916 A NATURALIST IN THE GUIANAS 



left, and the current not nearly so strong. At the upper 

 end of the gorge the river tumbles over a ledge of rock 

 in a fall of about four feet. The landing-places on both 

 sides of this small waterfall are expanses of rock covered 

 with fragments of all sizes and shapes, scattered about 

 or jumbled together in the most complete chaos. It was 

 a difficult bit of portage for a large heavy boat, and 

 although the distance to the river above where the boats 

 could be launched again did not exceed sixty yards, it 

 took us until late in the afternoon to get them over. We 

 encamped at the foot of another waterfall necessitating 

 a longer portage, but this time the portage was through 

 the forest over almost level land. From our camp we had 

 a good view of a part of the mountain of Achaba. This 

 was the first we saw of these solid square-shaped fortress- 

 like masses which are so peculiar a feature of the land- 

 scape on the Merevari. From a high rock close to the 

 waterfall above us there is a magnificent vista, the river 

 dashing in white foam through the dark gorge to glide 

 along the densely wooded banks beyond. The sombre 

 mass of Achaba looming in the distance is a fitting back- 

 ground to the mixed beauty and grandeur of the scene. 



I made a rather cmious find at our camping-place. 

 The same hunting party of Indians who had preceded us. 

 of whom we had come across traces above the Erewato 

 and at other spots, had left behind a queer hat of the 

 exact shape of an ordinary straw hat, with the difference 

 that it was not plaited of straw but of the stalk of the 

 tirita {Ischnosiphon arouma), used in basket work, and the 

 holes of the plaiting were quite as large as those of an 

 ordinary cane-bottomed chair. 



The day following our arrival at Achaba was devoted 

 to cutting a track through the forest and laying logs on 



