A Visit to the Kaieteur Fall. V7 
Next morning, Thursday, we started at half-past six and began our boat 
journey up the Potaro. After four hours paddling we arrived at Amatuk, where 
there is a fine waterfall over thirty feet high where the river suddenly narrows 
and rushes and boils over the rocks with great violence. Here we had to 
portage the boat, an operation I now saw for the first time. The baggage, 
awning and all the fittings were first taken out, and carried over the “ port- 
age,” a narrow path cut through the forest round the fall, about half a mile 
long. Then the boat was hauled out of the water and dragged along the path, 
which in one part went up for some distance at an angle of at least 45 degrees. 
When I say that the boat carried besides our four selves, ten boat-hands, 
a steersman, and my servant who acted as cook to the expedition, sixteen 
in all, besides all our baggage and food for ourselves and men, for nothing 
can be got on the way, it will be understood that it was not a small 
boat, and unless I had seen it done, I could scarcely have believed 
it possible to get the boat over. It took three-quarters of an hour to 
portage the boat alone, and including breakfast, it took us over four hours to 
get past the fall. It was three o’clock before we were off again and after an hour’s 
pulling we decided to camp for the night at the first suitable place. As the banks 
of the river in this part are high and steep it was some time before we could find a 
suitable place, but eventually we found a spot where the banks were lower, and 
pulling in the boat we soon clambered up on to the bank, which was covered 
with dense bush. Our men soon made a clearing and prepared our camp and in 
less than an hour two canvas-covered shelters were erected and our ham- 
mocks slung under them. We had dinner before it was dark, and by the 
time our friends in Georgetown had finished theirs, we were asleep in our 
hammocks. 
Next morning before day-break I was awakened by a frightful noise which sound- 
ed like the death agony of some animal caught by an alligator, but which I was 
told was only the howling of baboons in the forest. We were up at 5.30, camp 
was struck and we were away again by 6.30. The river was very beautiful for 
we had now entered the Kaieteur gorge. The country here rises about 1,000 
feet and forms a vast tableland, through which the Potaro flows, falling over the 
edge of it at the Kaieteur and continuing its course along a narrow V-shaped 
gorge, which looks as if it had been scooped out of the tableland by the river. 
The mountains rose steeply on either side of us, covered with trees from the top 
to the bottom. It was very misty and until the sun gained power we saw very 
little as if nature, jealous of our intrusion into her solitudes, veiled her beauties. 
The iiver now began to narrow, and at one place we went through a rapid, too 
strong to paddle through, and the men had to get out a1ope and tow us through. 
After three hours we reached Waratuk where there is a cataract, but not too high 
for the boat to get over, but too dangerous to go through fully loaded. It was 
therefore partly unloaded and then hauled through, while we walked round. 
This and breakfast took a couple of hours and then we staited on the last part 
of our boat journey. About half-an-hour later we got our first view of Kaieteur 
about ten miles away. It does not face the river, but comes over to the right 
of it so that all that can be seen from this point is a triangular corner at the top. 
Every now and then a cloud of mist rose and covered it. It was only visible 
occasionally as the bend of the river cut off the view at intervals. The river 
