Chapter 8 Chapter 8 The Big Raft

Workers have cleared half a mile of forest.Now, all they have to do is to weave these century-old trees lying across the shore into rafts. It's an easy job, really!In Joam.Under the command of Garrard, the Indians of the estate will show their unparalleled skills.These Indians were undoubtedly excellent workers when it came to building houses or boats.Though each of them had only an ax and a saw, and the trees in the forest were hard enough to split their tools; yet, whether they planed a trunk into squares, or hammered a tree into beams, Or sawing trees into boards of different thicknesses, they can operate freely without a chainsaw, because they are born with a pair of dexterous and agile hands.

In the beginning, these felled trees were not pushed into the Amazon River.Joam.Galar was used to another method: he directed the workers to evenly discharge the pile of wood on a wide and flat beach.This low-lying beach is located at the confluence of the Amazon and Nanai rivers.The big raft is about to be built here.It is also in this place that, when the time comes, the Amazon will float the great raft and carry it to its destination. Here, an explanation of the geographical position of this unparalleled expanse of water is required, and, incidentally, a strange phenomenon witnessed by the inhabitants of its coasts.

Two rivers may be longer than this great artery in Brazil, the Nile and the Missouri-Mississippi.The Nile River flows through the continent of Africa from south to north, while the Mississippi River runs through North America from north to south.Both rivers flow through regions of different latitudes, so they are also affected by different climates. On the contrary, from the point where it begins to turn eastward at the border between Ecuador and Peru, the Amazon has been flowing between the two and four degrees south latitude.So the great river has been subjected to the same climatic influences throughout its course.

In this region, there are only two distinct seasons: the rainy season and the dry season.The interval between two rainy seasons is six months.In northern Brazil, the rainy season begins in September.In contrast, in southern Brazil, the rainy season begins in March.Therefore, the water level of the tributaries on the left and right banks of the river rises alternately, with an interval of half a year.Thus, after reaching its highest point in June, the water level of the Amazon River begins to drop until October. This is Joam.Galar observed the phenomenon based on experience.He planned to use the river water to float the raft after he built it on the bank of the Amazon River.The water level of the Amazon River can reach as high as twelve meters above mean water level and as low as ten meters below mean water level.In this way, it will be much more convenient for the manor owner to act.

Work started soon.On the vast sandy beach, workers arrange the tree trunks on the vast sandy beach according to the thickness of the trunks and the size of the buoyancy (this is a factor that must be considered).Some of the wood in these heavy and hard trunks is almost as dense as water. When building the bottom layer of a large raft, the tree trunks cannot be placed side by side.Between the trunks, a certain interval should be left, connected with small beams, so as to ensure the solidity of the whole raft.Workers connect tree trunks with piazaba cables.Ropes of this texture are as strong as those made of hemp.The material is made from the fibers of a palm tree that abounds along the banks of the great river.Because the Piasaba cable not only has buoyancy, but also is not afraid of seawater erosion, in addition, its manufacturing cost is very low.As a result, this material has become a precious commodity, making its way into the Old World [Note: Refers to other continents before the discovery of the Americas. 】 of the trade field.

On the two layers of tree trunks and girders, workers laid planks of different thicknesses to form the deck of the large raft, which is about 0.8 meters away from the waterline. The amount of wood used in the large raft is astonishing.If we do the calculations, it is not difficult to find that this huge raft is 300 meters long, 18 meters wide, and has an area of ​​about 5,400 square meters.This is really a whole forest that is going to float on the Amazon River. The construction of the big raft was mainly done in Joam.However, once the big raft is built, the interior decoration of the raft, which has already been put on the schedule, will be discussed by everyone.Of course, the opinion of the righteous and good Fragoso was also sought.

Incidentally, here is the question of Fragoso's status in the estate. Fragoso has lived happily ever since he was accepted into this hospitable family.Joam.Galar invites him to go to Pala with him.For, according to his account, he too was on his way to Pala when the vine hung from his neck and prevented his progress.Fragoso gratefully accepted the invitation.From then on, in order to repay the Galar family, he tried his best to serve them.He is a very clever young man. Not only can he do everything with his skillful hands, but he can also do everything very well.He is as lively, cheerful and eloquent as Lina, and he is also a person who sings all day long, and everyone quickly likes him.

However, he always felt that he owed a deep debt of gratitude to the young mixed-race girl, and he often said: Thank you, Miss Lina, for that brilliant idea of ​​following the vine.Really, this game is really fun.Although one doesn't always find a poor barber at the end of the vine! Mr. Fragoso, I assure you that it was only by chance and you owe me nothing!Lina replied with a smile. oh!You can't say that!You saved my life, and I even hope that my life can be extended for another hundred years, so that I can thank you for a long time!You know, I wasn't born to hang myself either.But at the time it was out of desperation.After careful consideration, I think it is better to die like this than starve to death or be eaten by wild animals!Therefore, this long vine, it should be regarded as a bond between us, so you can't just say

Such conversations are generally light-hearted and pleasant.In fact, Fragoso is really grateful that the half-race girl came up with this idea first, otherwise he would not be saved.As for Lina, she was not indifferent to the gratitude of this honest young man who was as open, frank, and agreeable as herself.Their friendship, then, was bound to invite some good-natured jests from Benito, old Siebel, and others. Without further ado, let's get back to the big raft.After some discussion, it was decided that the raft should be furnished as comfortably and as well as a manor house, since after all the journey would last for several months!The Galar family, including the manor couple, Mina, Benito, Manoel, and their servants Siebel and Lina, needed a separate residence.To this, add the quarters of the forty Indians, forty negroes, Fragoso and the navigator of the great raft.

Such a large number of personnel is just enough for the needs of a large raft.Because the big raft not only has to sail in the rapids of the Amazon River, but also shuttles among hundreds of large and small islands.Though the water of the Amazon powered the great raft, it could not pilot it.Eighty men, therefore, with one hundred and sixty arms to paddle, were required to keep this gigantic raft halfway between the banks. First, the master's quarters were to be built at the rear of the great raft, which consisted of five bedrooms and a large dining room.Joam.Galar and his wife, Lina and Siebel, Benito and Manoel will each share a room, while Mina will have a room to herself, which will be the most comfortably furnished.

The wood panels used to build the master room are carefully arranged in shingles.Since the planks are soaked in hot resin, they are impermeable and extremely airtight.Side and front windows make the room very bright.The front door opens to the front of the raft, leading to the living room.On the slender bamboo poles, there is a light balcony, which can avoid direct sunlight from entering the interior of the house.The whole house is painted in a light ochre, a color that not only does not absorb heat, but also reflects it, keeping the room temperature at a pleasant temperature. When Joam.Mina said to Joam when the main work on the Galar schedule was completed: Dad, you helped us build the house, but you left us to furnish the interior, the exterior design of the room is yours and the interior design is ours.Mom and I, we wanted to make the rooms here like they were in the manor.That way, when you travel, you'll feel as if you never left Hacienda Iquitos! Do it your way!Mina!Joam.Gallal said with a smile.It was, however, a sad smile, which appeared now and then on Joam's face. marvelous! I trust your taste!my dear daughter! dad!This will do us a favor!Mina replied that we should do this for the country we are going to, which is also our country.You're going back there after a long absence! Yes!Mina, yes!Joam.Galar said, it was a bit like we went back after being exiled, a voluntary exile!Do your best!my daughter!I completely agree with everything you are going to do right now! In addition to Mina and Lina, Manoel and Fragoso volunteered to decorate the interior of the room.Imaginative and artistically inspired, they're sure to decorate a room beautifully! First of all, naturally, the most beautiful furniture in the manor should be displayed here.Once in Pala, it's just a matter of finding a boat on the Amazon River to bring them back.The furniture includes: tables, bamboo chairs, rattan chairs, carved display racks. All the pleasing furniture needed to furnish a tropical room has been tastefully placed in this water villa by a few young people.You can feel that in the process of furnishing the furniture, the two men are just collaborators, and it is the skillful hands of the two ladies who really play a leading role.Is it possible to leave the walls bare?No!no way!The walls will be adorned with the most beautiful wall hangings, made of the bark of a precious tree called tutuli, which, like the softest and most varied damasks used as upholstery cloth in modern times, also has Very wide creases.On the floor of the room, there are well-striped leopard skins and thick ape skins, which are very soft and comfortable for the feet to step on.The windows are hung with soft orange-red silk curtains made from Sumayuma.Each bed has a mosquito net, and the pillows, mattresses, and cushions on the bed are stuffed with the cool and elastic pumba grass of the Upper Amazon River. On the trinket shelf and on the table against the wall, there are some pretty knickknacks.These things are especially precious to Mina because they were brought by Manoel from Rio de Janeiro or Belem.And what could be more delightful than a small gift from these friends?Although they are silent, they seem to be telling you something. In a few days, the interior of the room has been completely decorated, giving people the feeling that they are in a room in the manor.There is no better place to live, under a few beautiful trees, on the bank of a mighty river.As the big raft travels down between the banks of the great river, it never overshadows the scenery on either side. One more thing to add is that the outside of this home is just as charming as the inside.Because several young people competed to display their imagination and aesthetic power in the exterior decoration. The entire exterior of the house is covered with greenery from the basement to the last patterns on the roof.In the green bushes, there are blooming orchids, monocots and climbing plants, and they are nourished by several boxes of good soil.Never before had the branches of the acacia and fig trees been adorned with such splendid tropical ornaments!On the corbels supporting the ridge, on the arched beams of the roof, and on the lintels of the rooms, there are slender and lovely shoots, golden grape vines, beautiful colorful bouquets and intertwined long creepers everywhere. stem.These plants only need to be picked in the forest near the manor.A long vine that can surround the house in several circles connects these parasitic plants: it sometimes appears in every corner, sometimes decorates the protruding part of the room, and sometimes diverges and diverts to form a new branch, From time to time, it extends its branches and vines so that people can't see the house from the outside.The house seems to have been submerged in a sea of ​​flowers. It is not difficult for us to guess who made such an ingenious arrangement: the end of this cypress vine blooms in full bloom, straight to Lina's window, as if a long arm sent a bouquet of fresh flowers to the half-race girl through the blinds . All in all, everything is so charming.As long as Yaquita, Mina and Rina are satisfied, that's enough. We can also plant a few trees on the big raft if you like.Benito suggested. oh!plant trees!cried Mina. why not?Manoel went on to say: If you just move some good soil to the firm deck, I am sure that the big tree will grow lush and green.Because we don't have to worry about climate change, the Amazon always flows at the same latitude! Besides, Benito went on, don't the great rivers wash away some green islands every day?Aren't these plants, together with the bushes, thorn bushes, rocks and grasslands on the island, flowing into the Atlantic Ocean more than 3,000 kilometers away?So why not turn our big raft into a water garden? Miss Lina!Do you want a forest?asked the very confident Fragoso. oh!Yes, I want a forest!The young half-race girl cried out, asking for a forest with birds and monkeys! And snakes and jaguars!Benito added. And Indians and their nomadic tribes!Manoel said. There are even natives who eat people! Hi!Fragoso, where are you going?Seeing the swift Fragoso climb up the bank's slope, Mina couldn't help crying. Go to the forest!Fragoso replied. Mina smiled and said: No need, my friend.Manoel has sent me a batch of saplings, I am very satisfied.Then she pointed to the house submerged in the flowers and said, yes, he has hidden our house in his engagement flowers!