352 THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 



Finally, on January 6, in the afternoon, I started with three natives — 

 the canoe so heavily laden as to leave less than three inches of free board 

 above the water — and reached the port of Maipures on the Rio Tuparo 

 before noon of the eighth. 



The canoe and two men were immediately sent back to Salvajito, with 

 instructions for Mr. Iglseder to come with the next load. In crossing the 

 rapids of Guajibo, a short distance below the mouth of the Tuparo, one of 

 the natives was lost together with the canoe, and the rest of the party re- 

 mained stranded on an island nearly two days, until rescued by a passing 

 party of Guajibo Indians. 



The portage at Maipures is only three miles across savanna country, 

 interspersed with huge granite boulders and small clumps of forest. During 

 my enforced stay I had ample time to explore the surrounding country and 

 visit the rapids, three in number, which here obstruct the river. The falls 

 of the Carretia, said to be about thirty feet high, block the eastern arm of the 

 Orinoco, which is divided into two branches by the great Isla de Raton. 

 Small collections were made, as well as photographs taken of the rapids, 

 vegetation, and wonderful granite formations. It would be difficult indeed 

 adequately to describe some of these towering blocks of stone, cracked and 

 weathered into fantastic shapes, partially covered with creepers and sur- 

 rounded by a low growth of spiny palms and gnarled stunted trees. Clumps 

 of pineapples, cacti, and various species of thorny shrubs growing in cracks 

 in the ledges impart to patches of the country a desolate and decidedly 

 desert-like appearance. 



Along the river huge masses of rock were exposed by the low water, 

 showing caves, grottoes and other marvelous formations. Many of the 

 sloping ledges are honey-combed with hundreds of pot-holes of various sizes 

 and degrees of perfection. 



A large piragua conveyed the expedition to San Fernando de Atabapo 

 in six days' time. We had anticipated easily securing the required native 

 help here, but found that nearly every available man had gone to the rubber 

 camps up the river. It required several days to enlist the number sufficient 

 for our purpose. Then began the arduous voyage on the upper Orinoco. 

 Great playas stretched along the banks almost continually, some of them 

 many miles in length. In many of these, vast numbers of turtles deposited 

 their eggs at night which were eagerly sought in the early morning by 

 Indians and "coro-coro" ibises. Sand-flies, which first became troublesome 

 in Atures, were always present in incredible myriads making the hours of 

 daylight almost unbearable. 



The delta of the Ventuari was reached February 8, and for three days we 

 struggled in the rapids that end in a decided fall named Santa Barbara. 

 The strong north wind and monstrous waves added greatly to the difficulty 

 and danger of running this series of rapids. Numberless islands, some of 



