291 STBENGTH OF THE CUEBEWT. 



"We slept in the open air, on the left bank of the riyer, 

 below the island of Tomo. The night was beautiful and 

 serene, but the torment of the mosquitos was so great near 

 the ground, that I could not succeed in levelling the artificial 

 horizon ; consequently I lost the opportunity of making an 

 observation. 



On the 18th we set out at three in the morning, to be 

 more sure of arriving before the close of the day at the 

 cataract known by the name of the Randal de los GuaTiibos. 

 "We stopped at the mouth of the Rio Tomo. The Indians 

 went on shore, to prepare their food, and take some repose. 

 When we reached the foot of the raudal, it was near five in 

 the afternoon. It was extremely difficult to go up the cur- 

 rent against a mass of water, precipitated from a bank ol 

 gneiss several feet high. An Indian threw himself into the 

 water, to reach, by swimming, the rock that divides the 

 cataract into two parts. A rope was fastened to the point 

 of this rock, and when the canoe was hauled near enough, 

 our instruments, our dry plants, and the provision we had 

 collected at Atures, were lauded in the raudal itself. "We 

 remarked with surprise, that the natural dam over which the 

 river is precipitated, presents a dry space of considerable 

 extent ; where we stopped to see the boat go up. 



The rock of gneiss exhibits circular holes, the largest ol 

 which are four feet deep, and eighteen inches wide. These 

 funnels contain quartz pebbles, and appear to have been 

 formed by the friction of masses rolled along by the impulse 

 of the waters. Our situation, in the midst of the cataract, 

 ^ r as singular enough, but unattended by the smallest danger. 

 The missionary, who accompanied us, had his fever-fit on 

 him. In order to quench the thirst by which he was tor- 

 mented, the idea suggested itself to us of preparing a re- 

 freshing beverage for him in one of the excavations of the 

 rock. We had taken on board at Atures an Indian basket 

 called a mapire, filled with sugar, limes, and those grenadillas, 

 or fruits of the passion-flower, to which the Spaniards give 

 the name of parchas. As we were absolutely destitute ot 

 large vessels for holding and mixing liquids, we poured the 

 water of the river, by means of a calabash, nto one of the 

 holes of the rock : to this we added sugar and lime-juice. 

 lu a few minutes we had an excellent beverage, which ie 



