SOUTH AMERICA. 245 



fine evening last year, as the people of Angustura THI * D 

 were sauntering up and down here, in the Ala- - 

 meda, I was within twenty yards of this place, 

 when I saw a- large cayman rush out of the 

 river, seize a man, and carry him down, before 

 any body had it in his power to assist him. The 

 screams of the poor fellow were terrible as the 

 cayman was running off with him. He plunged 

 into the river with his prey ; we instantly lost 

 sight of him, and never saw or heard him more." 



I was a day and a half in dissecting our cay- 

 man, and then we got all ready to return to 

 Demerara. 



It was much more perilous to descend than to 

 ascend the falls in the Essequibo. 



The place we had to pass had proved fatal Great dan- 



. ger in de- 



to four Indians about a month before. The wending 



11-11 the falls of 



water foamed, and dashed and boiled amongst the Ee- 

 the steep and craggy rocks, and seemed to warn ql 

 us to be careful how we ventured there. 



I was for all hands to get out of the canoe, 

 and then, after lashing a long rope ahead and 

 astern, we might have climbed from rock to rock, 

 and tempered her in her passage down, and our 

 getting out would have lightened her much. 

 But the negro who had joined us at Mrs. Peter- 

 son's, said he was sure it would be safer to stay 

 in the canoe while she went down the fall. I 

 was loath to give way to him; but I did so this 

 time against my better judgment, as he assured 



