CATARACTS OF THE ORINOCO. 213 



Granada. The sources of the Orinoco ( 6 ) have never been 

 visited by any European, or even by any natives who have 

 been in communication with Europeans. 



In ascending the Upper Orinoco in the summer of 1800, 

 we passed the Mission of Esmeralda, and reached the mouths 

 of the Sodomoni and the Guapo. Here rises high above 

 the clouds the massive summit of the Yeonnamari or Duida, 

 a grand and picturesque mountain which presents to the 

 spectator one of the finest scenes of nature which the 

 tropical world has to offer. Its altitude, according to my 

 trigonometrical measurement, is 8278 (8823 Eng.) feet 

 above the level of the sea. The southern slope of the 

 mountain presents a treeless grassy surface, and the humid 

 evening air is filled far and wide with the fragrance of the 

 ripe ananas. The stalks of the pine apples, swelling with 

 rich juice, rise between the lowly herbs of the meadow, 

 and the golden fruit is seen shining at a distance from 

 under its leafy crown of bluish-green. "Where mountain 

 springs or rivulets break forth from the turfy covering, 

 the scene is further adorned by groups of tall fan-palms, 

 whose foliage never feels the influence of a cool breeze. 



On the east of the Duida mountain a dense thicket of 

 wild Cacao groves begins, and amidst these are found trees 

 of the celebrated Bertholletia excelsa, the most vigorous of 

 the productions of the tropical world ( 7 ). Here the Indians 

 collect the materials for their blow-pipes, colossal grass- 

 stalks having joints above 18 feet long from knot to knot. ( 8 ) 

 Some Franciscan monks have penetrated as far as the mouth 

 of the Chiguire, where the river is already so narrow that 



