The Conquest of the Desert 



than 50 yards in breadth, when it descended 

 at an angle of nearly 45 degrees, and rushing 

 tumultuously through a black and crooked 

 chasm, among the rocks, of frightful depth, 

 escaped in a torrent of foam. My swarthy 

 guides, although this was unquestionably the 

 first time that they had ever led a traveller to 

 view the remarkable scenery of their country, 

 evinced a degree of tact as Ciceroni, as well as 

 natural feeling of the picturesque, that equally 

 pleased and surprised me. Having forewarned 

 me that this was not yet the waterfall, they now 

 pioneered the way for about a mile farther 

 along the rocks, some of them keeping near 

 and continually cautioning me to look at my 

 feet, as a single false step might precipitate me 

 into the raging abyss of waters — the tumult of 

 which seemed to shake even the solid rocks 

 around us. 



• •••••• 



" At length we halted as before, and the next 

 moment I was led to a projecting rock, where a 

 scene burst upon me, far surpassing my most 

 sanguine expectations. The whole water of 

 the river (except that which escapes by the 

 subsidiary channel we had crossed, and by a 

 similar one on the north side) being previously 



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