C8 OVEE THE MOUNTAINS TO THE LLANOS. 



At length we were under way, floating down the swift- 

 rolling waters of the Pao, adding the strength of the pa- 

 lanca to the progressive force of the current. Picture to 

 yourself a narrow, many-folded river — to which Tiber in 

 its turbidest was, undoubtedly, as a clear and sparkling 

 fountain — a stream so opaque that the idea suggested itself 

 to one of the party that perhaps " Afric's sunny fountain " 

 had got lost, and by mistake had " rolled down its golden 

 sand " into El Dorado, which was successful in damping 

 it a little. However, so long as our gallant craft was 

 floated, we could not complain, and, as for drink, it went 

 further and gave us meat which, if not as nutritious, was 

 at least not tougher than the strips of toro which orna- 

 mented our carroza. The wooded banks were low, but a 

 few feet above high water, with now and then a hut, just 

 visible through the thick foliage of banana-leaves. 



Our first day's voyage was short, as the hour was late 

 when we started, and nearly three hours were consumed 

 in obtaining a meal, which an untimely rain greatly im- 

 peded in preparation. The extended acquaintance of our 

 patron, and the respect his whitened head everywhere com- 

 manded, readily gained us admission for the night at the 

 house of a friend, the occupants retiring to a neighbor's 

 hut, giving us entire possession. Aroused by the patron 

 at the first appearance of day, we reembarked, and were 

 soon shooting swiftly down the current beneath the shad- 

 ows of the dark forest which rose from either bank. From 

 the dej^ths of those solitudes no sound was heard, and 

 naught broke the death-like stillness of the early morning 

 save the stroke of the oar as it cleaved the waves, and the 

 plunge of the alligator, as, startled from his rest, he glided 

 off" the slimy bank, and disappeared in the turbid waters. 



Reaching, soon after sunrise, the base of a low, rocky 

 hill, we drew ashore for breakfast. At once we betook 

 ourselves to our morning ablutions, when the chiding voice 



