CATASACTS OP THE ORINOCO. 227 



In the Randal of Canucaii the rocky dike or weir con- 

 sists of piled-up granite spheres. We crept into the inte- 

 rior of a grotto the damp walls of which were covered with 

 confervse and shining Byssus, and where the river rushed 

 high above our heads with deafening noise. 



We had accidentally more time thau we desired for the 

 enjoyment of this grand scene of nature. The Indians had 

 left us in the middle of the cataract, proposing to take the 

 canoe round a long narrow island below which we were to 

 re-embark. We waited an hour and a half under a heavy 

 tempestuous rain ; night was coming on, and we sought in 

 vain for shelter between the masses of granite. The little 

 monkeys, which we had carried with us for months in 

 wicker cages, by their mournful cries attracted crocodiles 

 whose size and leaden-grey colour shewed their great age. I 

 should not here notice an occurrence so usual in the Orinoco, 

 if the Indians had not assured us that no crocodiles were 

 ever seen in the cataracts ; and in dependence on this as- 

 surance we had even ventured repeatedly to bathe in this 

 part of the river. Meanwhile our anxiety lest we might be 

 forced to pass the long tropical night in the middle of the 

 Randal, wet through and deafened by the thundering noise 

 of the falling waters, increased every moment ; until at last 

 the Indians reappeared with our canoe. From the low 

 state of the waters they had found the steps by which they 

 had intended to let themselves down inaccessible, and had 

 been forced to seek among the labyrinth of channels for a 

 more practicable passage. 



Near the southern entrance of the Baudal of Atures, on 



