276 TIMEHRI. 
allowed to the point on the Potaro river to which one of 
the boats had been sent to await our arrival. 
A few days later we came to the Macusi village of 
Konkarmo, one of the largest and most finely placed 
settlements of these parts. Here I re-entered a country 
known to me; for I had been here some years before 
when on the way to solve the problem of how to ascend 
Roraima, the huge, pillar-like mountain, the flat top 
of which had long seemed to be for ever cut off from the 
rest of the world by the unbroken abruptness of the 
cliff of two thousand feet which everywhere forms it 
sides. On that previous occasion, as has been told else- 
where, we contrived to creep up at one point in this cliff 
and to reach the top; but circumstances had then pre- 
vented any thorough exploration of the top, on which 
many interesting scientific problems still lie unsolved. 
Now, as I stood once more at Konkarmo, and in the 
evening was just able to discern Roraima standing likea 
huge wave about to break, far away in the West in the 
strong light of the setting sun, the longing came over me 
to gothere once more, and to contrive to spend a longer 
time among the wonders of that strangely lifted mountain 
top. But this the trifle of the condition of my shoes, or 
rather of GABRIEL’S shoes, absolutely forbade. Norhave 
I since ever had a chance of re-entering the strange 
Jand of romance which lies on the cliffs of Roraima. 
It was at Konkarmo too that on the occasion of the 
previous visit, I had entered for a time into one of the 
strangest nightmares that even unbridled religious enthu- 
siasm ever produced. 
Before our arrival no white men had ever been in the 
place and very few of the inhabitants had ever been away 
2 yl Pee eae See 
