The Cataracts of King George 



creek, we continued to follow the Korannas for 

 several miles through the dense acacia forests, 

 while the thundering sound of the cataract in- 

 creased at every step. At length we reached 

 a ridge of rocks, and found it necessary to 

 dismount and follow our guides on foot. 







" It seemed as if we were now entering the 

 untrodden vestibules of one of Nature's most 

 sublime temples, and the untutored savages 

 who guided us, evinced by the awe and circum- 

 spection with which they trod, that they were 

 not altogether uninfluenced by the genius loci. 

 They repeatedly requested me to keep behind, 

 and follow them softly, for the precipices were 

 dangerous for the feet of men, and the sight 

 and sound of the cataract were so fearful, that 

 they themselves regarded the place with awe, 

 and seldom ventured to visit it. At length the 

 whole of them halted, and desired me to do 

 the same. One of them stepped forward to 

 the brink of the precipice, and having looked 

 cautiously over, beckoned me to advance. I did 

 so, and witnessed a curious and striking scene, 

 but it was not yet the waterfall. It was a rapid 

 formed by almost the whole volume of the river, 

 compressed into a narrow channel of not more 



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