CHAPTER III.

THE KAIETEUR FALL AND RORAIMA.

The Kaieteur Fall-First Visit-The Potaro River-Amootoo Cataract-The Kaieteur Ravine-To the Foot of the Fall-The Kaieteur, in Dry Weather, from above-The Kaieteur Savannah-A New Plant (Brocchinia cordylinoides, Baker?)—A new bird (Agelæus imthurni, Sclater)—A Second Visit to the Kaieteur--Beautiful Flowers-Portaging the Boat -The Kaieteur Fall, from above, in the Rainy Season-The Best Way to Visit the Fall-Roraima.

THE two most interesting natural features in the interior of Guiana, those which have attracted most attention from the outside world, are the Kaieteur fall and the mountain called Roraima. Some account of these is therefore necessary. Unfortunately I can write only of the former from personal experience, and, as regards Roraima, must trust to the accounts of the three or four travellers who, unlike myself, have had the good fortune to visit it.

The existence of the Kaieteur fall was unknown till 1871, when it was discovered and described by Mr. C. Barrington Brown, who was at the time engaged in making a geological survey of the colony. It is formed by the fall of the river Potaro, a tributary of the Essequibo, over an abrupt cliff of 741 feet. The width of the fall at times of high water, is 370 feet; while at low water it decreases to rather less than half that width.

Compared with some other falls the Kaieteur is small; for while it ranks far below the Yosemite both in height and width, it falls far short of Niagara in width though it exceeds it in height. But as regards the surrounding scenery it is impossible to believe that even the scenery of the Yosemite can exceed that of the Kaieteur ;

and that round Niagara is, now at least, notoriously commonplace. It is, in fact, the marvellous surroundings combined with the magnitude, which should make the magnificence of the Kaieteur.

In the ten years since its existence was first made known, the Kaieteur has but seldom been visited. The discoverer, accompanied by some other travellers, paid a second visit to it within a few months. But between that time and 1878 it was seen by white men only on four occasions. In the last-mentioned year, and again in the following year, I was able to visit it twice, seeing it on the first of these occasions during a very dry season, and on the second during a very wet season.

Leaving Georgetown on the 13th of October 1878, we passed up the Essequibo-a journey up which I have already described, as far as the mouth of the Potaro river. On the sixth day we reached Toomatoomari cataract, some eight miles up the Potaro. This place is indescribably lovely. A large land-locked bay is filled with groups of trees, with bright yellow sand in smooth stretches and in sloping banks, with rocks, with pools of still water; and at the upper end is a low but broad foaming cataract. It was Saturday evening, and we determined to spend the whole of the next day there, for the large canoe could go no further, and we had to select from our stores what seemed absolutely necessary for our further journey, which would have to be in the boat and a woodskin purchased from some passing Ackawoi.

The next morning when I awoke I found that the tree, of a genus (Eugenia) new to me, to which one end of my hammock was tied, had burst into a marvellous sheet of pure white blossom. The branches touched the ground. Dense masses of its tiny feathery flowers, nestling along each branch and branchlet, made the whole look as if weighed down with snow. Its scent filled the air, and had attracted a host of humming-birds, butterflies, and bees, filling the air with their murmur. Sight, scent, and sound were equally grateful.

Early next morning, having hauled our boat up the cataract on the previous evening, and leaving four men in charge of the canoe and the surplus stores, we walked along the portage path past the cataract; and thirteen of us embarked for our further journey.

Toomatoomari cataract is one of the gates of Fairyland. Beyond it the scenery of the Potaro, at least when the river is low, is one constantly changing beautiful picture, and far surpasses that of any other river I have seen in Guiana. It is in times of low water, when the rocks are uncovered, that the rivers of this country are seen to best advantage. This river of wonderfully clear wine-red water is about three hundred yards wide, and flows among single rocks and islands of rocks, confusedly piled, some large, some small, some waterworn into flutings so regular that it is difficult to remember that they are not fragments of huge masonry; some so regularly square that they look as if cut by a Norman builder; some rounded like the boulders of our English downs; some of every conceivable shape and fracture; all heaped on each other in most chaotic confusion. The gaps between the jutting points of the rock-islands are filled by banks of clean bright sand sloping gently into the water. Wherever the sand met the water on the edges of these banks, great troops of yellow, white, or blue butterflies were clustering to suck the moisture. The river-banks, thickly wooded as on every other river of Guiana, are here rounded into many hills and slopes, between each two of which one of innumerable small streams runs down into the main stream.

The first day from Toomatoomari, spent in an untented boat, on level water, and under a hot sun, was somewhat trying, and was the one hardship which we had to endure during the whole expedition. In the afternoon we passed the mouth of the Cooriebrong river, then very low. Opposite to the mouth of this river, on the left bank of the Potaro, was a newly built Ackawoi settlement, then temporarily deserted. This was the first of many new settlements which we passed; for it seemed that the Ackawoi were beginning to