XXXL] 



AN EXTRAORDINARY RIVER. 



407 



first sight, almost insuperable ; but after a time we discovered 

 that there were, however, places where it was possible to jump 

 from rock to rock, and then to wade through the rapids them- 

 selves on narrow shelves, holding on, meanwhile, by ropes of 

 creepers stretched from side to side for that purpose. A single 

 false step or the snapping of the creeper-rope at these points 

 would have been fatal, for nothing could have saved one from 

 being dashed to pieces among the rocks beneath. 



October, 

 1875. 



POETEE8 FBOM BTHil. 



The stream below this was about sixty yards wide, very 

 deep, and running like a sluice. I afterward heard that we 

 were considered most fortunate in grossing without mishap; 

 for at that season of the year people had frequently been lost 

 in making the attempt, and it was often necessary to wait a 

 week or fortnight before the passage was practicable. 



Looking back from the other side, a most striking sight was 

 presented by this mass of water bursting out of the precipitous 

 hill-side, and broken by the rocks and little bushy islands into 

 foamins: cascades. 



