CATARACTS OF THE ORINOCO. 183 



of tropical birds, with a double movable crest of feathers, and is as 



pugnacious as the East Indian domestic cock. 



. In the Raudal of Canucari, the rocky dike or weir consists of 



piled-up granite spheres. We crept into the interior of a grotto the 



damp walls of which were covered with confervae and shining Byssus, 



and where the river rushed high above our heads with deafening 



noise. 



We had accidentally more time than we desired for the enjoyment 

 of this grand scene of nature. The Indians had left us in the mid- 

 dle of the cataract, proposing to take the <?anoe round a long narrow 

 island below which we were to re-embark. We waited an hour and 

 a half under a heavy tempestuous rain ; night was coming on, and 

 we sought in vain for shelter between the masses of granite. The 

 little monkeys, which we had carried with us for months in wicker 

 cages, by their mournful cries attracted crocodiles whose size and 

 leaden-gray color showed their great age. I should not here notice 

 an occurrence so usual in the Orinoco, if the Indians had not assured 

 us that no crocodiles were ever seen in the Cataracts; and in de- 

 pendence on this assurance we had even ventured repeatedly to 

 bathe in this part' of the river. Meanwhile our anxiety lest w$ 

 might be forced to pass the long tropical night in the middle of the 

 Kaudal, wet through and deafened by the thundering noise of the 

 falling waters, increased every moment; until at last the Indians 

 reappeared with our canoe. From the low state of the waters they 

 had found the steps by which they had intended to let themselves 

 down inaccessible, and had been forced to seek among the labyrinth 

 of channels for a more practicable passage. 



Near the southern entrance of the Raudal of Atures, on the right 

 bank of the river, is the cave of Ataruipe, which is widely celebrated 

 among the Indians. The grand and melancholy character of the 

 scenery around fits it for the burying-place of a deceased nation. 

 We climbed with difficulty, and not without danger of falling to a 

 great depth below, a steep and perfectly bare granite precipice. It 

 would be hardly possible to keep one's footing on the smooth surface, 

 if it were not for large crystals of feldspar, which, resisting "weath- 

 ering," project as much as an inch from the face of the rock. 



On reaching the summit, the traveller beholds a wide, diversified, 



