172 IN THE GUIANA FOREST. 



and through them tinge the ocean for over fifty 

 miles from the shore. If we paddle our bateau 

 into the entrance, it is soon found that the appear- 

 ance of a cul-de-sac is caused by an abrupt turning, 

 on rounding which the river is shut from view, and 

 a real fairyland disclosed. 



Painter and poet have depicted the brooks and 

 small rivers of temperate climates, but all their 

 glorification of nature seems tame when applied to 

 a creek. Even the ordinary observer becomes 

 enthusiastic, while the naturalist experiences a 

 feeling of ecstacy that is simply indescribable. 

 The fatigue of a long boat journey on the open 

 river, where the fierce rays of the tropical sun 

 poured down incessantly and blistered his face, 

 neck, and hands, is all forgotten, and he can do 

 nothing but sit up and feast on the beautiful. 

 Every bend brings up a new scene. Here is a 

 great mora towering to a height of a hundred and 

 fifty feet, from which hang festoons of creepers 

 decorated with large flowers of most gorgeous 

 colours Below and in the foreground are a thicket 

 of tree ferns, great clumps of marantas and heli- 

 conias a hundred species of shrubs and low trees. 

 A little farther we come upon reaches where the 

 most striking objects are palms ; here a troolie 

 with almost undivided leaves twelve feet long, 



