A glimpse of the isles of the Pacific . around the rapids, as itwas dangerous for us to go through; in fact, sometimesboats are turned over here and both passengers andluggage spilled in the water. We had many sharp turns tomake, and our boats dragged on the bottom frequently;however, we were landed at the first steamboat stationabout ten oclock, having made the seventeen miles incanoes in three hours. Our first steamer on this far-famed river is a novelty. It draws twelve or fourteeninches of water and is built for shooting the rapids, andwe certainly had a great ride on it. There were rapids
A glimpse of the isles of the Pacific . around the rapids, as itwas dangerous for us to go through; in fact, sometimesboats are turned over here and both passengers andluggage spilled in the water. We had many sharp turns tomake, and our boats dragged on the bottom frequently;however, we were landed at the first steamboat stationabout ten oclock, having made the seventeen miles incanoes in three hours. Our first steamer on this far-famed river is a novelty. It draws twelve or fourteeninches of water and is built for shooting the rapids, andwe certainly had a great ride on it. There were rapids atleast every half mile, and the water was so shallow that thesteamer dragged on the rocks at each rapid; it was builtwith heavy wooden bottom and slid over apparentlywithout damage. We went down the river on this first steamer untiltwelve oclock, where another steamer was awaiting second steamer is a little larger than the first, anddraws fifteen or sixteen inches of water, but built in thesame way for shooting the rapids. 49. After getting a good lunch at the house boat, mooredhere to serve as a hotel, we steamed on down toPipiriki, where we stopped for the night. There is nothingat this place except the hotel built there for the use oftourists, and it is very good. Next morning, we started out early on the largeststeamer on the river; it is about fifty per cent larger thanthe second steamer which we used the day previous. Wehad here some additional passengers and, including thecrew, carried forty people, and the boat was full. I shouldmention that the crew on all these steamers consisted ofthe pilot, who is also the captain, the engineer and twopolemen, one at the bow and the other at the stern, eachwith a pole. In many places the turns were so sharp, andthe current so swift, that these polemen were needed topush the steamer either to starboard or port. There is some local business along the river; wheneveran individual wishes to ride, all he does is to wait on theb
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookidglimpseofisl, bookyear1907
