I devoted the day to examining the forest on the declivities overhanging the left bank of the Tambopata, and this was by far the most toilsome and dangerous forest journey we had yet made, rendered worse by a comparative want of success. The whole way was along giddy precipices, seeming to hang half way between the sky and the roaring torrent, with no foothold but decaying leaves, nothing to grasp but rotten branches, every motion a drenching bath from wet leaves, every other step a painful and dangerous slip or fall, besides hornets, and endless thorns. Among the latter I was struck by a tree called _itapallu_, with trunk and branches thickly set with thorns, very large leaves, and the fruit in clusters, like bunches of pearls with purple stalks. We met with large pigeons, flocks of green parrots, paroquets, and tunquis. The forest peeps across the river were superb, but it was difficult to enjoy them. Martinez pointed out a small _Asplenium_, called _espincu_, which has a sweet taste, and is sometimes chewed by the Indians for want of coca; and the _panchi_, a tall slender malvaceous tree, with large round leaves on spreading branches at the top, and very white wood. It is used by the Chunchos for procuring fire by friction, and the bark, which peels off in long strips, is serviceable for girdles. During this day we came to the largest _Calisaya_ we had yet seen, and Martinez operated on the bark to show his dexterity as a cascarillero, which was remarkable.[336] Our collection only amounted to fourteen plants, among them two fine seedlings of _C. Calisaya_, two of _C. micrantha_, two of _C. ovata, var. β rufinervis_, and the remainder root-shoots of _C. Calisaya_: seedlings of the latter species are exceedingly rare. We returned to our camp dead beat, and drenched to the skin, only to find that my Indians were mutinous, declaring that they had been away long enough, that they had no maize or coca left, and that they must return to their homes at once. Our only hope rested upon them, and, if they had deserted, all our plans would have been entirely frustrated. It, however, required no little persuasion and eloquence to induce them to change their minds, and, as they had nothing left to eat, I sent Andres Vilca back to Gironda, to entreat him to supply us with a few chuñus and a little coca. I then told the others, in their own expressive language, that if they deserted me they were liars, thieves, traitors, and children of the Devil, whose punishment would soon overtake them; while if they were true to me they would be well rewarded, and would enjoy the friendship of a Viracocha. After this great effort in Quichua, the evening ended pleasantly. The Indians had built themselves a little shed of palm-leaves near the tent door, a bright fire was lighted, and its cheery reflection danced on the waves of the noisy flood.