18 WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA. 



In a quarter of an hour after he had received the 

 poison he was quite motionless. 



A few miles before you reach the great 



The great fall. . . 



fall, and which, indeed, is the only one 

 which can be called a fall, large balls of froth come 

 floating past you. The river appears beautifully marked 

 with streaks of foam, and on your nearer approach the 

 stream is whitened all over. 



At first, you behold the fall rushing down a bed of 

 rocks, with a tremendous noise, divided into two foamy 

 streams, which, at their junction again, form a small 

 island covered with wood. Above this island, for a 

 short space, there appears but one stream, all white 

 with froth, and fretting and boiling amongst the huge 

 rocks which obstruct its course. 



Higher up it is seen dividing itself into a short 

 channel or two, and trees grow on the rocks which 

 caused its separation. The torrent, in many places, 

 has eaten deep into the rocks, and split them into 

 large fragments, by driving others against them. The 

 trees on the rocks are in bloom and vigour, though 

 their roots are half bared, and many of them bruised 

 and broken by the rushing waters. 



This is the general appearance of the fall from the 

 level of the water below, to where the river is smooth 

 and quiet above. It must be remembered, that this 

 is during the periodical rains. Probably, in the dry 

 season, it puts on a very different appearance. There 

 is no perpendicular fall of water of any consequence 

 throughout it, but the dreadful roaring and rushing 

 of the torrent, down a long, rocky, and moderately 

 sloping channel, has a fine effect ; and the stranger 

 returns well pleased with Avhat he has seen. No animal, 



