Along the Essequebo and Potaro. 117 



means uninteresting. Great banks of yellow sand lay 

 bare in all directions, contrasting powerfully with the 

 frequent huge bars or dykes of dark granite and greenstone 

 (diorite) which, at times, stretched nearly completely 

 across the bed, with small deep channels through which 

 the water poured, while, at other times they survived but 

 as small tree-clad islands. The loamy and clayey banks 

 rose steeply from about 10 to 20 feet; and the green 

 line of the forest was frequently relieved by the glimpses 

 of higher land, in the distance, seen across the wide reach 

 of the river. Of flowering plants, however, there was a 

 marked paucity ; though the varied foliage of many of 

 the forest trees, and chiefly the young reddish leaves of the 

 mora (Mora excc/saj, tended to produce a floral effect. 



It was at Arrisaro, however, that the scenery of the 

 lower part of the river first stamped itself upon my mind, 

 for the position of the camp was, in many respects, an ideal 

 one. In front lay the wide river, shut in, like a pond, at 

 the sides, by two lines of dark, water-worn dikes ofgranite, 

 and blocked in the distance by a bank of golden-yellow 

 sand, over which towered the huge forest trees on the 

 high bank ; while, in the immediate background, rose, 

 abruptly, the steep forest-clad mountain of Arrisaro — so 

 steeply, that the tall white trunks of the forest trees were 

 frequently unhidden, conspicuous against the prevailing 

 dark green foliage. Seen in the evening, with the direct 

 rays of the setting sun illuminating the face of the 

 mountain, and casting most vivid reflections in the 

 water, the view is indeed beautiful, though one 

 scarcely realises that the height of the mountain is 

 more than 700 feet. In the early morning, especially, 

 while the light fleecy clouds lie like a thin veil upon the 



