case. This was how the Cahuapuanas and Number 4 arrived safe and
sound through the dangerous section, although not without running aground on the sharp curve of the
meander,fromwhichtheyescapedonlyaftermuchmaneuvering.Luckilythesewerestilltryingtoget
free of the shoals, when the Cunha Gomes , traveling slightly behind and towing the heavy batelão ,
approached the chute, where navigation was extremely precarious due to the churning violence of the
current and the submerged logs that crammed the river.Inspite ofthis, the Cunha Gomes got through
this channel without incident. But then as it traveled through the oxbow (and in spite of a preliminary
sounding), it ran lightly aground on some sandbars.
The vessel backed up in order to dislodge itself, which it did easily. But as the current was very in-
tense,thelaunchshouldhaveadvancedquicklyrightafterbackingup,thusovercomingthecurrentso
that that its heavy towload would not smash into the underwater logs that were still close by. This did
not happen, because the engine failed at exactly the moment when it should have fired most power-
fully.Insteadthelaunch,withthe batelão intow,careenedvertiginouslyoverthemassesofpiledlogs
on the left margin, which slashed our batelão in a swath of 3×7 m. The launch was dragged by the
currentandsooncarriedashortwaytocollidewithanenormouslogof Cumarunarana ,wherefinally,
wrenched apart andwedged inthe sand, it began totake water andsank inanirretrievable shipwreck.
Figure 16.2. Da Cunha wrote: “The Manoel Urbano just before sinking. Transferring the cargo.”
Greatly helped by the crew of the Peruvian boat Cauapanas , who backed up our efforts with max-
imum dedication. After the heroic labors appropriate to such occasions, we managed to save little
more than half the rations, and at least there was no personal disaster to lament.
The Joint Commission was thus completely immobilized one day before reaching the confluence
of the Chandless, not just from the disaster but because the launch Cahuapanas for its part also could