ITS PECULIAR FEATURES. 163 



making the long stretches which separate tlie villages, he 

 can find a resting-place, or where to build a fire to prepare 

 his food, only upon some solitary rock rising above the 

 water. These spots are known to the Indians ; and, in their 

 voyages up and down the stream, they will not pass one 

 unless confident that they can reach another before they 

 have need of fire or rest. A striking feature of the river 

 is the fine, white sand which here and there lifts itself in 

 banks above the water. Its dazzling brightness is almost 

 blinding, and in the distance the long lines of coast present 

 the appearance of drifts of snow glistening in the sun. 

 Another marked peculiarity is the diminutive size of the 

 trees, which constitute the forests of the inundated banks 

 of the river. This is noticed the more in coming from the 

 rich lands of the Orinoco, where stately monarchs tower 

 up with such grand proportions. 



On the afternoon of the 8th we were at the Maudal de 

 Gauriname, which, next to the Great Cataracts of the Ori- 

 noco, seemed the most formidable we had encountered. 

 Our Indians, by entering the water and towing the boat, 

 succeeded, after much hard work, in placing it above the 

 rock-obstructions. All hands then enjoyed a bath, a lux- 

 ury that crocodiles and caribes no longer rendered a haz- 

 ardous experiment. Just before sunset we pulled up to 

 the east bank at Baltazar, a neat Indian pueblo of some 

 twenty houses. A single Spaniard, who was both the 

 temporal and spiritual adviser of these people, held abso- 

 lute sway in his little realm. "NVe were unable to barter 

 with the Indians, excepting as we did it through him, he 

 seeming to sustain a patriarchal relation to the whole vil- 

 lage. We spent the night at this place, sleeping in the 

 open air upon a rock in front of the village, leaving before 

 daylight in the morning. Santa Cruz, upon the right bank, 

 a village the size of the last, was reached by 3 p. m. "We 

 obtained from tlie inhabitants some chipiries' eggs, which 



