IN SIGHT OF THE ORINOCO. 129 



the banks being very steep, they saw new proofs of the 

 indolence of the gallinaceous birds of the tropics. The 

 curassaos and cashew birds had the habit of going down 

 several times a day to the river to allay their thirst. 

 They drank a great deal, and at short intervals. A vast 

 number of these birds had joined, near their station, a 

 flock of pheasants. They had great difficulty in climb- 

 ing up the steep banks ; they attempted it several times 

 without using their wings. The travellers drove them 

 before them as if they had been driving sheep. 



Continuing their journey they discerned towards the 

 south the lovely hills of Coranto ; while to the east the 

 granite rocks of the Curiquima, the Sugar-loaf of Cay- 

 cara, and the mountains of the Tyrant began to rise on 

 the horizon. It was not without emotion that they 

 beheld for the first time the waters of the Orinoco. 



On leaving the Rio Apure they found themselves in a 

 country presenting a totally different aspect. An im- 

 mense plain of water stretched before them like a lake, 

 as far as they could see. White-topped waves rose to the 

 height of several feet, from the conflict of the breeze and 

 the current. The air resounded no longer with the 

 piercing cries of herons, flamingoes, and spoonbills, cross- 

 ing in long files from one shore to the other. Their 

 eyes sought in vain those water-fowls, the habits of which 

 vary in each tribe. All nature appeared less animated. 

 Scarcely could they discover in the hollows of the waves 

 a few large crocodiles, cutting obliquely, by the help of 

 their long tails, the surface of the agitated waters. The 

 horizon was bounded by a zone of forests, which nowhere 

 reached so far as the bed* of the river. A vast beach, 

 constantly parched by the heat of the sun, desert and 



6* 



