Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 17.2.
The commercial house of Carlos Scharff on the Curanjá.
In this way we arrived at Curanja, traveling in lands now populated only by foreigners and facing
an immense and hostile region with just nine men—who arrived flayed, with mangled, bleeding feet,
corroded by the sands. This was because we had had to haul the canoes innumerable times over suc-
cessive sandbars due to the extreme declines of the river level. Besides this, I soon understood that
even for our reduced number (we were nine in total), our supplies were very short—they would not
last for two months. As if this were not enough, our boats were becoming ever more inadequate for
the rapidly draining waters. They were the two heavy canoes of
itaúba
wood in which we had been
travelingfromthemouthoftheChandless.ThetreetrunksthathadcloggedtherivereversinceNovo
Destino seemed ever more numerous, choking the straits, which barely permitted the narrowest ca-
noes to navigate through them. During these trials, our chronometers, already battered from one ship-
wreck, continued to be further pummeled as we jolted against logs just slightly below the surface . . .
and from Curanja onward, besides these, they would be subjected to blows incomparably more dam-
aging from boulders which were increasing in size the more we advanced. The river volume of the
Curanja, roughly equal to that of the Purús, foretold a doubling of efforts. The main river (the Purús),
already so depleted, would be almost impassable when it lost that tributary. . . .
Your Excellency, you can ascertain from this sparse information the seriousness of our situation.
In spite of this I did not think of turning back. But to continue, it was imperative that we use our
time tobestadvantage. Anydelay wouldimply twoimmense inconveniences that loomed largereach
day: the lack of food and the drying river. So I resolved to start the next phase of our expedition even
though the indispensable calibration of our chronometers really demanded a calmer and longer stay.
Fortunately, there still remained ahead an intermediate point—the confluence of the Cujar with Cur-
iúja, where we could do this. During the several days of delay in Curanja, I carried out observations
that lacked the precision of those who dispose of the time to wait for clear skies and favorable condi-
tions. As a result, our standard and that of the Peruvians were off by 18 seconds, and that to a large
degree was a result of the vicissitudes though which our equipment had passed.
At Curanja, where we were very well received, we were more disheartened by news about the sur-
rounding region we were preparing to enter. It was concluded that it was impenetrable, accessible
only with the light balsa
ubás
of the
caucho
hunters, manned by domesticated Amahuaca Indians.
Sandbars, logs, and boulders clogged the river, impassable waterfalls reappeared, while in the river-
bed itself, vast floating meadows would thwart the boldest foray. The riverbanks were entirely im-
possible, and on top of these tribulations there was the hostility of the treacherous Amahuacas and
fearless Campa Indians. Locals cited the recent homicide of an employee of the Casa Arana in the
Cujar
varadouro
, and in addition to this verifiable case, others without number were invoked, further
demoralizing us and convincing us that we would never arrive at the end.
But still we continued from Curanja to the headwaters. I confess to Your Excellency that we went
forward intent on encountering the obvious, tangible impossibilities that would completely justify a
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